Parallel Play

by Jordan Tannahill, 2018

Realistic

Late Company

Over dinner two sets of parents discuss bullying incidents that led to suicide of one of their teenage sons.

Characters: 5

by Olivier Sylvestre, 2021

Stylized

The Law of Gravity

Dom has had a rough go of things so far. At fourteen, he has the hardened look of someone who’s had to fight for everything. Fred has just moved to Not-The-City, a new place to try to disappear. But he didn’t expect to actually make friends. He just hopes he’s accepted for how he looks. When Dom and Fred meet on a hill overlooking a bridge that connects Not-The-City to The City, a place where anyone can be anything they want, the two find a refuge in one another and make a pact: they’ll cross the bridge at the end of the school year. They’ll be free. What could happen by then? Who will they be? And will the bridge even let them cross? The young characters are on a journey of self-discovery, feeling out their gender identity and how they want to present themselves to the world - while living in a world they find limiting, and dreaming of moving elsewhere.

by Makambe K. Simamba, 2021

Stylized

Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers

The story of Trayvon Martin’s first hours in the afterlife. February 26, 2012, Florida. A 17-year-old Black boy wearing a hoodie leaves a 7/11 carrying a bag of Skittles and an iced tea. He never makes it home. Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers and Little Brothers invites us into the infamous world of one teen, into his last moments, and into his intricate dance to the afterlife.

Characters: 6

by Christine Quintana, 2020

TYA

Princesses Don’t Grow on Trees

This Theatre for Young Audiences piece explores the imagination of a young girl who feels isolated because of her family's absorption in digital devices.

Stylized

Mortified

A woman encounters a man from her past and is disturbed by the strange power he still holds over her. In her attempts to uncover the truth of what happened between them, she evokes her 13-year-old self: a synchronized swimmer struggling to make sense of her burgeoning sexuality. Mortified explores adolescent sex, shame and transformation and how we reckon with the traumatic experiences that shape us.

by Amy Rutherford, 2022

Characters: 9

Empowerment

Memory

TYA

Selfie

A new year of high school is full of excitement and potential—but three teens didn’t expect it to bring such a dark change to their lives. After spending a summer reinventing herself in Paris, Emma is ready for her new life to start, while her best friend Lily is eager for them to reconnect. Lily throws a last-minute party fuelled by alcohol and Instagram, which leads to a long-awaited encounter between Emma and Lily’s older brother Chris. But the next day Emma feels that something went terribly wrong. When a doctor’s appointment and a visit from police confirm that there was a sexual assault at the party, and the whole school turns against Emma, the three friends grapple with what actually happened between Emma and Chris.

Characters: 3

Crime

High School

TYA

In This World

High school is hard, especially for Neyssa, who is not from a privileged family like her best friend Bijou. When the two get into a physical fight at school, they must confront what’s really bothering Neyssa. In This World looks at what friendship means to two teenage girls from vastly different social backgrounds, while they deal with racism, class, teen sex and reputation.

by Hannah Moscovitch, 2015

by Andrea Mapili, Byron Abalos, 2021

Stylized

Through the Bamboo

Twelve-year-old Philly is pulled into an action-packed adventure while mourning the loss of her Lola when she opens an old book and finds herself tossed into the fantastical land of Uwi. This Filipinx-Canadian tale inspired by Philippine mythology shows the value of keeping memories alive and explores how families deal with loss.

Characters: 15

Stylized

Let me Borrow that Top (part of Fish Eyes Trilogy)

Centres on Candice a girl who appropriates Meena’s Indian dance skills in Fish Eyes and bullies Naz in Boys with Cars. As she’s doing a YouTube makeup tutorial, she shares a passion for Indian dancing. Candice has just been accepted to the Conventry School of Bhangra. Will she leave Canada and her boyfriend, Buddy, to pursue her dreams?

by Anita Majumdar, 2016

Cultural Issues

Harassment

Stylized

Fish Eyes (part of Fish Eyes Trilogy)

Meena is a classically trained Indian dancer who wants to be the next Aishwarya Rai. However, she also wants to be like the rest of her high-school friends. She develops a massive crush on Buddy, the popular boy at school. In order to pursue him, she contemplates turning down competitions. With the sometimes gentle, sometimes an unwelcomed encouragement of her dance teacher, she sets out on a quest to conquer her first unrequited hearbreak and emerge triumphant.

by Anita Majumdar, 2016

Characters: 4

Cultural Issues

Empathy

Realistic

Shape of a Girl

A teenage girl, Braidie, struggles to come to terms with bullying and violence that occurred in her past. A bystander who reflects upon the treatment of a bullied friend, she observes the power dynamics between friends from young age and sees the gradually intensifying hostility leading to violence. Braidie wonders if the teen accused of a shocking act of violence is so very different from her and her friends. This “monster in the shape of a girl” propels Braidie to examine her own past and confront the truth of her often terrifying teenage world. She discovers how detrimental bullying is to the victim and examines her own actions and the actions of others who participate in the cycles of violence.

