Announcing the GCTC 2005-2006 season

GCTC MAINSTAGE SERIES

Relative Good — GCTC World Premiere
by David Gow
Directed by Michael Shamata
Set and Costume Design by John Ferguson
Lighting Design by John Munro
Featuring: Dalal Badr, Mary Ellis, Sam Kalilieh, Paul Rainville, Richard Zeppieri 
September 6-25, 2005

"The truth is not an act of negotiation" - Mohammed El Rafi

Are you willing to surrender your freedom, in the name of freedom? Is the purpose of the law of the land to serve the "Relative Good" of society? Inspired by the recent string of arrests and incarcerations of Canadians with Middle Eastern heritage- Relative Good tells the story of a Canadian citizen detained abroad and taken against his will to his country of birth, to be tortured. Relative Good is a new drama, by the author of Bea's Niece andCherry Docs.

"There are few writers around that have David Gow's gift" - Torontostage.com

No Great Mischief
by David Young and the original company
Directed by Richard Rose
Set & Costume Design by Charlotte Dean
Lighting Design by Graeme S. Thomson
Musical Direction by Laurel MacDonald and Mike Ross
Stage Managed by Susan A. Jennings
Featuring: Pierre Brault, David Fox, Stephen Guy-McGrath, Daniel Giverin, John Koensgen, Paul Rainville, Mike Ross, Christie Watson, Beverley Wolfe
October 11-30, 2005

"All of us are better when we're loved." - Alexander

The long history of the Clan MacDonald begins in 1779 as Calum Ruadh leaves Scotland to begin a new life on Cape Breton Island. Haunted by the stories and songs of the ancestry, two brothers seek to reconcile their past with their present. From the writer of Glenn and Inexpressible Island comes this adaptation from the award-winning novel by Alistair MacLeod. No Great Mischief received a sold-out run at Toronto's Tarragon Theatre last season and comes to GCTC in an all-new version directed by Richard Rose and featuring Ottawa's finest actors!

In association with Mirvish Productions.

"No Great Mischief captures hearts" - Toronto Sun

Stones In His Pockets
by Marie Jones
Directed by Dennis Fitzgerald
Set and Costume Design by Art Penson
Stage Managed by Susan A. Jennings
Featuring: Pierre Brault, Jonathan Goad 
November 22 - December 11, 2005

"The director's not happy with the cows. He says they're not Irish enough."- Simon

Stones In His Pockets is a 'sad, hilarious and irresistible' two-man show about the filming of a Hollywood epic in rural Ireland. Two talented actors bring to life more than fifteen characters in this Award-Winning Irish comedy that's had audiences cheering on both sides of the Atlantic! Marie Jones' touching, inspired play deftly illuminates the romance and reality of contemporary Ireland. Stones In His Pockets has played to rave reviews around the world, winning a London Evening Standard Award and an Olivier Award.

"Marie Jones pulls off an ingenious theatrical trick that has a political kick" - Time Out

Democracy
one whole day beside a pond
by John Murrell
Directed by Lorne Pardy
Set and Costume Design by Kim Nielsen
Lighting Design by John Munro
Stage Managed by Shainna Laviolette
Featuring: Jack Wetherall, Paul Lemelin
January 24 - February 12, 2006

"...our flesh and blood is the secret pond we all share..." - Walt Whitman

July, 1863. John Murrell's Democracy depicts an eloquent and impassioned debate set during the American Civil War between the two American Romantic poets, Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson, as they sense the tragedy that is unfolding around them and strive to find some good that can come from the conflict. A challenging examination of human nature from one of Canada's most respected and honoured playwrights.

"A work of breathtaking scope and artistry" - CTV

Swollen Tongues
By Kathleen Oliver
Directed by Kate Hurman
Set & Costumes by Art Penson
Stage Managed by Shainna Laviolette
Featuring: Sarah McVie, Maureen Smith, Patricia Tedford
March 7 - 26, 2006

"Oh, Sappho, loose my tongue! Great Muse, infuse me with what must be sung!" - Catherine

Thomas and his sister Catherine are poetry students under the tutelage of Dr. Wise. When Thomas discovers that someone has plagiarized his love verses to Sonja (Catherine's libidinous dressmaker), Dr. Wise suggests a contest of poetic wits. But Catherine has a secret, and in the ensuing flurry of disguises, tricks and revelations, we discover that poetry can unlock the door to love (and lust) in unexpected ways. Written entirely in rhyming couplets, Swollen Tongues gives Restoration comedy a contemporary twist!

"Move over, Moliere! Oliver's script is a marvel of tongue twisters about the classic link between art and love" - The Vancouver Sun

"Fresh and original.oozes female sensuality." - The Pink Paper (London)

Life x 3 — Canadian Premiere
By Yasmina Reza; translated by Christopher Hampton
Directed by RH Thomson
Set & Costume design by Kim Nielsen
Featuring: Lorne Pardy and John Koensgen
May 30 - June 18, 2006

"...some people can cope with life and some people can't..." - Sonia

Henri and Sonia are putting their son to bed when an unexpected knock at the door throws them into disarray. Hubert and Ines have arrived for dinner, a day earlier than expected. As the evening degenerates, Yasmina Reza blends cruel observations with high comedy in an hilarious and poignant examination of our most personal intimacies and private longings. An original, hilarious and ultimately thought-provoking addition to an increasingly impressive body of work from one of the most fascinating and distinctive voices of the contemporary theatre. From the director and design team that brought you the critically-acclaimed production of Yasmina Reza's Art in 2002.

