WHERE FAMILIES COME TO PLAY! 

Back for its second edition, the Geordie Theatre Fest offers families in the Greater Montreal Area something for everyone.

• Geordie’s 1^st-ever “baby show”: the Dora award-winning One Thing Leads to Another
• The English translation of Little Witch brings the magic of fairy tale for kids ages 6+
• Award-winning Canadian playwright Marcus Youssef’s World Premiere of The In- Between for teens!

FOR BABIES

Guided by a desire to create a show for ages 3 to 24 months, creator Maja Ardal says this audience base is not to be taken for grabted: “With my fellow theatre artists we have developed scenarios using music, rhythm, colour and objects to perform for the babies. My research and experience tells me that babies are a very focused audience, ambitious to understand the world they are in. But they also make it very clear. “If your actions do not have a purpose, I am not interested”. We have taken this guidance very seriously. Therefore this show is called One Thing Leads to Another.

Music, enticing visuals, and tactile experiences transform everyday objects into fabulous, fanciful phenomena for babies and adult companions alike in Geordie’s first-ever show for babies! When the show is over, kids and caregivers can experiment with objects from the play right on the set – to have their own additional play experience. One Thing Leads to Another is sure to engage, stimulate and delight baby and parent or adult companion alike.

Presentation duration: 60 minutes; includes 30 minutes of interactive PLAYTIME immediately following the 30-minute performance.

FOR KIDS (6+)

Every year, Geordie Theatre commissions two new plays from seasoned and/or emerging playwrights, invites some of Montreal’s finest directors to the studio, casts three up-and- coming actors and produces two plays, simultaneously, one for kids and one for teens, that are packed up in a 320-cubic foot van and hit the road for the Geordie 2Play Tour. Every year, three actors perform both plays in schools, community centres and libraries across cities and remote regions of Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes to some 35, 000 kids over a period of 7 months. The 2Play Tour is Canada’s longest running and furthest reaching annual theatre tour. It has been the starting point for many of Montreal’s theatre alumni. In February, after having traveled thousands of kilometres, Geordie’s 2018-19 2Plays will get unpacked and receive the professional mainstage treatment for a limited engagement.

Translated by Alexis Diamond from the French play Petite Sorcière by Pascal Brullemans, Little Witch is a heartwarming, poetic and thrilling fable for children about big choices, featuring highly imaginative performances, playful scenic design, and enchanting storytelling.

Upon the passing of her mother, Little Witch is forced to live with an Ogre. When the curious Hunter Boy strays to close to their dwelling, Little Witch is forced to make a difficult choice.

FOR TEENS (13+)

Following the outstanding success of his play Jabber, created with Geordie back in 2014 and seen by over 100 000 teens across North America and Europe since, recent recipient of the prestigious Siminovich prize for Excellence in Theatre, Canadian playwright Marcus Youssef returns to Geordie with The In-Between.

A play he considers a companion piece to Jabber, Youssef says that “Over the last six years the growth of alt-right, the rhetoric of the current US President, mass migration to Europe, and Canada’s decision to accept a relatively small number of refugees from Syria have all significantly affected altered our perception of immigration and what it means for a materially privileged country like ours. The In-Between imagines a single story about those events and how they may be affecting the folks in our society who, through the public school system, are most likely to experience their ramifications on a daily basis: young people.”

When Lily’s best friend Brit and the guy she likes Karim conflict over racist, anti-Muslim memes, a misunderstanding leads to a school lockdown.

GEORDIE THEATRE FEST

One Thing Leads to Another

A Collective Collaboration by Maja Ardal, Audrey Dwyer, Mary Francis Moore and Julia Tribe Developed from the original concept, research and theme by Maja Ardal Produced by Young People’s Theatre, Toronto Performers – Maja Ardal and Malindi Ayienga Music initiatives – Maja Ardal Director/Arts Education initiatives – Mary Francis Moore Design initiatives – Julia Tribe

Little Witch and The In-Between

Written, translated and dramaturgy by Pascal Brullemans and Marcus Youssef Translated by Alexis Diamond Dramaturgy by Emma Tibaldo Directed by Arianna Bardesono and Mike Payette Starring: Skyler Clark, Qianna MacGilchrist and Lex Roy Designers: Diana Uribe, Tim Rodrigues, Rob Denton and Amelia Scott Production Team: Amy-Susie Bradford, Laurence Thibault, Alexandre Michaud, Kelsey Rae, Mathieu Cardin and Holly Greco

VENUE: Monument-National’s Studio Hydro Québec, 1182 Boul St-Laurent, Montreal

TICKETS: FREE for babies / $13.50 children / $15.00 teens / $17.50 students & seniors / $19.50 adults

prices subject to taxes | Group rate (10 or more): 20% Off DURATION: 60 minutes (no intermissions)

BOX OFFICE and INFORMATION: 514 845-9810 or www.geordie.ca

Geordie Theatre is Montreal’s leading English-language professional Theatre for Young Audiences, entertaining and engaging the imaginations of children and their families since 1980! Geordie celebrates the art of theatre and its impact by working with emerging and established artists from various disciplines and cultural backgrounds to create theatre that is provocative, relevant and enchanting; inspiring dialogue between communities, children and parents as well as teachers and students of all ages.