Once upon a time, in a lonely attic room, a tiny spark fired along a neural pathway, deep inside the head of some imaginative Canadian, as she sat staring at the stars.  A new idea. An image, a feeling, maybe a story…the start of something never told before, never seen nor heard. A dazzling bounce—into what’s now, what’s new, what’s next.
At the Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays, we bring those sparks to vivid life, right before your very eyes. We bring you an abundant showcase of the most original, inventive and captivating new Canadian theatre, as it comes barreling onto the stage for the first time.
For more information, visit www.atplive.com.
Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre By Larry Tremblay, translated by Chantal Bilodeau
Scratch the surface of any story and underneath you find layer upon layer of fact... or fiction. Mark Killman - a feared but much admired director  - draws inspiration from Abraham Lincoln's assassination to create a show about the schizophrenia of America. He hires two actors to reenact the assassination through the comic characters of Laurel and Hardy. And he keeps for himself the role of Abraham Lincoln's wax figure.
Absurdly hilarious and haunting, this play is an unforgettable mystery that asks the question: How can we ever know who we are and what is true when the world we know is shifting beneath us?
Tyland By Greg MacArthur
After she is arrested on a mischief charge, pregnant artist Ami is given the option of paying fines she cannot afford or going to live on a small northern island. This government program is part of a plan to claim the far north by ensuring it is inhabited by women and children. Ami shares the small, wild island with Karen, a woman desperate to build a meaningful life. When their uneasy co-habitation is rocked by tragedy, they must learn how to protect themselves against the hostile world around them and each other. This smart, surreal thriller tests our ideas about sharing and ownership.
How Do I Love Thee By Florence Gibson
The union of poets Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning was a marriage of two of the most gifted artists and passionate lovers in literary history. Caught up in magnificent words, and each other, the couple escapes their dreary lives in England to a thrilling new life together in Italy. But when the bright romance and excitement of their whirlwind courtship fades, fears and addictions creep out of the shadows and threaten their work, their love, and their lives. Two great poets struggle with the deep and mysterious forces that lie beneath theirs words of love and ask the question: How do I love thee? Vibrant and poetic, this play brings a contemporary energy to a classic tale of romance.
The Highest Step in the World By David van Belle & Eric Rose, in association with Ghost River Theatre
Launch into space for a unique solo performance in an immersive environment created by aerial choreography, light and animated projections! Inspired by the true story of test pilot Joseph Kittinger and his historic 100,000 ft. jump from a weather balloon, our playwrights-in-residence explore the lives of several characters grappling with the nature of risk and the leap of faith that we all make in our lives. An epic story that celebrates the ingenuity of our minds and the resilience of our hearts!