Be a part of the audience for the workshop performance of Transit, a play written by Alumnae member, Susan Brown.
Is one man’s known universe big enough for the rest of us?
October is Islamic History Month, and just in time, there’s a play that examines what happens in smalltown neighborhoods where cultural transformation exposes the fault lines in the privileged bedrock of majority worldviews and expectations. Curious about this changing cultural landscape of how it might affect locals in her neighborhood coffee-shop, local playwright Susan Brown, imagined a pair of “old regulars”, Frank and Ernie, and how they would navigate this new terrain. “Thematically, the transformation of ‘familiar’ public spaces into something unfamiliar made me wonder about how we all engage with and adapt to cultural change and, for individuals like Frank, the cost of racial intolerance and corrosive nostalgia”, said Susan.
With an incredible local director, Irena Huljak, and a cast of talented performers, this transformative play invites the audience to engage with the very real issue of cultural discrimination and recognize the harm that is endured by those who are the targets of this corrosive behavior.
A lifelong friendship is tested when Frank’s bigotry threatens the dignity and rights of immigrant newcomers, Mo and his sister Lyra, who are trying to find peace and prosperity in their new home. For Frank, the world he once knew, the one that reflected his comfortable and automated existence, is disappearing. In anger and ignorance, he lashes out at Mohammad and Lyra and then must try to find a way to make amends to the people he has offended, his friend and ultimately, himself.
This play should dispel any illusions that we, the audience, are free of the smallminded, discriminatory thoughts that we see in Frank. His struggles should be seen as reflective of our own ignorance and fear toward change and difference. You are invited to come and be part of this important cultural event. Tickets can be purchased on Eventbrite here.
Two Workshop performances of this play will take place on October 30 th , 2021, at the Alumnae Theatre inToronto, 70 Berkeley St, Toronto, ON M5A 2W6. Come and be a part of the art as the actors and director mold the play into a story that creates community connections by asking questions like “Who am I?” and “Who are we together?”. Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.
Visit our Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/442344903733986/ for more information and to post any questions you might have about this locally developed creative cultural production!
