GCTC Announces A Diverse 2019–20 Season - BANG BANG, DAISY, UNHOLY, and More!

Today, Ottawa's Great Canadian Theatre Company unveiled programming for its 2019-20 season, rolling out the red carpet for five plays (and one multi-disciplinary festival) guaranteed to bring down the house. Next season, audiences will be treated to plays that have proven to please. From a debate between four women on feminism and religion to a hard-hitting comedy about a police shooting to a Dora Award-winning collaboration between a queer theatre-maker and an Inuk artist, there's a lot to like at GCTC in 2019-20.

GCTC is starting off the 2019-20 a little differently with the Prismatic Arts Festival, a showcase of boundary-pushing Indigenous and culturally diverse artists that will take place across Ottawa. Our first play of the season will be Bang Bang by Kat Sandler, a provocative comedy about police violence and appropriation. Next up is Cottagers and Indians by Drew Hayden Taylor, a microcosm of reconciliation that traces a confrontation between an Indigenous farmer and a white cottager.

Opening the second half of the season is Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools by Evalyn Parry and Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, a convergence of cultures and storytelling mediums. The Dora Award-winning play is presented in partnership with National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre as part of their highly anticipated inaugural season. In March, Artistic Director Eric Coates will direct the Canadian premiere of Daisy, by Ottawa playwright Sean Devine. The Seattle Critic's Choice Award for Best New Play, Daisy explores the creation of the first political attack ad during the 1964 Lyndon Johnson campaign. The season wraps up with Diane Flacks' Unholy, a raucous debate on one important question: should women abandon organized religion?

The five plays of the 2019-20 season are all by Canadian playwrights, and all are critical darlings, earning such praise as: "exactly the right play to see right now" - Stage Door (Unholy); "a wildly entertaining night of theatre" - Mooney on Theatre (Bang Bang); and "should be required viewing for all registered voters" - Seattle Weekly (Daisy).

"Every play in our season has been a hit in another major city," says Artistic Director Eric Coates "I want Ottawa to have the same access to these powerful, topical plays as Toronto, Vancouver, and Seattle."

This season is also marked by strong theatre partnerships as GCTC continues to work with award-winning Canadian companies to bring fantastic theatre to Ottawa. This year's partners include Tarragon Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades Theatre, and National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre.

GCTC is happy to report the continued success of outreach initiatives like Prologue, Especially for Seniors, and The Hive @ GCTC. Each of these programs helps to open the theatre's doors to the community, breaking down barriers to entry and attracting traditionally underserved demographics with free or low-cost programming.

GCTC is proud to continue its rewarding partnerships with local arts organizations and businesses including Propeller Dance, the Ottawa School of Art, and Thyme & Again. Propeller Dance will return for a 6th season as Company-in-Residence, the Ottawa School of Art will continue to curate exhibits of their visual arts students in The Lorraine 'Fritzi' Yale Gallery, and the popular Chefs & Shows series, curated by Thyme & Again will, return for a fourth season with a re-envisioned community collaboration showcasing Ottawa's best executive chefs and the plays on our main stage.

Full details on GCTC's 2019-20 season, along with subscription and ticket information are available online at GCTC.ca.

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GCTC's 2019-2020 SEASON:

Prismatic Arts Festival

SEPT 12 TO 22, 2019

Vibrant and boundary-pushing, the Prismatic Arts Festival showcases leading Indigenous and culturally diverse artists from across Canada. It features theatre, dance, music, spoken word, visual arts, film and media arts. Prismatic takes place across Ottawa and Halifax from September 12 to 22 at multiple venues, including GCTC, which is the presenting partner. Since 2008, Prismatic Arts Festival has been presenting boundary-pushing arts in Halifax.

Tickets go on sale in April and will be available through GCTC. This festival is not part of GCTC's subscription series.

Bang Bang

By Kat Sandler

OCT 22 TO NOV 10, 2019

Lila is a Black former police officer whose career ended after she shot an unarmed Black youth. Her story is fictionalized by Tim, a white playwright whose play about the shooting takes liberties with the facts. Now there's talk of a film, and Tim visits Lila to discuss. What unfolds is a raucous struggle on the subjects of responsibility and representation, framed by Kat Sandler's trademark wit.

Cottagers and Indians

By Drew Hayden Taylor

NOV 26 TO DEC 15, 2019

When Indigenous farmer Arthur Copper begins planting wild rice to reclaim lakeshores, the seeds bloom into a funny-yet-fiery exchange between the farmer and a white cottager, Maureen Poole. A microcosm of reconciliation, the confrontation traces issues of ownership and community.

Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools

Created by Evalyn Parry, Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory, Erin Brubacher, and Elysha Poirier with Cris Derksen

JAN 22 TO FEB 9, 2020

Presented in partnership with NAC Indigenous Theatre. A concert and a conversation, Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools is the meeting place of two people, and the North and South of our country. Inuk artist Laakkuluk Williamson Bathory and queer theatre-maker Evalyn Parry met on an Arctic expedition from Iqaluit to Greenland. Now sharing a stage, these two powerful storytellers map new territory together in a work that gives voice and body to the histories, culture, and climate we've inherited, and asks how we reckon with these sharp tools.

Daisy

By Sean Devine

MAR 10 TO 29, 2020

A Canadian premiere based on true events, Daisy tells the story of the Madison Avenue advertising team that set out to create the first modern political attack ad for the 1964 presidential campaign of Lyndon Johnson. Infamously known as the "Daisy ad," it ran once and was immediately shelved, but its impact is still felt. War was the objective. Peace was the bait. Everyone got duped.

Unholy

By Diane Flacks

APR 21 TO MAY 10, 2020

In this witty, wild, and very relevant debate, four female panelists square off on one question: should women abandon religion? On one side, an ex-nun and an atheist pundit. On the other, a progressive Muslim lawyer and a Jewish scholar. As the play delves into the depths of the question, it reveals the complexities of the debaters.

For subscription and ticket information call the Box Office (613) 236-5196 or visit www.gctc.ca. Early bird deadline for renewing subscribers is April 15, 2019.

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