MADGEN runs from August 21st-23rd in Toronto’s Danforth community at Theatre of the Beat (2174 Danforth Ave.). Each night offers two of our three works in development with four different pricing options! 

These include our limited Festival Passes and Pay What You Can tickets. Visit theatreofthebeat.ca.

This year’s cohort will spotlight three heart-filled plays that tackle social justice themes, continue to push boundaries, and let us pause and reflect on what it is we hold close to our hearts.

Join us for:

From Stardust by Annie Valentina, produced by Reena Goze

Being the introverted loner in a family of “strong personalities” is challenging at the best of times – and these are far from the best of times. Given how the last few months have gone for Cass, maybe actually the worst. But between a self-involved girlboss sister, an emotionally distant mother, and now Cass’ grandmother’s progressing dementia, it doesn’t exactly feel like falling apart is an option. Things could always be worse, right? As long as you have a secret David Bowie in your back pocket, are you really out of coping strategies?

The Apartment by Rimah Jabr, produced by Paul Smith

Amira and Jasir are a young couple who usually spend their mornings listening to the radio or bickering. Now, as they unpack their new apartment in Palestine’s West Bank city of Nablus, they are given no choice but to pack what they can and leave. Written by artist and scholar Rimah Jabr, The Apartment is a charming and disarming play about home, the lengths we’ll go to make it, and life after the rubble.

Horses by Thea Fitz-James and Justin Otto, produced by Rhys Whitham

A play of dance and desperation. Pushing the archetypal phrase ‘starving artists’ to the extreme, Horses explores the ugly underbelly of what it means to suffer for your art. Fitz-James and Otto use dance as an allegory for labour in a Hunger Games-meets-Footloose competition that draws attention to the emotional and physical demands of late stage capitalism. ‘The Marathon’ is a survival of the fittest/last person standing contest that requires teams of two to compete. The winner takes home a cash prize, and what cannot be paid in cash will be paid in exposure. Dances may go on for months at a time, with the contestants resting for 10 minutes at a time every 2 hours. For some this is all they have left, for others it’s the only skill they have, but they are all poor, and they are all desperate for a win.

MADGEN runs from August 21st to the 23rd, with two shows each evening, at 2174 Danforth Avenue. The building is fully accessible, and we are excited to welcome you into the space!

The show schedule is:

Thursday August 21st

From Stardust @ 6PM & The Apartment @ 8PM

Friday August 22nd

Horses @ 6PM & From Stardust @ 8PM

Saturday August 23rd

The Apartment @ 6PM & Horses @ 8PM

Each performance is roughly an hour long, with a 20 minute talkback after each 6PM slot.