Factory ends its innovative 20/21 season with a reimagining of the Canadian classic, THROUGH THE EYES by acclaimed playwright Don Druick. This radical new interpretation will be directed by award winning artist ahdri zhina mandiela, and star Zorana Sadiq as the Courtier. THROUGH THE EYES will be streaming live from Factory Theatre’s studio theatre for 6 performances, April 29 to May 8, 2021 at 7:30pm EST. Thanks to the generous support of the TD Bank Group, admission is being offered entirely free of charge to audiences across the country and beyond. 

THROUGH THE EYES is a play about seeing: about how a great artist offers a new way of looking at the world, and about how when we tell a story, we see new details and come to new conclusions about the story and our place within it. THROUGH THE EYES is told from the view of an unnamed courtier assigned to serve as Gianlorenzo Bernini’s translator while the great artist sculpts a portrait of King Louis XIV. In an opulent and dangerous world, bristling with cruelty and intrigue, tyrannized by passion and violence, the courtier steers Bernini through a maze of political conspiracies and consoles him through his many disputes with the impetuous and wilful King. Inspired by modern Influencer culture and using the lens of social media, mediating technology, and “curated feeds,” this contemporary re-interpretation of a Classic Canadian play invites audiences into a world of 21^st Century Baroque intrigue where the stakes are high and self-presentation is everything.

ahdri zhina mandiela (director) is best known as the founder & past artistic director of toronto based b current Performing Arts, mandiela is a revered poet/performer and stage director, who introduced the ever evolving dub theatre form with her seminal performance work: dark diaspora… in dub in 1991. Since the late 70’s her work has influenced scores of artists, emerging and established; especially as the visionary and driving force behind the highly buzzed rock.paper.sistahz festival and rAiz’n the Sun training. With three published books, this fiercely independent and award-winning artist has creations in dance, theatre, cd, film, & video; and continues to inspire younger artists writing and performing on theatre stages all over canada. current ventures include her new media project: my world .a village, a new performance script: fly, bringing initiates into the fray with black.stage.canada! and coaching at the national theatre school in montreal. 

Making her Factory Theatre debut, Zorana Sadiq (performer) is a Dora-winning actor and singer who has performed throughout Canada and the U.S. Her recent work includes Towards Youth (Crow’s Theatre/Project Humanity), Bend it Like Beckham (Starvox), CHILD-ish (Summerworks), Helen’s Necklace(Canadian Rep. Theatre), Afghanistan: Requiem for a Generation (Vancouver Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic), The Enchanted Loom (Cahoots Theatre/Factory Theatre), Dido and Aeneas: 21st Century Remix (Soulpepper Global Cabaret), Sultans of the Street (Young People’s Theatre), Melancholiac(Bad New Days) and Tout Comme Elle (Necessary Angel Theatre).  Her recent television work includes:  Designated Survivor, In the Dark, Kim’s Convenience.  Zorana is currently a Creator in Residence at Crow's Theatre working on her solo show, MixTape.

Don Druick (playwright) is a distinguished playwright and baroque flautist. In a career spanning more than 50 years, his plays have been produced on stage, radio and television in Canada, Europe, Japan, and the USA. Various commissions include: Lizzie Stratas (Grand Theatre); Recipe for Murder (CBC); Monsieur Molière’s French Scenes (Theatre & Company); The Frozen Deep (Nightswimming Theatre); Blue Hands, a translation of Larry Tremblay’s Les mains bleues (Centre des Auteurs dramatiques); and Tulip (Nightswimming Theatre). His plays have been developed at Atlantic Playwrights’ Resource Centre, Canadian Stage Company, Nightswimming Theatre, Playwrights Theatre Centre, Playwrights Workshop Montréal, Necessary Angel Theatre, the New Play Centre, and the Stratford Festival. His publications include playtexts, translations and critical writings. Publications of his plays, Where is Kabuki?and Through the Eyes, have both been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Awards.

THROUGH THE EYES 

Written by Don Druick

Directed by ahdri zhina mandiela

A Factory Production

CAST

Zorana Sadiq – Courtier

PRODUCTION TEAM

Set & Costume Design – Rachel Forbes

Lighting Design – Jareth Li

Sound & Broadcast Designer – Miquelon Rodriguez

Assistant Director – Cameron Grant

Stage Manager – Tamara Protic

PERFORMANCES

April 29 – May 8, 2021

Streaming live from the Factory Studio Theatre for 6 Performances:

Thursday April 29, 7:30 pm EST

Friday April 30, 7:30 pm EST

Saturday May 1, 7:30 pm EST

Thursday May 6, 7:30 pm EST

Friday May 7, 7:30pm EST

Saturday May 8, 7:30pm EST 

www.factorytheatre.ca

Photo: Zorana Sadiq. © 2021 Factory Theatre.