Presented by Constructive Interference Theatre Company in association with Neil McPherson for the Finborough Theatre European Premiere The December Man/L'homme de Decembre Colleen Murphy Directed by Lavinia Hollands The European premiere of the winner of Canada’s most prestigious literary award – the Governor General's Literary Award for English Language Drama – Colleen Murphy’s The December Man/L’homme de Décembre opens at the Finborough Theatre for a limited run of six Sunday and Monday performances from Sunday, 6 March 2011 (Press Night: Monday, 7 March 2011) as part of “In Their Place”, a three month season of work by women playwrights. On 6 December 1989, a young man, 25-year-old Marc Lépine entered a college classroom at the The École Polytechnique, Montréal, Canada, carrying a gun. He separated the male and female students and claiming that he was "fighting feminism", shot all nine women in the room, killing six. He then moved through corridors, the cafeteria, and another classroom, specifically targeting women to shoot. Overall, he killed fourteen women and injured ten other women and four men in just under twenty minutes before turning the gun on himself... Jean, a promising young
student, survives the attack, but is crippled by guilt. Struggling to survive the aftermath,
Benoît and Kathleen do everything they can to help their beloved son cope with
guilt and rage...but Jean's young life becomes unglued. Using humour and the
humdrum of everyday life, the play intuitively moves backwards in time to the
fateful day when Jean, the only ray of hope in this working class family,
escaped the massacre...or thought he did. This searing drama on courage,
heroism and despair explores the long private shadows that public violence
casts. Colleen’s distinct, award-winning films have
played in festivals around the world and include Out in the Cold, Girl with
Dog, War Holes, Desire, Shoemaker, The Feeler and
Putty Worm. The play has been
translated into French and German. Two of her plays have been seen as staged
readings at the Finborough Theatre – The
December Man (L’homme de décembre) in the first Vibrant – A Festival of
Finborough Playwrights
in 2009, and Beating
Heart Cadaver in 2010’s
Vibrant
– An Anniversary Festival of Finborough Playwrights. The Press on The December Man/L'homme de décembre “The December Man/L'homme de décembre) is a tragedy in which the humanity of the characters gives the play a surprising buoyancy. Heartbreaking yet never sentimental, spare yet complex, with a flawless structure, this is a brave and important play." Jury Citation for the Governor General’s Award “Colleen Murphy's superb study of how the ripple effect of an awful event can destroy families far beyond the inner circle of victims…heartbreaking” Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun “It is perhaps fitting that Murphy has chosen to tell her story of lives turned upside down by throwing her tale into reverse, beginning it with a tragic ending and ending it with the tragedy's beginning – at the very moment happiness ended. …From there, Murphy takes us back in increments of time, with each stop along the way providing us an opportunity to scrape away more scar tissue and examine the exact nature of the wounds that have been slowly eating away their souls. … this extraordinary work.” John Colbourne, The Toronto Sun “Colleen Murphy's The December Man is a play prompted by the 1989 Montreal Massacre. It invents a story peripheral to the main event and tells it backwards. That may sound doubly, if not triply, perverse. In fact the choices turn out to be inspired and the execution, by both the author and her interpreters, virtually flawless….There could be many other ways of dramatizing that one horrific December day, but it's hard to believe that there could be one more effective.” Robert Cushman, The National Post  Laura knows it's her fault and wants to say sorry. Rowena's stuck in a house of boxes selling a million things on eBay and never sees a soul, except Geoff, who's pissing his life up the side of his transit van. When Laura plucks up the courage to explain what happened, a box is thrown open spilling everything they want to keep safe out into the light. It won't be the same anymore. They're back in the world, and their Asperger's and Bell's palsy aren't reasons enough for them to stop facing it head on. "well-drawn, unique and quirky characters... well-crafted and dramatically interesting" Jenny Sealy, Artistic Director, Graeae Theatre Company. "Having had Bells Palsy myself I know that anything that stops it feeling like a complete smack in the face is worth seeing" Armando Ianucci. Endorsed by the national charity for people with disfigurements Changing Faces, the National Autistic Society and Autism London. For bookings email us at: constructiveinterference1@gmail.com |