RARE Theatre Company And Soulpepper Theatre Company Present AFTER THE BLACKOUT

Every one of us will have a crash and burn moment;breaking precious ties - Are those ties broken forever?

RARE Theatre is thrilled to announce the World Premiere of Judith Thompson's barrier smashing new play After the Blackout. The production will open at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts on May 8th and run until May 28th 2018.

When the worst we can imagine happens to our bodies, will we ever feel powerful again? We can climb a mountain with no legs, we can cycle with no vision, do algebra with brain damage, find our way in the dark with no hearing, but the greatest power must come from the courage to mend what we have broken.

A cast of artists who are blind, deaf, brain injured, and living without limbs shows us what it is to see, hear, think and touch. Judith Thompson returns to her roots with this hard-hitting drama through which she has threaded true stories bravely shared by the cast.

The six-person all-star ensemble features Prince Amponsah (Sheets, Changeling: A Grand Guignol for Murderous Times, Hangman), Yousef Kadoura (we could be clouds, Exit the King, The Laramie Project), Mary Beth Rubens (E.N.G., Richard III, Prom Night), Catherine Joell MacKinnon (Silence, Murdoch Mysteries, co-founder and the Festival Director of the Toronto International Deaf Film and Arts Festival), Tamyka Bullen (Sound of the Beast, poet and social justice activist for over 20 years) and making her stage debut is poet Melanie Lepp.

Rounding out the team is multi-award winning set designer Sue LePage (Beauty and the Beast, Disgraced) two time Dora nominated costume designer Jenna McCutchen (Polar, Frankie Drake Mysteries) and the innovative sound designer of Wildfire, Andy Trithardt (Prairie Nurse, Brantwood). Joining the RARE Theatre team is the critically acclaimed lighting and projection designer Melissa Joakim (This is the Point, A Side of Dreams).

After the Blackout by Judith ThompsonDirector Judith Thompson | Set Designer Sue LePageCostume Designer Jenna McCutchen | Lighting Designer Melissa JoakimSound Designer Andy Trithardt | Producer Brett HaynesPreviews May 8, 9, 10, 2018 | Running May 8 - 26, 2018 | Mon - Sat at 8pmWed + Sat at 2 pm | ASL Performances: May 18, 19, 25, 2018Ticket Prices: General $50 | Arts Workers/Students/ODSP Card Holders $25Previews/Wed. matinees $26 | Mon. Matinees $25Advance Tickets: soulpepper.ca or raretheatre.org.