Factory and Native Earth Presents Toronto Premiere of THE UNPLUGGING, Now thru April 5

In an instant, electricity all over the world stops flowing and humanity is left in the dark. Factory and Native Earth Performing Arts present the Toronto premiere of THE UNPLUGGING by Yvette Nolan, directed by Nina Lee Aquino, and winner of the 2013 Jessie Award for Outstanding New Play (Vancouver). The show stars two veterans of the Toronto theatre community, Diana Belshaw and Allegra Fulton, and features newcomer Umed Amin. The production will play on stage at Factory from tonight, March 14 - April 5, 2015.

Cast out of their community for being deemed unable to contribute to a post-apocalyptic society, two aging Indigenous women are forced to begin a new life, living off the land as their ancestors did before them. As the duo begin to settle into their new existence, they encounter a young man whose presence threatens their way of life.

Yvette Nolan (playwright) is an Algonquin playwright, dramaturg and director. Her plays include BLADE, Annie Mae's Movement, from thine eyes, The Birds (a modern adaptation of Aristophanes' comedy), Alaska and Prophecy (Canada 300). From 2003-2011, she served as Artistic Director of Native Earth Performing Arts. She is currently an Artistic Associate with Signal Theatre.

Nina Lee Aquino (director) is an award-winning director, dramaturge and playwright the current Artistic Director of Factory. Nina was the founding Artistic Director of fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company as well as serving as Artistic Director of Cahoots Theatre Company from 2009-2013. She is the editor of Canada's first Asian-Canadian 2-volume drama anthology love + relasianships (Playwright Canada Press) and the co-editor of the award winning New Essays on Canadian Theatre Volume One: Asian Canadian Theatre (Playwrights Canada Press).

THE UNPLUGGING stars Allegra Fulton as Bern and Diana Belshaw as Elena. Fulton's solo tour- de-force performance of Frida Kahlo in Frida K. has earned her international acclaim, garnering awards in New York City, Mexico City and across Canada. Recent credits include The List and The Carousel (Nightwood Theatre); Geometry in Venice (Segal Centre/Crow's Theatre); Scorched (Tarragon Theatre); and The Comedy of Errors and The Odyssey (Stratford Shakespeare Festival).

Diana Belshaw is the current Head of Acting, and former Director of the Theatre Performance Program, at Humber College. With companies such as Theatre Passe Muraille, Tarragon Theatre, Factory Theatre and a long association with the Blyth Festival, she has performed and directed across the country and is particularly proud of her contribution to the development of new works as both director and actor, notably appearing as the Earl of Kent in Necessary Angel's groundbreaking production of King Lear.

Factory and Native Earth Performing Arts are proud to introduce Umed Amin as Seamus in his first professional production. Amin studied acting at the University of Windsor, his credits include The Hollow, Three Sisters and Macbeth.

DETAILS:

FACTORY and NATIVE EARTH PERFORMING ARTS Present
THE UNPLUGGING
Written by Yvette Nolan
Directed by Nina Lee Aquino
Starring Umed Amin, Diana Belshaw and Allegra Fulton
Set Designer: Camellia Koo • Lighting Designer: Michelle Ramsay
Sound Designer: Romeo Candido • Costume Designer: Joanna Yu
Dramaturge: Ric Knowles • Movement Director: Clare Preuss

Where: Factory, 125 Bathurst Street (at Adelaide)
Run Dates: March 14 - April 5, 2015
Opening Night: Thursday, March 19, 2015 @ 8pm
Media Night: March 18, 2015
Schedule: Tuesday - Saturday @ 8pm • Sundays @ 2pm
Tickets: $23-$45 (plus applicable service charges); online at www.factorytheatre.ca or call 416.504.9971
Student/Senior/Arts Worker discounts and Pay-What-You-Can Sunday Matinee tickets available

Theatre with Grit. Since it's founding in 1970, Factory's vision has always conveyed indomitable courage, resolve, toughness, tenaciousness, and strength of character. In other words, grit. Theatre with grit is about tackling uncomfortable truths and imagining a Canada where ALL Canadian stories can be told in full colour; about nurturing and recognizing artists who are proud of their heritage and possess an authentic theatrical voice; and about pushing boundaries of theatrical form and practice. This is Factory. Theatre with Grit.

Native Earth Performing Arts is Canada's oldest professional Indigenous theatre company. Currently in our 32nd year, we are dedicated to creating, developing and producing professional artistic expressions of the Indigenous experience in Canada. Through stage productions (theatre, dance and multi-disciplinary art), new script development, apprenticeships and internships, Native Earth seeks to fulfill a community of artistic visions.

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