Stage Door News
Stage Door News
THE TIES THAT BIND is creator-performer James Ince’s semi-autobiographical solo show about the facts and fictions society tells itself regarding mental illness happening January 27-31st at the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. Eight years of love, humiliation, growth and painful existence have gone into the creation of this brutally dark comedy about living life as less-than-“normal”. Tickets are available starting Dec. 16 online at passemuraille.ca, or by phone at 416-504-7529.
Sam Ward has spent most of his life trying to deal with the fact that he is not normal, which is normal to him. Plagued by peers, bosses, and parents who cannot understand how he is feeling — but condemn him for it — Sam finds himself alone and broken. With humour and humanity to guide him, Sam tells a true story of surviving mental illness, rather than the stigma of suffering from it.
Mental illness still carries a negative connotation in today's society despite affecting 1 in 4 Canadians. With that stigma, comes shame; and out of that shame comes lack of treatment, support and understanding for those who need it. “We must all learn and relearn how to have compassion. “With that compassion, we can help create a better world, in which to live better, to live gently and well. And to be well,” says Ince — whose first play, Fragile, premiered at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2001. THE TIES THAT BIND continues an ongoing conversation in the public forum that can help create compassion, awareness, understanding and support.
James Ince (The Winged Man, SummerWorks; The Penis Project, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre) plays Sam Ward – as well as everyone else – under the directorial debut of Tony Matthews (as writer/actor: Robbie Jensen: The 12 Steps of Christmas, The NoHo Arts Center; The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Palm Canyon Theatre — Desert Theatre League Nominee). Set and lighting design by multi-award winning designer Andy Moro (NOW Magazine’s Top 10 Theatre Artists). Stage managed by Alice Ferreyra (City of Angels, Theatre By The Bay; Seussical Jr., Capitol Theatre).
Performance information for THE TIES THAT BIND
Venue: Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace (16 Ryerson Ave, Toronto)
Dates: January 28 – 31 (Preview January 27)
Tuesday – Saturday @ 7:30pm *please note early curtain time
Saturday matinee @ 2:00pm *PWYC at the door
Tickets: $20 - $30
Via www.artsboxoffice.ca, passemuraille.ca or 416-504-7529
Photo: The Ties That Bind. ©2014 Julia Fice.
2014-11-12
Toronto: Our Souls presents the world premiere of "The Ties That Bind" January 27-31