Centaur Theatre Presents Canadian Premiere of A PLAY FOR THE LIVING IN THE TIME OF EXTINCTION

The play takes a nurturing look at our relationship to climate change by delving into the history of extinctions on Earth.

By: Mar. 15, 2022
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After a remarkable year of shifting and adapting, Centaur Theatre concludes its whirlwind 53rd season with the Canadian premiere of A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction by Miranda Rose Hall - the theatre's first mainstage production of 2022.

The play takes a nurturing look at our relationship to climate change by delving into the history of extinctions on Earth. With humour and grace, this one-woman show encourages us to look towards the future with hope.

"The planet earth is one of the most important things we share as people and this beautiful play by Miranda Rose Hall offers us all a chance to gather around that idea. It is a wonderful example of how art brings us together to explore our fragility alongside our capacity for hope. In the world right now, hope is a moral obligation," said Eda Holmes, Artistic and Executive Director, Centaur Theatre.

Award-winning actor Warona Setshwaelo will play Naomi, an unsuspecting dramaturg who must perform a play about climate change when the actors fail to show up. Holding a B.A. in Theatre Arts from Virginia Tech University, Ms. Setshwaelo has worked extensively in theatre, film, television, and voiceover.

Since her early TV credits on Big Brother Africa, she has made invaluable contributions to the Montreal theatre community as a mentor for both Black Theatre Workshop's Artist Mentorship Program and Imago Theatre's ARTISTA program. Recently, she won the award for Outstanding Lead Performance at the 2020 METAs for her work in Small Mouth Sounds, which played at the Segal Centre. A Play for the Living... will be Ms. Setshwaelo's first Centaur mainstage production, though she has previously trod the Centaur boards in Imago Theatre's 2017 offering Intractable Woman. Centaur Theatre is thrilled to work with such a prolific artist.

"I've long admired Warona's powerful performances which I've had the privilege of seeing over the years, and I am thrilled to be able to collaborate with her on this project. She brings depth, heart and humour to every role she inhabits,which are integral to telling this story."
- Rose Plotek, Director

A Play for the Living... begins with an actor's nightmare (or rather, a dramaturg's nightmare): the play is about to begin and the actors are nowhere to be found. Initially, Naomi intends to cancel the show, but she finds herself impelled by the importance of the story to carry on. And so she does, and she works with the audience to find a new way to tell the story. The result is equal parts wit, heartbreak, and inspiration, and Naomi's journey implores us to carry on with radical hope.

"From my first reading of A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction, I was struck by how Miranda had captured sentiments and sensations that had become so familiar to me as we consider the enormous challenge that lies ahead for us and for all the creatures on this planet. The playwright has given us this gift by sharing her vision of what our future may hold with such a tremendous amount of heart, humour, and optimism at the collective capacity of humanity."
- Rose Plotek, Director

It's no wonder that playwright Miranda Rose Hall has won several awards for her work, notably the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award in 2020. A Play for the Living... was commissioned by LubDub Theatre Company in 2018, where Ms. Hall is a founding member and artistic leader. It has since been produced professionally at Baltimore Center Stage in Baltimore, MD, and at Théâtre Vidy in Lausanne, Switzerland. The play was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 2021.

The play will be directed by Rose Plotek, former Associate Director of the Directing program at The National Theatre School. Ms. Plotek has held the title of Associate Artist at Centaur since September 2020. Centaur audiences will be familiar with her work as curator of the Wildside Festival. She has also worked with several prominent theatre companies, such as Why Not Theatre, Complicité, and World Stage. This will be Ms. Plotek's first production at the Centaur.

A limited number of socially distanced seats are available by phone only on a first come first served basis. Please note that as the provincial government moves to the next steps of the COVID-19 reopening plan, proof of vaccination requirements for indoor venues were lifted as of March 12, 2022. Mask protocols remain in place while seated and circulating in the building.

A Play for the Living in a Time of Extinction is available to theatre industry professionals on Tuesday and Wednesday evening performances at $30 while Centaur offers $20 RUSH tickets* to students and to groups of 20 or more (available only at Box Office 514-288-3161).
Prices include taxes and surcharges.



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