Category: Why I Chose This Play

I sat in the Belfry lobby to read this script—and couldn’t put it down. I couldn’t stop until I finished it. Why—? Because:

• Stefano Massini and Ben Power have shaped this story in a way that grabs your intellect and your imagination;

• it has momentum. It’s a sweeping saga—years and years and world changing events go flying by with relentless motion;

• it is an indictment of capitalism. In the years between 1844 and 2008, the play takes us from the America of opportunity and enterprise to the America of “the one percent;” from the world of craft and product to the world of zeroes, zeroes, zeroes—with nothing but paper to show for it.

• it is a celebration of theatre in its purest form: actors on a stage telling a story—and keeping their audience engaged and excited.

• and it’s a showcase (and a challenge—!) for three exceptional actors;

• and I love the humanity of the play: the idea of the original three brothers relating the tale of the Lehman Brothers business—from its humble beginnings to a world of greed and corruption they could never have envisioned—or condoned—!

Michael Shamata, Artistic Director

Kat Sandler is a particularly smart and cheeky writer. Her plays feel modern, and her ideas are unique. She explores topics and themes that are completely her own—she is a true original. And this play—so different from her previous writing—is a thrilling mix of murder, mystery, and myth—expertly woven together into a dazzling whole.

What thrills me most of all is that women are centred in this play. Kat has written a play that spotlights the power, the strength, and the intelligence of women. And that’s why I chose this play: to celebrate, in Kat’s words, “wise, witchy, powerful women everywhere.”

—Michael Shamata, Artistic Director

My love for Hannah Moscovitch’s writing—so truthful and precise—was reason enough to program Old Stock. Add to that the exceptional—unbelievable—performance by Ben Caplan, the simple and smart staging by Christian Barry, and the music— the fabulous music—and how could I not choose this play—?!

I had already chosen it once before—for our 2019 SPARK Festival. During that run, my admiration of its craft and my love of its content only grew and intensified.

Hannah’s quiet and deeply sensitive scenes, imagining her great grandparents’ romance, juxtaposed against Ben’s larger-than-life performance, are, under Christian’s expert direction, perfectly partnered in a beautiful dance. Amazingly, these elements—so different from each other—are never at odds. Rather, each part of the equation seems essential to the balance of the overall piece, and each makes the other shine more brightly.

I find it difficult to describe this unique piece of theatre. It seems impossible that it exists—and at the same time, it has a feeling of inevitability: these three fine artists had to come together, they had to tell this story, and they had to tell it in this way. Which is why I love it. Which is why I chose it. And which is why I want to share it with you again.

—Michael Shamata, Artistic Director

MICHAEL SHAMATA / PHOTO BY JO-ANN RICHARDS, WORKS PHOTOGRAPHY

The Unplugging is a beautiful play. I fell in love with the two principal characters and the journey of their relationship.

It is also a very smart play—and a wonderful exploration of a number of issues.  The idea of a world without electricity—rendering technology inaccessible—seems both impossible to imagine and an eventual reality.  Playwright Yvette Nolan imagines such a crisis, just as many of us are wondering what ecological disaster might be lurking around the corner.

The play premiered in 2012 and has become extremely prescient in today’s world.  When Yvette wrote The Unplugging, she was warning us of the dangers of climate change.  In 2023, the world is constantly grappling with climate disasters and, as if in response to the play’s suggestion, is turning to Indigenous communities for guidance.  Governments are joining forces with First Nations, relying on their stewardship to conserve our forests and lakes, and save endangered species, from whooping cranes to killer whales.  As if reflecting the story of Bern and Elena in the play, the very people we marginalized, we now turn to for our salvation.

Which raises another moral issue: how often and how easily society undervalues age and the wisdom of experience. The Unplugging is a great argument for reversing that unfortunate trend—!

Yvette Nolan views the world through an Indigenous lens, allowing us to look at the world we live in from a different perspective.  She generously encourages us to open ourselves to the wisdom that has been passed down through generations.  The playwright applies the same generosity to the very human characters she has created—with whom we engage and about whom we care.  New perspectives and human stories—these are the ingredients of great theatre—and these are what I look for when I choose a play for this theatre. Michael Shamata