Toronto litigation lawyer Jennie Brodski’s new stage production Deputy Prime Minister Collimore is an intense, nail-biter of a political drama about the cost of war, loyalty and betrayal. The limited-run world premiere stars veteran Canadian actor Jeffrey Knight, and runs at Toronto's Red Sandcastle Theatre from June 21 to June 26.

Brodski, who serves as writer, director, and producer, was so intent on bringing Deputy Prime Minister Collimore to the stage that she plowed through every conceivable hurdle to mount the production. "I felt this story growing inside me for weeks, until I was compelled to start pulling the elements together to make it happen," explains the 36-year-old University of Toronto Faculty of Law graduate. "The challenge has been in juggling this play with marriage, motherhood, and a full-time legal profession. At times I was definitely wishing I could clone myself."

At its core, Deputy Prime Minister Collimore is a political drama bursting with questions and complexities. Whose version of the truth can we believe? When does a "just" war become "just a war"? What options do you have when a beloved leader isn't all he appears to be?

While casting the production, Brodski quickly realized she found her Collimore in Jeffrey Knight. "Jeffrey brings such fullness, earnestness, and optimism to Collimore's character that you can’t take your eyes off him," she says. "And he exudes enough charm and likeability to make you believe his every word, even while he's being accused of some truly extreme behaviour."

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER COLLIMORE SYNOPSIS: A former Deputy Prime Minister gives an interview for a profile in a prestigious magazine in advance of what he sees as his inevitable run for his party’s leadership. As the interview veers into uncharted territory, Collimore finds himself exposing the Cain and Abel relationship he had with the beloved former Prime Minister, and defending himself against suggestions he was personally responsible for one of his nation's most shocking tragedies.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER COLLIMORE

Playing at The Red Sandcastle Theatre

922 Queen Street East, Toronto (at Logan)

Tickets $49.24 at daresayproductions.ca

Tuesday, June 21 to Saturday, June 25, at 8 PM

Sunday, June 26 at 2 PM

Jennie Brodski Bio: Jennie Brodski is passionate about everything she does. In addition to being a playwright and producer, she is an Ontario lawyer and partner in the boutique litigation firm Businger Brodski LLP. Blessed (or cursed) with seeing the big picture in everything, Jennie is always focused on making things better, which led her to producing her first play, "Senior Counsel," in March 2022.

Jennie's 2022 sold-out run of "Senior Counsel" is the first part of a trilogy, with the second and third parts arriving soon (stay tuned). A prolific writer, Jennie also has a TV series in development. She is the wife of a very understanding husband and the mom of two ridiculously adorable kids.

Photo: Jeffrey Knight. © 2022 Arthur Sylmar Beddington.