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The World Premiere Of SLAUGHTER BROTHERS DIME CIRCUS is Coming To Toronto's Grand Canyon Theatre

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The World Premiere Of SLAUGHTER BROTHERS DIME CIRCUS is Coming To Toronto's Grand Canyon Theatre Image

The circus is coming to town and it's arriving unhinged... Baby Monster Productions will present the world premiere of Slaughter Brothers Dime Circus by Sean Sullivan with original music by Matthew Reid and Sean Sullivan. Directed by Harri Thomas and featuring the talents of Lynne Griffin, Stefne Mercedes, Matthew Reid, Sean Sullivan, and Tim Walker. This original play is a highly theatrical blend of circus, vaudeville, clown and horror elevated by original music akin to that of Nick Cave or the bone music of Tom Waits. Thanks, in part, to a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts, Slaughter Brothers Dime Circus will be premiering March 25 - April 8, 2020 at Toronto's newest artist-run indie theatre venue, Grand Canyon (2 Osler Street, Toronto).

Welcome to the Slaughter Brothers Dime Circus: part bedtime story, part Clockwork Orange. Half Looney Tunes, half nightmare. The Slaughter Brothers Dime Circus spares no expense to satisfy your deepest, most abnormal curiosities. When the members of an overworked travelling circus are forced to improvise after their boss unceremoniously fires almost the entire troupe, what follows is a play that transplants its audience into a surreal world of fantasy and retribution. Equal parts Bugs Bunny and Murder Ballad, Slaughter Brothers Dime Circus is a meta-theatrical reflection on the nature of power and revenge.

With an original script by critically acclaimed theatre performer/creator Sean Sullivan and Music and Lyrics by Sean Sullivan and Matthew Reid, Slaughter Brothers Dime Circus is a theatrical experience that explores what it means to dream, to lust and to be punished. In a world filled with corrupt CEO's and the unwanted male gaze, this circus indulges your best revenge fantasy and turns it on its head.

Highly stylized and visually striking, this production incorporates intricate stage illusions, classic clown lazzis, horror-infused projections and live music culminating in an intrinsically unique theatrical experience in the intimate venue of the Grand Canyon Theatre.

Director Harri Thomas notes, "In Slaughter Brother's Dime Circus , the audience is taken on a journey from the moment they enter the space, immersing them in the world of a dilapidated and ageless travelling circus which has temporarily taken over the Grand Canyon Theatre. In doing so, they enter a world where comedy, terror and rage are braided together in familiar and unexpected ways. In order to support the show's wide formal sweep (which ranges from clown and mime to musical and horror) we have striven to combine arte povera and magical realism. All the parts are laid bare, with the show's elements of the magical and strange emerging from the explicit combination of modern technology and old school vaudeville. This logic of anachronism creates a self contained other world, which unfolds and unravels in real time. An aesthetic of collapse, as curated by Bugs Bunny."

Slaughter Brothers Dime Circus

Wednesday, March 25 - Wednesday, April 8, 2020 at Grand Canyon Theatre, 2 Osler St. Toronto

Written by: Sean Sullivan
Music by: Matthew Reid & Sean Sullivan
Lyrics by: Sean Sullivan
Directed by: Harri Thomas
Starring: Lynne Griffin, Stefne Mercedes, Matthew Reid, Sean Sullivan, Tim Walker
Produced by: Matt Pilipiak
Stage Management by: Jenn Hewitt
Set Design by: Sebastian Marziali
Projection Design by: Kyle Duffield & Madison Cooke
Costume Design by: Lynne Griffin
Promotional & production stills can be downloaded HERE.
Promotional Photography by: John Gundy
Slaughter Brothers Dime Circus runs approx. 80 minutes with no intermission.

Showtimes are
Wednesday March 25, 8:00pm *Preview Performance*
Thursday March 26, 8:00pm *Opening*
Friday March 27, 8:00pm
Saturday March 28, 8:00pm
Tuesday March 31, 8:00pm
Wednesday April 1, 8:00pm
Thursday April 2, 8:00pm
Friday April 3, 8:00pm
Saturday April 4, 8:00pm
Monday April 6, 8:00pm *Industry Night*
Tuesday April 7, 8:00pm
Wednesday April 8, 8:00pm

Tickets are $25.00 (preview tickets are $20.00; Industry Night tickets are $15.00) and can be purchased online at https://sbdimecircus.brownpapertickets.com

Theater Fans' Choice Awards
2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats
Best Off-Broadway Musical - Top 3
1. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee - New World Stages
22.3% of votes
2. Mexodus - Minetta Lane Theatre
11.4% of votes
3. Bat Boy - City Center
7.9% of votes

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