Coal Mine Theatre Presents The Toronto Premiere Of CATEGORY E

Coal Mine Theatre closes its highly successful fourth season with the Toronto premiere of Belinda Cornish's award-winning horror-comedy CATEGORY E, directed by Rae Ellen Bodie, April 8-29, 2018 at the Coal Mine, off-off Broadview. Tickets on sale now!

Two subjects imprisoned in a human test lab are joined by a third. Under constant surveillance by The Eye - a futuristic, multinational corporation dedicated to manufacturing the best products money can buy - the three roommates undergo sickening experiments in the name of consumer satisfaction. When not tending to suppurating wounds, burning skin and itchy backsides, they make the best of their horrifying circumstances by telling each other tall-tales, spying on the neighbours, and trying to finish a seventeen-year-old crossword puzzle. Will they survive? Or will they kill each other first?

Belinda Cornish is an English-born, Edmonton-based, award-winning playwright, actor, improviser, and Canadian Screen Award nominee (Tiny Plastic Men). Since moving to Canada in 2000, Cornish founded the all-female company Panties Productions for which she has written and produced several award-winning plays. CATEGORY E received its world premiere from Maggie Tree Collective in Edmonton in 2015 and won five Sterling Awards including Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Independent Production.

The cast of CATEGORY E features Coal Mine Co-Chief Engineer Diana Bentley (Bull, Instructions..., Orphans, Coal Mine Theatre; Canadian Discovery/Netflix series Frontier; Syfy's Channel Zero), ACTRA Award-nominated Vivien Endicott-Douglas (Killer Joe, Coal Mine Theatre; Infinity, Tarragon Theatre, the film The Shape of Rex), and Dora Award-winner Robert Persichini (Superior Donuts, The Winter's Tale, Coal Mine Theatre; King Lear, Twelfth Night, Canadian Stage; CBC/Netflix's Alias Grace).

Director Rae Ellen Bodie is a voice/acting coach, actor, theatre director and a proud member of Coal Mine Theatre's Artistic Associate team. She directed Creditors for Coal Mine Theatre and serves as dialect coach on all Coal Mine productions. The director of Dora Award-nominated Offensive Fouls (Hustle n' Bustle Theatre, MTYP), Rae Ellen was nominated for the John Hirsch Director's Award in 2011.

Coal Mine Theatre presents fearlessly challenging plays, produced, directed, designed and performed at the highest possible level. With less than 100 seats available per performance, Coal Mine is inspired by the intimacy and excitement of the off-off-Broadway experience.

The Coal Mine's fourth season under Chief Engineers Diana Bentley and Ted Dykstra has presented The Aliens by Annie Baker, Poison by Lot Vekemans, Rumours by Fleetwood Mac: A COAL MINE CONCERT; and will conclude with Category E by Belinda Cornish.