HIRSCH Set for Edinburgh Fringe Fest; to Play Previews in Toronto, Begin. 7/19

The Stratford Festival makes its Edinburgh debut with the smash-hit production of Hirsch, a new play as fierce as its namesake.

John Hirsch lived a thunderous and fractured life - war orphan, exuberant lover, relentless creator. He was a member of four mafias - Hungarian, Jewish, Winnipeg and homosexual - who knew joy's greatest heights and the darkest corners of tragedy.

Hirsch found his only true home in the theatre and is widely regarded as Canada's most controversial, flamboyant, intimidating, inspiring and deeply influential director. He created the Manitoba Theatre Centre, ran the Stratford Festival and CBC Drama, directed on and off Broadway and at Israel's Habima. The range and impact of his work was immense and his friends and colleagues include Dan Sullivan, Ming Cho Lee, Len Cariou, Roberta Maxwell, Alan Bates, Martha Henry, Frank Langella, Gordon Pinsent, John Lahr, Maggie Smith, and Zoe Caldwell.

Hirsch, created by Alon Nashman and Paul Thompson, premiered at the Stratford Festival in 2012 where it was embraced by audiences, including Maggie Smith who called the play "a revelation." It tells of John's remarkable life, an orphan of the Holocaust who immigrated to Canada and became a fiery and formidable instigator of theatre. At the same time Hirsch challenges the whole notion of solo biographical plays by asking who has authority to tell John Hirsch's life, the actor trying to embody him or the director trying to control his legacy? And who is driving this play, subject or storyteller?

Performer/Co-creator Alon Nashman is recipient of the 2013 Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for Canadian Stage's THIS, and winner of the 2013 Outstanding Performance Award at the Prague Fringe Festival for Theaturtle's Kafka and Son. Director/co-creator Paul Thompson is an officer of the Order of Canada and a 2011 recipient of the Governor General's Performing Arts Award.

Hirsch previews at Berkeley Street Theatre, Upstairs July 19 at 8pm, and runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at The Pleasance from August 1-25 at 2:15pm daily (except for Aug. 14).

Photo by: Cylla von Tiedemann