by Joan MacLeod, 2002

by Marie-Claude Verdier, 2021

Harassment

High school

TYA

The Middle Place

“This is a really difficult house.” It’s where people like Kaali and Nevaeh live, but it’s not home. Constructed from interviews conducted at a Rexdale youth shelter, THE MIDDLE PLACE has five actors bring to the stage the extraordinary voices of 16 homeless youth, 3 tireless caseworkers and one outsider.

by Andrew Kushnir, 2016

Characters: 20

Class

Community

Discover Tags, like 'Women'

Stylized

Pretty Goblins

From holding hands in the womb to holding each other’s hair back when they puked, twins Laura and Lizzie grew up only having each other. They couldn’t count on their practically feral mom, absent dad, or even the boys they liked. They’re polar opposites—Laura’s reserved while Lizzie’s reckless—but their shared mischievous giggles and dreams for the future kept them going. One day, Laura finds a familiar book of poems in Lizzie’s apartment and is dragged through their turbulent past. Together, the sisters relive their complicated history in an effort to make sense of the present. Framed by the beauty of a well-loved poem, this story of ferocious sisterhood, addiction, and the aftermath of trauma will leave howls echoing in your ears.

Historical

Silence: Mabel and Alexander Graham Bell

It only takes one spark of love to change the world forever. Mabel Hubbard Bell was a strong, self-assured woman—bright, passionate, and a complete original. Despite a near-fatal case of childhood scarlet fever that cost her the ability to hear, she learned to talk and lip-read in multiple languages. At nineteen, she married a young inventor named Alexander Graham Bell and became the most significant influence in his life. This is Mabel's story, offering the unique perspective of a woman whose remarkable life was forever connected to her famous, distracted husband. From inspiring invention to promoting public service, Mabel and Alec challenged each other to become strong forces for good. Silence is a beautiful and true love story about how we communicate.

by Trina Davies, 2020

Characters: 6

Empowerment

Disability

Realistic

Andy’s Gone

What stories do we tell ourselves to keep our walls up and our privilege intact? What is the cost of revolution? In this contemporary retelling of Antigone, denial of what rages outside of a city’s perimeter comes to a head when a young princess named Alison tries to expose the truth of her beloved cousin Henry’s death. By night, Henry went as Andy, as together he and Alison scaled the walls of their kingdom to help the migrants who are kept out of sight. Burdened by the weight of the inequality that his future reign represented, he killed himself. But his mother, Queen Regina, hails his death as a valiant knight and will do anything she can to keep Alison silent. The two women become locked in a poetic battle of power and prejudice, until a push turning into a shove might mean it’s too late to find peace.

High School

Stylized

Six Essential Questions/”6 Essential Questions”

6 Essential Questions tells the story of Renata as she travels to Brazil to reunite with the mother who abandoned her when she was just five years old. In Rio, Renata discovers more than she bargained for in her quest to uncover the truth of who abandoned whom. She is continually tossed about by her undead grandmother and a semi-invisible uncle as they choreograph the ultimate dance of mother and daughter, both of whom must confront their dreams before they can ever attempt to confront each other. Imaginations run wild in this strangely beautiful and funny story loosely based on Uppal’s critically acclaimed memoir, Projection: Encounters with My Runaway Mother, a finalist for both the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction.

by Priscila Uppal, 2015

Characters: 4

Family

Realistic

The Little Years

"Kate possesses the makings of a gifted mathematician with an enthusiasm for exploring the mysteries of space and time. But this is the 1950s and women are routinely laughed out of scientific circles. Besides, every family has its star, and Kate's brother already holds that distinction. Hindered by prejudices against women, Kate is confined to a life of unfulfilling jobs, leading her to become bitter and unhappy. The Little Years confronts the impact of chauvinism and explores the nature of fame, the value of art, and the passing of time." - from publisher

by John Mighton, 2012

Characters: 7

Cultural issues

Discrimination

Solo show

Watching Glory Die

Glory is a troubled teenage inmate who, in her solitary prison cell, is tormented by hallucinations. While she battles the creature in her mind, her adoptive mother Rosellen struggles to remain connected to her daughter, believing that she can sense Glory’s feelings no matter the distance. In the prison halls, Gail, a working-class guard, glides between her conscience and her professional duties, knowing her actions could ultimately lead to a tragic end.

by Judith Thompson, 2016

Family

Musical

Suzie Goo: Private Secretary

Suzie Goo works for Corporeal Can Inc. in the early 1960s. As a modern-day career gal, the last thing she has time for is her "hands on" boss, Vincent Bag. When Suzie takes matters into her own hands, we all learn a thing or two about what it takes to climb the corporate ladder.

