Jeremy O. Harris's SLAVE PLAY to Make Canadian Premiere Next Month

This September, the 25.26 Canadian Stage Berkeley season will kick off with the Canadian Premiere of one of Jeremy O. Harris’ SLAVE PLAY. Garnering a record-breaking 12 Tony nominations in 2021, SLAVE PLAY is a daring, seductive, and razor-sharp satire of love, race, sex, and the impact of history on our most intimate relationships. 
 
Directed by Canadian Stage Associate Artistic Director Jordan Laffrenier, the production features a spectacular cast of performers including Rebecca Applebaum, Justin Eddy, Sébastien Heins, Beck Lloyd, Kwaku Okyere, Gord Rand, Amy Rutherford, and Sophia Walker.
 
Provocative and wildly entertaining, SLAVE PLAY follows three interracial couples taking part in a controversial therapeutic retreat on a former plantation in the American South. The treatment –meant to help the couples resolve sexual and emotional struggles– quickly reveals even deeper psychological wounds affecting their relationships. As the couples undergo the “therapy,” tensions build, ultimately revealing the extent to which their personal histories and social realities are intertwined, and taking audiences on a journey to the meeting ground between pleasure and legacy.
 
“It is a real honour to be bringing Jeremy O. Harris’ iconic and unforgettable play to Canada,” comments Canadian Stage Artistic Director Brendan Healy.  “Jeremy has proven to be one of the most original and energizing voices of the 21st Century Theatre. In SLAVE PLAY he dares to tread into the difficult space around the persistent legacy of racism, in the context of romantic relationships and best intentions.  It’s bold, it’s complicated, often audaciously funny, and most definitely essential viewing and we really look forward to engaging with our audiences in the conversations this play ignites.”
 
SLAVE PLAY first debuted off-Broadway in 2018, making its Broadway debut at the John Golden Theatre in the fall of 2019.  The work was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, and is the recipient of the Rosa Parks Playwriting Award, the Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, The Lotos Foundation Prize in the Arts and Sciences, and the 2018 Paula Vogel Award. The play was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle’s John Gassner Playwrighting Award and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play.  The play debuted in London’s West End in the fall of 2024 at the Noël Coward Theatre.
 
For the Canadian Premiere in Toronto, Laffrenier is joined on the creative team by Set Designer Gillian Gallow, Costume Designer Rachel Forbes, Lighting Designer Daniel Bennett, Sound Designer Thomas Ryder Payne,Intimacy and Movement Director Anisa Tejpar, Violin Coach Kevin Wong, Fight Director Anita Nittoly, Dialect Coach Jennifer Toohey, and Rehearsal Support Facilitator Marinda de Beer.
 
SLAVE PLAY runs September 27 through October 19 at the Berkeley Street Theatre. Performances take place Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30pm with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00pm.  A Black Out Night will be held on October 7th.