KEY ON SALE DATES
(1) SUBSCRIPTIONS ON-SALE throughout the season
(2) REGULAR TICKETS GO ON SALE
(No subscription requirement)
Begins June 24 at noon
David has written a play for himself and a gathering of friends and strangers to read together out loud. It’s the story of the rise and fall of an imaginary civilization in an imaginary land. A poetic fable about how to live with the slowly unfolding emergencies of our world, it’s also an invitation to join in on the artistic process, and a testament to the power of a roomful of people discovering a story together.
Created by a team of award-winning artists from across Canada, This Is the Story of the Child Ruled by Fear invites you back to the theatre after the strangest years of our lives, asking you to help tell a story about worry and wonder, loneliness and community, beauty and despair.
Participate according to your own comfort – read for a character, join the chorus, or sit back and watch – and join this humorous, cathartic exploration of our innermost private fears.
Join us for more! Stay for a talkback with the artist following performances on March 27th & 30th.
About our Talkback Moderators:
Dr. Jenn Stephenson, Associate Dean (Studies), Faculty of Arts and Science, Professor, Queen’s University - Talkback Moderator on Thursday, March 27th
As Associate Dean (Academic), Dr. Stephenson's portfolio includes oversight of the undergraduate operations in the Faculty of Arts and Science, as well as the oversight and implementation of undergraduate academic regulations. The Associate Dean also reviews student appeals or academic integrity cases and manages complex academic cases involving individual students and faculty members. Dr. Stephenson participates in all committees of the Faculty relative to students or programs and liaise with the division of Student Affairs, Student Wellness Services, the Human Rights Office and the Office of the University Ombudsman. The Associate Dean’s portfolio also includes Admission and Recruitment, Orientation, and the implementation of the Senate Policy on Academic Consideration for Students in Extenuating Circumstances.
Dr. Stephenson holds a PhD from the University of Toronto and previously served as the Undergraduate Chair at the Dan School of Drama and Music. Her research is focused on contemporary Canadian drama, metatheatricality, "theatre of the real," autobiographical performance, and performativity in fictional worlds-within.
Dr. Mariah (Mo) Horner, Adjunct Assistant Professor, Queen’s University - Talkback Moderator on Sunday, March 30th
Dr. Mariah (Mo) Horner (she/they) is a theatre artist, musician, emcee, and educator based in Katarokwi-Kingston. Her research interests include abolition dramaturgies, site-specific performance, participatory performance, care work, and collaborative creation. With Dr. Jenn Stephenson she co-authored PLAY: Dramaturgies of Participation (Playwrights Canada Press, 2024) and co-edited Canadian Theatre Review 197: Participation. Other research and writing has been published by Theatre Research in Canada, Canadian Theatre Review, SpiderWebShow, The Skeleton Press, and Tourism Kingston.
“I can’t think of another work of art, let alone theatre, that makes it so easy to collectively consider the terrifying aspects of our changing world and warming planet without shame and panic as an underscore, and where instead of being a chore or embarrassment, audience participation truly makes you feel less alone.”
“this is the first show i saw in a theatre after the start of the pandemic. i cried the whole time. it was other-wordly wonderful. this is a very special play (? event? community happening?). don’t!!! miss!!! it!!!
”We all have fears and sometimes we can be brave and sometimes we can’t. The play evades a simple answer. Nevertheless, the true outcome is that in the end, we have all partaken in a collective journey to create something that we don’t know how it goes, and we journey together with generosity for the risk of participating. The result is a kind of vulnerable rough beauty. “
“The divide between artist and audience becomes increasingly blurred, dynamizing the stage into a communal space for co-creation. If [this performance] proves anything, it’s that new theatrical places will continue to be explored as artists and audiences navigate the potentialities of the return to being together.”
“Such a brilliant idea. The piece is intimate and deeply personal. It’s also driven by big, deep questions about human purpose and the much larger, mythic forces at work in all of our lives.”
“I left the theatre, and a discussable and pleasurable evening, with a renewed appreciation that theatre, the art form of real people together in the same room sharing an experience, is on the right track. We’ve always known it: it’s validating to have a demo from an artist, a true original, that it’s meaningful, even cathartic, to tell stories together about what haunts us, scares us, weighs us down. There’s wonder in it. And wonder is enlivening.”
Kingston Grand Theatre, Baby Grand Theatre
218 Princess Street
Kingston ON K7L 1B2
Canada
