NEWS RELEASE
THEATURTLE
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Alphonse, a one-person show by Canada’s most acclaimed contemporary playwright Wajdi Mouawad, will be returning to Toronto and other venues across Ontario this summer, including Barrie’s Talk Is Free Theatre, Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and Brampton’s Rose Theatre.
It will be performed by Gabe Maharajan (they/them) and artistic directed by multi-award-winning Alon Nashman (he/him).
"When we're little no one tells us very much, so we imagine.” — Opening of Alphonse by Wajdi Mouawad.
The Story: Alphonse is lost, walking along a country road, weaving an intricate web of stories, while everyone is searching for him: parents, friends, teachers, the police. What they find is the thing we often have to give up in order to grow up.
The Theaturtle production of Alphonse has been performed all over the world, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and South Africa's National Arts Festival. It was one of North America’s first live performances of a play after COVID-19 closed stages in 2020.
Theaturtle and Shakespeare in Action are thrilled to reunite to celebrate the resurgence of the performing arts in Ontario.
“Last summer, in the midst of the pandemic, almost 1,000 residents of Toronto safely enjoyed a live performance of Alphonse in two Toronto parks. This year, it is a great honour for us to be taking Alphonse to outdoor spaces throughout the province," says Valeriy Kostyuk, Theaturtle associate producer (he/him).
Alphonse will be performed by Montreal-based actor and creator Gabe Maharjan (The Great Gatsby, Talk is Free Theatre, E-TRANSFERS, Buddies in Bad Times). Gabe was short-listed for the Playwrights Guild of Canada 2020 Emerging Playwright Award for Eva in Rio.
Alon Nashman, artistic director of Theaturtle, has won awards and accolades for his performing and directing across the country and internationally. He has worked on six of Wajdi Mouawad’s plays, including a Dora-nominated performance in Scorched at Tarragon Theatre and in Stratford Festival's Birds of a Kind.
Summer Tour Schedule:
Aug. 5-8 at 801 Big Bay Point Rd., Barrie, 6 p.m.
** Tickets for Barrie performances can be reserved here.
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