Nightwood Theatre Announces 2018/19 Season, SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY and More

Artistic Director Kelly Thornton and Managing Director Beth Brown are proud to announce Nightwood Theatre's 2018/19 season. In our penultimate season before our 40th anniversary, we have assembled an ambitious lineup of some of the most dynamic female voices working in theatre today. Nightwood is proud to support and partner with an ever-burgeoning community of artists and like-minded arts organizations to develop high-caliber contemporary theatre.

Nightwood Theatre's Artistic Director Kelly Thornton says, "As storytellers, we are driven by an inherent desire to change the world: To create a dialogue about pertinent issues, to build bridges between our differences, to confront injustices, and collectively celebrate our humanity. The stories we share this season represent vast and intricate worlds conceived and created by a bevy of powerful women. Like a prism, they reflect women's lived experiences from a multitude of perspectives: and each selection bounces and reflects light towards the others revealing where our humanity intersects."

NIGHTWOOD THEATRE'S 2018/19 SEASON

NOW YOU SEE HER

Created by Lisa Karen Cox, Maggie Huculak, Raha Javanfar, Amy Nostbakken, Norah Sadava and Cheyenne Scott

Co-produced by Nightwood Theatre, Quote Unquote Collective, and Why Not Theatre

October 16-November 4, 2018 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre

They are the invisible, the vanishing and the disappeared. In an insurrectionary outburst of original music, words and movement, six characters in Now You See Her explore some of the diverse ways women fade from sight in our culture. They sing, dance and thrust themselves into the elements as they travel through the seasons of their lives. Their voices are defiant. Their question is simple: why and how do we allow our power to disappear without a fight?

Now You See Her follows Quote Unquote Collective's acclaimed international hit Mouthpiece.

For Quote Unquote Collective:

Winner of 3 Dora Mavor Moore Awards

Nominated for 9 Dora Mavor Moore Awards

A note on ticket prices for Now You See Her: In order to ensure accessibility, Quote Unquote Collective, Nightwood Theatre, and Why Not Theatre invite you to Pay-What-You-Can-Afford. You can pick any one of four prices-$10, $25, $40, $75-whichever suits your budget. All tickets are general admission, and there are no limits on any price level. Pick the price you can afford to pay for your ticket and book your seat. Prices are inclusive of HST.

GRACE

Written by Jane Doe, Directed by Andrea Donaldson

A Nightwood Theatre production in association with Crow's Theatre

January 8-26, 2019 at Streetcar Crowsnest

"There was no justice, there was just a legal outcome." In the wake of a young woman's disclosure of childhood sexual assault, a family presses charges. But as they put the case together, they must confront a new challenge. Grace is an exquisite piece of documentary theatre about the pursuit of truth and justice that unflinchingly examines our legal system - its loopholes and its failures - through the lens of a playwright searching for how to share her family's story.

Single tickets for Grace are on sale now at crowstheatre.com.

SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY

Written by Jocelyn Bioh

Produced by Obsidian Theatre in association with Nightwood Theatre

March 5-24, 2019 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre

Paulina, the reigning Queen Bee at Ghana's most exclusive boarding school, has her sights set on the Miss Universe pageant. But the mid-year arrival of Ericka, a new student with undeniable talent and beauty, captures the attention of the pageant recruiter - and Paulina's hive-minded friends. Jocelyn Bioh's buoyant and biting comedy explores the universal similarities (and glaring differences) facing teenage girls across the globe. How far would you go to be Queen Bee?

Nominated for 4 Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Play

Nominated for 4 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Play

A BLOW IN THE FACE

Written by Lisa Ryder, Directed by Monica Dottor

Produced by Bald Ego Theatre in association with Nightwood Theatre

March 26-April 14, 2019 at The Theatre Centre

Alice's life is perfect. She has a wonderful husband and a gorgeous new baby. The only thing is: her husband has left on a work trip and the baby is colicky. Alice cannot sleep. Into her chaotic world arrive two fantastical creatures who take an unnatural interest in her child. In a play described as Rosemary's Babymeets Fight Club, playwright Lisa Ryder explores the taboo subject of postpartum depression and the extreme places the mind can go. A Blow in the Face is a searing and irreverent take on a subject to which every parent will relate.

INNER ELDER

Written by Michelle Thrush, Directed by Karen Hines

Co-presented by Nightwood Theatre and Native Earth Performing Arts

May 8-12, 2019 at Aki Studio

Inner Elder takes audiences on a journey of transformation through laughter and real-life memories of Gemini Award-winning Cree artist Michelle Thrush as she explores her own inner elder. Using a delicate blend of Bouffon and Indigenous clowning, this performance offers a heightened experience in the theatre and an extraordinary vision of our world.

THE GROUNDSWELL FESTIVAL: Write from the Hip Reading Series

Readings from our 2017/18 Emerging Playwrights program

Facilitated by Andrea Donaldson

September 24-30, 2018

Dancemakers Theatre, The Distillery District

Be the first to hear new work from some of the most exciting emerging female playwrights in the city. The 2017/18 Write from the Hip playwrights are Intisar Awisse, Monica Garrido, Meghan Greeley, Ali Joy Richardson, Chelsea Woolley, and collaborators Andrea Scott and Nick Green.

Write from the Hip is a year-long script development program designed to support new writers toward the completion of a full-length play. Don't miss this week of new Canadian plays!

Visit nightwoodtheatre.net for the full Groundswell Festival schedule in September 2018.

2018/19 TICKETS AND SEASON PASSES

Season Passes (Now You See Her | Grace | School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play | A Blow in the Face | Inner Elder) $125 (plus HST), or $100 (plus HST) for Under 30 - passes are on sale now!

Call Nightwood Theatre at 416-944-1740 ext. 5, or purchase online at nightwoodtheatre.net.

Single Tickets range from PWYC to $40 and will go on sale in Fall 2018 (single tickets for Grace are on sale now at crowstheatre.com).

ABOUT NIGHTWOOD THEATRE

As Canada's foremost feminist theatre, Nightwood provides an essential home for the creation of extraordinary theatre by women. Founded in 1979, Nightwood Theatre has created and produced award-winning plays, which have won Dora Mavor Moore, Chalmers, Trillium and Governor General's Awards. The company is led by Artistic Director Kelly Thornton and Managing Director Beth Brown, who have received public acclaim in artistic excellence, advocacy, and the successful training and development of emerging female talent.

For more information on our productions and artist development activities, visit nightwoodtheatre.net.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos