Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Human Cargo is thrilled to present the World Premiere of their newest project, The Runner at Theatre Passe Muraille in the Mainspace beginning November 25 – December 9 (Media night: November 29). The Runner is written by Christopher Morris, directed by Daniel Brooks, and stars Gord Rand.
This one-person play follows Jacob (Rand) - a member of the Orthodox Jewish Israeli volunteer force ZAKA, who collect the remains of Jews killed in accidents - as he grapples with the political and moral fall out of saving a woman’s life.
ZAKA - full name is "ZAKA - Identification, Extraction and Rescue - True Kindness" - formed in response to terror attacks taking place in Israel, which made identification of remains particularly difficult. Members of ZAKA, most of whom are Orthodox Jews, assist ambulance crews, aid in the identification of the victims of terrorism, road accidents and other disasters, and where necessary gather body parts and spilled blood for proper burial.
Since its formation, ZAKA has wrestled with the responsibility of following their triage principles founded on the Hippocratic oath, which dictate the most profoundly injured should be treated first, regardless of whether that individual may be the perpetrator of violence. This is the context in which playwright Morris wrote the script, which sees Jacob persecuted by his community after he saves a Palestinian girl who is suspected of stabbing an Israeli soldier.
Morris first learned about ZAKA in high school and was immediately fascinated by the organization. In 2009 he made his first trip to Israel and began his research and has since returned four times, including in 2016 with director Daniel Brooks and a trip earlier this month with Rand. During those research trips Morris was able to embed himself with members of ZAKA as well as spending time with the parent’s of 18 year-old Palestinian suicide-bomber Ayat Al-Akhras – experiencing the story from both sides.
“Fundamentally this play is about how hard it is to live a moral life when the world around you is demanding you to compromise your morality,” says Morris. “Though the play is set in Israel - where daily life is frought with moral compromise - the pursuit of moral courage and the cost of not pursuing it, is an equally timely issue in North America as our political system, and society, slide into populist tribalism.”
The Runner re-unites Morris, Brooks, and Rand who have collaborated twice previously, first in Necessary Angel’s production of Hamlet - produced during Brooks’ tenure as AD - and Morris and Rand were both cast (Rand as Hamlet) and again in Brooks’ acclaimed 2015 Stratford production of Oedipus Rex starring Morris and Rand who played Oedipus.
Dora Award-winning designer Gillian Gallow (Hadrian, Stage Kiss) brings a particularly distinctive central design element to the production – a twenty-four foot treadmill which Rand will be in motion on the for entirety of the 80 minutes of the show. Brooks, Morris, and Gallow are joined backstage by 2018 Siminovitch Prize-nominated sound designer Alexander MacSween (The Last Wife) and stage manager Judy Farthing – both of whom worked on Oedipus Rex.
The Runner will run from November 25 – December 9 (Media night: November 29) at Theatre Passe Muraille on the main stage. (16 Ryerson Ave.). Performances are Tuesday – Sunday at 7:30pm, with preview performances on Sunday December 2nd and 9th at 2:00pm. Tickets from $17 to $38 are available online at passemuraille.ca or in person at the Theatre Passe Muraille box office.
Twitter: @HCTheatreCo
Twitter Hashtag: #TheRunner
The Runner
A Human Cargo Production with the support of Theatre Passe Muraille
November 25 – December 9 (Media night: November 29)
Creative Team:
Playwright: Christopher Morris
Director / Dramaturge: Daniel Brooks
Set/Costume Design: Gillian Gallow
Lighting Design: Bonnie Beecher
Composer and Sound Design: Alexander MacSween
Stage Management: Judy Farthing
Assistant Stage Manager: Ada Aguilar
Production Manager: Remington North
Photo: Gord Rand.
2018-10-26
Toronto: Human Cargo presents Gord Rand in "The Runner" November 25-December 9