Hart House Theatre Presents OH, WHAT A LOVELY WAR!

Hart House Theatre presents a modern interpretation of a play with music Oh, What a Lovely War! Toronto, Ontario - Opening on February 28, Hart House Theatre continues to mark its 100th Anniversary Season with a show that salutes the House's past connection to the war effort; all through the lens of modern video-gamers and avatars.This re-imagined classic play with music sees the debut of Director Autumn Smith to our stage and takes full advantage of what Hart House Theatre has to offer: featuring showcase performances by trained, emergent talent, who are supported by a professional production team and a dedicated, large audience.

A clownish look at the foibles of combat, Oh, What A Lovely War! is a satire with songs that questions humanity's glorification of battle and the cycle of violence. This modern staging will take this classic, WWI themed play and place it firmly in 2020, within the world of gamers and mega-violent video games, to force a look at how we pass along warlike thinking to the next generation.

We welcome Director Autumn Smith to Hart House Theatre. Autumn worked with us last season when she adjudicated the 2019 U of T Drama Festival and partnered with us to bring the acclaimed project, Territorial Tales, for a special presentation during Night of Ideas. Autumn is no stranger to the stage or the University environment. As a a director, curator, educator and innovator, Autumn has worked for Canadian Stage as the Curator and Producer of Community Engagement and Education, holds an MFA from York University in Theatre Direction with an Emphasis on Teaching and is also a conservatory trained actor (Oxford School of Drama/UK). Autumn is a member of faculty at AMPD (York University) and Centennial College.

When asked to comment on what it is to stage this play at a theatre celebrating its 100th anniversary, Autumn had this to say: "Hart House at 100...how better to celebrate the centenary of this magnificent theatre than by paying homage to its humble roots - the barracks and shooting range of 1914.

The space that is now inhabited by the theatre was once a training facility for soldiers heading off to fight in the Great War for King and Country - Oh, What A Lovely War! seemed like the best piece to honour those who left a piece of themselves here during that time.

I have had many conversations...debates about why these avatars of the new century went to war - my conclusion is always the same: they wanted to achieve something greater than what they were seemingly fated for. The one common thread is that they wished to control their own destiny - they wished to be the heroes of their own adventurous narratives.

When looking at this agit-prop masterpiece through a contemporary lens the seemingly appropriate parallel that I kept returning to was the life of GAMERS; those who keep going back to the game to try to overcome the obstacles and achieve a greater score. This virtual world is the new form of escapism - the new form of controlling one's destiny.

This re-imagining uses a scenic backdrop of a video game to suck the players into a virtual reality world that quickly becomes something inescapable - the only way out is through."

Joining Autumn on the professional production team is Music Director Justin Hiscox and designers Ian Garrett (projections), Yasaman Nouri (costumes), Ella Wieckowski (lights) and Kelly Anderson (sound). This team will be creating the video game / avatar world of this thoroughly modern Oh, What a Lovely War!

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