Impel Theatre To Debut A New Interactive Production Of Tim Crouch's I, MALVOLIO

impel theatre proudly present a new site-specific and interactive production of Tim Crouch's I, Malvolio at the Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival. The show will mark the company's Toronto Fringe debut, from July 3-13 at Smart Cookie Club inside Artscape Youngplace, Fringe Venue #24 180 Shaw Street.

This production is among the first English Speaking productions to be performed by an actor other than Tim Crouch, who wrote and originated the play to great acclaim at Brighton Fringe, subsequently travelling the world. The play takes the character of Malvolio from Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, positioning him at the end of the play, and re-interrogates the plot of Twelfth Night from the perspective of the character who is the butt of everyone's jokes and much abused throughout the course of that play.

This new site-specific production, conceived by Kendra Jones, features actor Justin Otto in the title role, invites the audience to think about concepts of school overcrowding, digital interaction, and consent, in the context of the ongoing cuts to education curriculum and funding in Ontario. The production also contains a digital element, encouraging audience members to interact with the performer before the performance starting July 1st via Snapchat, as well as during the performance, positioning them as middle schoolers in an overcrowded and underfunded classroom.

impel theatre is a company created by Kendra Jones in 2009 with a focus on re-thinking the way women and gender roles are portrayed in existing works in the theatre & film canon through the creation of new work in response, which amplifies the voices and perspectives of female characters and re-thinks the role of gender. Over time, this has taken many forms, from dance to immersive theatre, to audio installations, and has expanded to work that challenges our understanding of how we relate to other people and the urban physical environments we find ourselves in.

Each project is an exploration that requires a new language, new collaborators, and new ways of thinking about the way the performance and audience will interact.
Where/when: Toronto Fringe Theatre Festival, July 3-13Time: 7:30pm nightly (No nhows on Sundays) Where: Fringe Venue #24 (Smart Cookie Club @ Artscape Youngplace)