"If farce can be defined as the worst day of your life, then this is a mini-classic of the genre..." -The Guardian (London)

"Life x 3 is a seriously amusing night out." - The London Evening Standard

GREAT CANADIAN ARTIST SERIES

da da kamera's
A Beautiful View
by Daniel MacIvor
Directed by Daniel McIvor and Daniel Brooks
Produced by Sherrie Johnson and Da Da Kamera
April 19 - 30, 2006

Beautiful View is a play about joy and misery, misunderstandings and connections and how one moment can alter the whole world. It is a play about love. In da da kamera's minimalist trademark style, Beautiful View plays out the story of the relationship between Michael and Liz; how they came together and how they've drifted apart. As Michael and Liz embark on a journey to find new scenarios for the rest of their lives, we are drawn into their world and asked to see things from different points of view. The result is a beautifully acted, intense and dynamic theatrical experience!

"MacIvor is a master.a puppeteer without strings, he single-handedly animates the stage with real people..." - The Chronicle Herald

Bigger Than Jesus
Created by Rick Miller and Daniel Brooks
Performed by Rick Miller
Directed by Daniel Brooks
Designed by Beth Kates and Ben Chaisson
May 3 - 14, 2006

Weaving together the Catholic liturgy, the gospels and some good old-fashioned bible-thumpin', Bigger Than Jesus, is a funny and poignant multi-media mass that questions the mysteries of life and the thorny crown of Christianity. Everything you'd expect from the guy who gave the worldMacHomer! After 5 sold-out weeks at Toronto's Factory Theatre, Bigger Than Jesus is now poised for an international tour and will be presented at festivals in Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, Frankfurt, Sydney, as well as venues in Canada and the United States, before coming to GCTC!

"There isn't a more INVIGORATING, thoughtful, and exciting piece of theatre in Toronto"
NOW Magazine

"MESMERIZING! Few can match Miller's impeccable comic delivery and joyous energy"
Globe and Mail

Three Ways to Subscribe:

*There is also a $2 per show charge on each ticket for the Making It Greater Theatre Campaign

Subscriptions can be ordered through the GCTC Box Office at (613) 236-5196

GCTC SUNDAY NIGHT READING SERIES

The Truth about Lying (Commissioned by GCTC)
By Paula Wing
Directed by Micheline Chevrier

The Truth About Lying is a comedy that focuses on a year in the break-up of a book club. Sanjay and Serena are the newest members, having joined just a couple of months before the birth of their first child. Sanjay is an expert on lying, In fact, he's writing a book about it! His very confrontational attitude, his absolute lack of small talk, and his inability to tell even a nice little 'social lie', along with his unorthodox ideas about child-rearing, (including refusing to reveal the sex of the child so it can grow up free of stereotyping), causes them all to behave, well, extremely badly! This dark comedy will explore the precarious nature of our everyday social interactions, the small necessary lies that grease our day-to-day lives and what happens when we can't rely on them any longer.

Beyond The Beaded Curtain (Commissioned by GCTC)
By Bryden MacDonald

Beyond The Beaded Curtain centers around a young man, Willy, who goes missing in Montreal's red light district. Willy has had a profound effect on the lives of the other characters and as they ruminate on his whereabouts, and their fantasies blur with their realities, Willy's story unfolds. However, it is the characters from Cape Breton, family and friends, who come to the foreground when Willy disappears.

Excess
By Kent Stetson

Grace MacDonald, actress and social activist, reviews a script from American Television Producer, Arthur Goldspike. The same day, her Cuban friend Dr. Lazara Ortega laSantos arrives, to begin the Canadian leg of her international lecture tour. Arthur is determined that Grace play the elder Laura Secord in a mangled TV version of the War of 1812-14. Grace, mentored by Tommy Douglas, the father of Canadian Social Medicine, would be amused if she wasn't so appalled. Grace's son, pharmaceutical executive Grant MacDonald, arrives with his American wife, US State Department 9/11 claims attorney, Nell Bradshaw-MacDonald. Themes of world domination, liberal social democracy vs. conservative capitalist democracy, and the very survival of The Canadian Enlightenment in this harsh post 9/11 climate, dominate the lives of these five characters. Excess careens from social comedy, to agitprop and boulevard in this deadly serious examination of the contemporary Canadian experience. How strong is the true north? How long will she stay free? InExcess, the future of Canada looks very promising indeed.

For tickets, call the GCTC Box Office at 236-5196
Great Canadian Theatre Company
910 Gladstone Ave. Ottawa, ON K1R 6Y4
www.gctc.ca