After witnessing the murder of a popular conservative politician, Skyler finds herself haunted by a fog, a growing whisper in her mind; one that exposes the rifts in her relationship with her partner Jenn, and their life together. When Hayden the polarizing assassin is arrested, the public is whipped into a fervour; something that two political commentators, Rachael and Nicole, are keen to capitalize on.
Shared ambition throws Rachael, Nicole, and Skyler together on a path toward an unobtainable political goal, while Skyler tries desperately to block out the growing fog in her mind.
CERBERUS is a highly theatrical journey that manifests the psychological, the mythic, and the political onstage — to monstrous levels.
***
This production is part of the New Worlds Festival.
When I began writing CERBERUS, I had no idea the political events that would unfold in the year to come. Increasingly, the world that I created began to resemble the real world, necessitating conversation between the play and the news cycle as it developed. The chasm between an action and the way that media/social media portrays it, became fertile ground for development.
This play is deeply concerned about image. How can we tell a story in an image? What can an image inspire? What is the gap between a real event and an image of it? How do I curate my own image? What is left out of this image? How is this curation a tactic of avoidance? We all have wounds; ones we do not want the world to see. It is our responsibility to treat them, without inflicting harm upon others, even if we, ourselves, are in deep pain.
I hope that this play can inspire a fraction of true self-reflection—for what we are, rather than what we want desperately to be. My deepest gratitudes to Emma Welham, Eric Micha Holmes, Andrea Romaldi, and everyone on the amazing team that brought CERBERUS to life.
– Noah Deas
When you were a kid, did you ever get hit on the playground? What was your response? To hit back? To get someone else to beat them up? To tell on them to a teacher? What did it mean to you to achieve justice; to get even? Above all, what did you think was right?
Cerberus examines the above through an adult lens, where the playground becomes our current political climate, fueled as it is by the rhetoric of social media. This is a world of us vs them. A world where everything is black and white, violence reigns and how you present yourself must be a carefully considered armour.
And yet, in that space between black and white, in those chinks in the armour, kernels of hope for a better world exist. They exist through the voices and actions of those who keep their hearts open despite the pain. Who try and try again to do the right thing. They exist in those who listen and those who see. May we all look for that light in the darkness. – Emma Welham, Director
The New Words Festival is the culminating project of the graduating class of the National Theatre School of Canada’s English Section. Two brand-new, never-before-produced plays run in repertory during the students’ final week at the School, just days before graduation. Written by students in NTS’s Playwriting Program, and realized by students in the Acting, Production Design and Technical Arts, and Set and Costume Design programs, the plays produced at the New Words Festival mark the end of the students’ formal training and the beginning of their professional careers. A showcase for exciting new talent, New Words is particularly poignant for the playwrights whose plays reach the public for the very first time during their tenure at NTS. Join us in celebrating these artists who will shape the future of Canadian theatre by taking in both exciting productions on offer this year!
–Andrea Romaldi, Director of the Playwriting program
Duration: 90 minutes
Hydro-Québec Studio
Monument-National Campus
(St-Laurent metro)
1182 Saint-Laurent, Montréal
The show is in English.
CW:
Use of Strobe and Haze
recommended 18+
Everything seen on stage and all that goes on behind the scenes is created by students in Playwriting, Production Design and Technical Arts, Set and Costume Design, and Acting, under the guidance of professional guest artists.
Thanks to our solidarity ticketing system , you can choose from four pricing tiers the one that best fits your situation.
The available prices are as follows:
Accessible: $8.85
Regular: $26.10
Solidarity: $49.09
Impact: $95.08
Every ticket purchased supports our programs while helping make theatre more inclusive and accessible to all.
Please note that tickets must be purchased online by credit card.
Questions or need help? Contact Place des Arts customer service team.
Noah DeasP3
Ainsley DaumlerA3
Nicole
Laurel FifeA3
Jenn, Tara, Penelope
Kritika KhannaA3
Rachael
Sophie Mae ReppertA3
Skyler
Brendan RushA3
Hayden
Emma WelhamDIR
Director
Maya PadlewskaSCD3
Costume Designer
Daria FamiliSCD3
Props Designer
Joao VelosoPDTA3
Lighting Designer
Shivonne StevensPDTA3
Video Designer
Katie WebbPDTA3
Sound Designer
Duncan GouldIR
Production Manager
Nico NogueraPDTA3
Technical Director
Danika RoyerPDTA3
Stage Manager
Fernando Maya Meneses (Set and Costume Design, 2023)
Set Designer
Eric Micha Holmes
Dramaturg
Castor AngusPDTA1
Assistant Stage Manager
Teddy MacRaePDTA2
Head Carpenter
Kathleen GreeningPDTA2
Head of Lighting
Sara StarlingPDTA2
Head of Video
Matthew IvanoffPDTA2
Head of Sound
Clara IacominiCP1
Scenic Painter
Kyra MevisPDTA1
Carpenter/Video Assistant
Caitlyn GrantPDTA1
Carpenter/Sound Assistant
Zoé Cajelait-AschPDTA1
Carpenter/Lighting Assistant
Molly Bowden CummingsPDTA1
Carpenter/Crew
Julie PaterPDTA1
Carpenter/Crew
Aydin DezellPDTA2
Carpenter
Maiyah JohnsonPDTA2
Carpenter
Andrea Lundy
Program Director and Production Management
Rebecca Harper
Movement
Nancy Benjamin
Voice
Jonathan Patterson
Music
Henrique Santsper
Fight Director/Intimacy Coach
Marjorie Lefebvre
Technical Coach
Angela Rassenti (Set and Costume Design, 2008)
Properties
Véronique Pagnoux
Scenic Painting
Guillaume Simard (Création et production, 2010)
Head Carpenter – Scene Shop
Christian Larochelle
Scene Shop Carpenter
Guillaume Ménard-Crête
MN Stage Carpenter
Camille Pilon-Laurin
MN Head of Lighting
Bianca Bernier
MN Head of Sound
Julia Metzger
Costume Project Manager
Michael Slack (Set and Costume Design, 2001)
Costume Project Manager
Hugues Auguste
Costume Workshop Assistant
Jessica Poirier-Chang (Set and Costume Design, 2006)
Costume Design
Andrew Scriver (Production Design and Technical Arts, 2015)
Lighting Design
Andy Moro
Video Design
Richard Feren
Sound Design
Neha Ross
Stage Management
Joshua McIntosh
Technical Direction
Michel Proulx
Cutter
Marie-Helene Gervais
Stitcher
Raphaëlle Rieu
Stitcher
Nadine Jafar
Eco Project Manager
Legend: A Acting, SCD Set and Costume Design, PDTA Production Design & Technical Arts, DIR Directing, PW Playwriting, CPCréation et production, IR Independent Resident, NP New Pathway, NPR New Pathway Resident // 1 First-year student, 2 Second-year student, 3 Third-year student
The land on which we are gathered has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst nations. It is part of the traditional unceded territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka, whose rich cultural heritage continues to teach us that respect, dialogue and peace are pillars of democratic governance.
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