Historical

SPIN

One part documentary and another part musical activism, Spin is inspired in part by the incredible true tale of Annie Londonderry, the first woman to ride around the world on a bicycle in 1895. Parry spins a fascinating web of stories that travel from 19th-century women’s emancipation to 21st-century consumer culture, peeling back layers of history to reveal a surprising and contemporary heart to her theme of liberation. A vintage bicycle, hooked up to simple electronics and suspended in a mechanic’s stand, is played – from fenders to spokes to vinyl seat, from whirling pedals to bells – by percussionist Brad Hart, providing a captivating sonic accompaniment to parry’s songs and monologues. Staged by award-winning director Ruth Madoc-Jones, with stunning visual projections by acclaimed designer Beth Kates, this unique show has delighted audiences across the continent.

by Evalyn Parry, 2017

Cultural issues

Discrimination

Historical

Hiding Words (for you)

The play takes us to nineteenth-century China and into the heart of the private relationship of two women that is facilitated by a secret phonetic (and feminine) adaptation of Chinese script called Nushu. Hiding, here, becomes an act of rebellion that creates new means of communicating and new ways of achieving intimacy among women. Wong's play will surprise and move you with its nuanced images and loving attention to the historical tools of feminist freedom.

Realistic

Trapped!

Set in an imaginary 1950s where gay marriage is the norm, Trapped! tells the story of Claire, a bedridden heiress who overhears a murder plot in which she is the intended victim. Claire must solve the mystery of her own murder before it happens.

by Hope Thompson, 2017

Characters: 3

2SLGBTQI+

Crime

Solo shown

Dirty Plötz: Witness the Hidden Vagenda

"Tricksters, witches, whores, hags and the Holy Bitch all feature prominently in Dirty Plötz. “Anasyrma” is a word you will hear in this work. The definition of this word is to lift one skirt’s to curse the viewer. There is no similar word for men – men cannot curse people with their genitals. Syrma herself is the star at the hem of the constellation Virgo’s skirt. You will meet her and she will tell you her own story. You will also meet a live embodiment of the Sheela na gig, a small sculpture found on churches in Ireland and an expression of a pre-puritanical female empowerment. And of course, The Designated Hand Wringer will be available to be outraged on behalf of your oppression." - buddies in bad times theatre

by Alex Tigchelaar, 2017

Cultural Issues

Discrimination

Solo show

Broken Brain One-O-One/”Broken Brain 101″

Broken Brain 101 is a burlesque exposé on clinical madness throughout women’s history, where the heroine reveals her splendour in a free but alarming way. Trapped in a lemon-yellow straightjacket, she takes back her own dignity by totally giving herself in front of the audience, revealing her whole body and soul through shamanic and ecstatic transformations.

by Nathalie Claude, 2017

by Evalyn Parry, Anna Chatterton, 2018

2SLGBTQI+

Mental Health

Realistic

Graceful Rebellions

"Graceful Rebellions, playing in the SummerWorks Festival, tracks experiences of (and with) queerness in war-torn Afghanistan to Canada through two generations and four characters. We start with an idealistic fourteen year old, probably around sixty years ago, imagining her own future wedding on the eve of her sister’s. She is so good-natured and naïve that it is hard for us, the audience, who know her reality will not be able to meet her fantasy." - Mooneyonthetheatre.com "In this brilliant and engaging one-woman show, playwright and performer SHAISTA LATIF transitions seamlessly between distinctly complex characters in a deeply personal work. Moving across cultures and generations, Graceful Rebellions tells the stories of three Afghan women, each bartering for small joys and challenging the cultural norms that exist under Afghanistan’s patriarchal rule. Shaista lovingly portrays characters, by turns funny and heartbreaking, who struggle in a world where women commonly have no power, in a culture that has long been dominated by war." - National Arts Centre, Ottawa

by Shaista Latif, 2017

Characters: 4

LGBTQ2S+

Cultural issues

Historical

Gertrude and Alice

Visiting the audience in the present day, Gertrude and Alice come to find out how history has treated them. The couple recounts stories of their forty-year relationship; of meetings with iconic artists and writers; and of Alice’s overwhelming, consuming devotion to Gertrude’s genius. Before they leave, they want to find out what has become of their artistic and cultural influence, and how their lives and work are—or are not—remembered.

2SLGBTQI+

Solo Show

Dividing Lines | Líneas Divisorias

"The one thing everyone knows is that we’re all going to die. Which means our loved ones are going to die. So how can we prepare for, experience, and honour their deaths? And does that look different if we have to make the decision to end their lives for them if they’re suffering? Dividing Lines | Líneas Divisorias is one woman’s story that offers a space for communal grieving through a celebration of life. Traced by the historic world events that coincide with her memories of independence and immigration, Beatriz reflects on how she spent over a decade caring for her mother—the one person she promised she’d be there for all the way until the end—as she lost her more and more to Alzheimer’s, and ultimately had to make the tough call to end her mother’s pain. A meditation full of light that doesn’t shy away from fear of the unknown, Beatriz’s narrative comes from a vulnerable and recognizable place of love that will invite our memories and choices in to heal." - from the publisher

by Beatriz Pizano, 2022