The Drawer Boy at Commonweal Theatre Company

Authors

• Michael Healey

"The Drawer Boy" takes its inspiration from a 1972 project of Theatre Passe Muraille ("theater goes through walls"), the influential alternative theater dedicated to creating a distinctly Canadian voice in theater. That project, called "The Farm Show," was the result of series of interviews with Ontario farmers by a group of young actors.

"The Drawer Boy," written more than 25 years after "The Farm Show," goes well beyond the realm of farming. Since its premiere in Toronto in 1999, "The Drawer Boy" has become a modern-day Canadian classic, winning countless awards. Filled with abundant humor, as well as sensitivity, "The Drawer Boy" (referring to a boy who likes to draw) depicts the sometimes unclear divide between life and art and explores the healing powers of storytelling.