NNELS Upgrade

Shakespeare holds the fate of several black slaves in his hands. Among them are the rebellious Aaron and the obedient Othello, who each have complicated relationships with Shakespeare's daughter, Judith. But a vital secret remains hidden that could untangle complex familial ties and change the course of their history.

In Up the Garden Path, Rosa, a young Barbadian seamstress, offers to pose as her brother to go to the Niagara Region in Ontario to work. There, she meets an aspiring actress obsessed with Joan of Arc, the ghost of a black Loyalist soldier who wants to die and a boss who can’t keep the starlings away from his failing vineyard. Finding it impossible to ignore their demands, but not wanting to be found out and sent home, Rosa has to stop and figure out what she really wants instead of what everyone around her needs.

In huff, brothers Wind, Huff, and Charles are trying to cope with their father’s abusive whims and their mother’s recent suicide. In a brutal reality of death and addiction, they huff gas and pull destructive pranks. Preyed upon by Trickster and his own fragile psyche, Wind looks for a way out, one that might lead him into his mother’s shadow. In Stitch, Kylie Grandview is a single mom struggling to make a living as a porn star while dreaming of being on the big screen.

Two characters and two monologues, tied together across time and place, their stories a candid pursuit of hope and empathy, even in the face of an unbelievably cruel world. Judith Thompson's Such Creatures portrays her raw style of storytelling and showcases her incessant quest to understand the dark, neglected, and troubling corners of society. Both unbelievably cruel and unbelievably human, Such Creatures is an awe-inspiring portrayal of the breadth of the human spirit.

When Olivia loses control at her fiftieth birthday party, her four best friends decide to intervene once and for all, much to the irritation of Olivia and her lover, Norma. But is she the only one battling a demon? Or do each of these women face an addiction of one kind or another? Five @ Fifty is a raw and darkly comedic portrayal of turning fifty in contemporary society, and of the friendships we can't live without.

After a traumatic assault in Central America, Rachel returns home, but it isn’t the reprieve she expected. She comes back to turmoil between her parents, and a part-time job in her dad’s medical office. Her father, George, full of endearing blunder, tries unsuccessfully to connect with his daughter, who seems to be reeling. Her childhood friend Khalil isn’t around to provide support. He’s in Afghanistan travelling and volunteering when he is wrongfully arrested. On the periphery is Wally—off work because of a logging injury—who spends a great deal of time in George’s office.

Heartwarming and humorous, Kindness sensitively captures the reality of children's feelings as they navigate the small and large events in their world. From Hurricane Katrina to everyday encounters in the school hallway, the play offers an unforgettable lesson in compassion.

Lately Cathy, a middle-aged comedian, has found very little to laugh about. Everything seems either tragic or frustrating, especially her eighteen-year marriage to Peter, a doctor at a local community clinic. Their list of complaints about one another grows day by day, and their teenage daughter is rarely anything but a handful. Despite a once solid and happy marriage, the couple has hit a snag that even counselling can't repair. While Cathy falls further into a creative slump, Peter starts to fall for April, a troubled young patient who helps him open up.

Set in the final days of the first millennium, Mad Boy Chronicle hauls the Hamlet story howling back to its origins. Join the Mad Boy as he sets out in fierce pursuit of his destiny, in a world where wolves, elves, spirits, and Jesus Christ all compete for the future of humanity.

Shortly after the Conservatives win a majority government in the 2011 federal election, the prime minister discovers a secret weapon in his caucus—Jisbella Lyth, a single mother with a limited understanding of her role as an MP. Using her ignorance to his advantage, the PM hatches a plan to have Jisbella front and centre in a campaign of misdirection and distraction. Humorous and clever, Proud explores the corrosive nature of the politics of division.