Past Productions

Deserter

Deserter follows Curtis Colby, a fictional war-deserter who is detained for using a fake passport. Colby finds himself in a tug-of-war between a holding cell in the present-day, his time in Iraq, and a small town in Manitoba, where he and his wife Jessica are desperately trying to lead a normal life.

Deserter explores moral behaviour in a complex world, raising questions about the relationship between civilians and soldiers in countries with (supposedly) volunteer armies. When should a soldier say no? What morality can we hope for in war? And what is the role of ordinary citizens?

Deserter premiered in 2018 in Winnipeg. Its development would not have been possible without input and guidance from Joshua Key, Alexina Key, A. Al-Azraki, Chris Gerrard-Pinker, Brad Fraser, Amar Khoday, Michael Eleff, Rory Runnells and Linsea Allen.

Good People Bad Things

In this personal-political monologue, playwright and activist Daniel Thau-Eleff wrestles with the question of evil: Adolf Eichmann and the Nazis, the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and a couple whose relationship becomes abusive. Why do good people do bad things?

“A beautiful tapestry of hope and hopelessness” 4 stars – CBC
“Ambitious, political, intense” 4 stars – Winnipeg Free Press
“Disturbing and funny, engaging both emotionally and intellectually” – Winnipeg Jewish Review
“Take this opportunity to see him” – Mooney on Theatre

Performed in Winnipeg, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, Halifax, Vancouver, Charlottetown and Brandon from 2012-2016.

King’s Park

The story of a doctor, diagnosed with an illness, who has to learn to take his own medicine.

Dr Michael Zipkin is a psychiatrist. He goes from appointment to consultation to meeting, all day, every day. While his younger, hotshot self is still with him, Dr Zipkin is now in his sixties and idealism has faded into the reality of working in an institution. Meanwhile, Dr Zipkin is beginning to experience symptoms – the shaking hand (or “tremor”) of Parkinson’s Disease. As he wrestles with the diagnosis, Zipkin recalls scenes from his childhood and young adulthood, discusses the lessons he has learned and receives visits from a costumed superhero.

Premiered in Winnipeg in 2011.

Remember the Night

The only women in Fred’s life are his mother and a prostitute. Then one day a cop comes knocking on his door: there’s been a murder.

Fred Mandelbaum is depressed and lonely and worried about the future. Rosemary (Fred’s non-Jewish mother in the Jewish old folks home) has Alzheimer’s, and Fred’s worried about that too. The only person he can talk to is a prostitute named Cyndi, whom he hires for companionship, conversation, maybe even love. And blow jobs. The play begins when a polite and violent cop knocks on Fred’s door: Cyndi has been murdered and Fred is a suspect. A dark comedy set in the ultimate metaphor for 21st century isolation: Winnipeg.

Premiered in the Winnipeg Fringe in 2008 (Harry S Rintoul Award), independent professional premiere in Winnipeg in 2010.

My Affair with George Bernard

Comedy and drama from beyond the grave, featuring George Bernard Shaw and his leading lady Florence.

She acted in three of his plays. They went for bicycle rides together. He told her she was his “best and dearest love.” And then it was over. What happened between Florence Farr and George Bernard Shaw? Many years later, things have gone topsy turvy. Florence has come back to Shaw’s home after his death. She is conducting a seance, reading from his plays and reminiscing, hoping to invoke the spirit of George Bernard. In a collage of history, fiction and excerpts from Shaw’s plays, Florence is finally going to tell it all.

Staged reading of the first draft: MTC’s Shaw Fest, 2012.

Three Ring Circus: Israel, the Palestinians and My Jewish Identity

An hour of my stories about politics and girls.

A personal/political coming of age story. A young Jewish Winnipegger wrestles with his own connection to Israeli-Palestinian politics, trying to figure out his place in the world, while trying (and failing) to “make peace” with pretty girls.

Premiered at the Winnipeg Fringe in 2004 (Harry S Rintoul Award), toured to the Montreal, Toronto, Minneapolis and New York City Fringes in 2005 and Vancouver’s Chutzpah! Arts Fest in 2006.

Counting the Ways: A Vaudeville

A love (and marriage and maybe eventually love again) story.

Presented in MTC’s AlbeeFest, 2004.

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