Release

For Immediate Release:

It’s a busy time of year for jsquared.theatre, with two (2) productions (both plays about Iraq) opening in the same week, in two (2) different cities! jsquared.theatre’s dust opens January 7th as part of the Wildside Festival, at the Centaur Theatre, Montreal, while its play gas, opens January 8th as part of the Next Stage Theatre Festival at the Factory Theatre! For more information on dust please visit: http://www.centaurtheatre.com/wildside_festival.html

December 4, 2009 - The 343 Co-op and jsquared.theatre are proud to present the Toronto premiere of gas, written and directed by Jason Maghanoy and starring Kevin Walker, Andrew Church, Sabryn Rock, Prince Amponsah and Marc Senior. Stage management by Kat Chin, Lighting Design by Alaina Perttula.

When gas premiered in 2007 (produced by Montreal’s Infinitheatre and directed by Canadian Theatre great Guy Sprung), it was hailed as “an achievement” (Pierre Landry - CBC Montreal), as well as a “fast-paced, character-driven Middle East misadventure” striking “an impeccable balance between intimacy and claustrophobia” (Brett Hooton - Hour). The Montreal Mirror concluded that gas "tells a specific story about one conflict that becomes a universal comment on the nature of war... Do not miss this show” (Amy Barrett - Montreal Mirror). In short, gas was one of the theatrical events of Montreal’s 07/08 theatre season; a vibrant and important play that sought to challenge and provoke its audience.

A highly theatrical, violent and ultimately moving examination of the young men and women currently fighting in Iraq, gas follows two American soldiers who kill two Iraqis and dump their bodies in a bombed out building. This story is inter-cut with that of Rocky, a young soldier who goes AWOL after refusing to escort a tanker full of contaminated diesel to another military base. This play examines the collision of these two stories, the tragic aftermath.

The Toronto premiere will be radically different from its world premiere (which featured the actors in full army fatigues, performing in a pool filled with sand). Not only will Toronto see a brand-new version of the script, but location and feel will be created by minimal costume elements, creative and dynamic lighting design and by the performers, moving and creating in space, physically working together as a chorus.

“gas is about these young soldiers struggling to endure” says playwright and director Jason Maghanoy. “They are doing all that they can to survive in the darkest of times... and sometimes this involves becoming a part of the darkness.”

Stay tuned: after its Toronto premiere, gas will be produced in-translation in Japan, at the People’s Theatre, Tokyo, opening on May 24, 2010.

Get your tickets now!

http://www.fringetoronto.com/nstf/nstf_tickets.html