A young singer, Luisa, arrives home to her apartment in Surrey, BC, to find her mother, Rosida, collapsed on the floor, weeping, because the greatest fado singer of all time, Amalia Rodrigues, has died. Luisa realizes she doesn't know how to sing a single Portuguese song, because she and her mother moved outside the community after the death of Luisa's dad. Luisa embarks on a multicultural journey back to Lisbon to reclaim her heritage by learning how to sing fado and retrieve her own true song.
Two epic labour plays, based on true events, by the acclaimed author of Fado: The Saddest Music in the World. In one, discover how Canada achieved the eight-hour day, while in the other, visit a rapidly declining town facing a pivotal decision from Big Oil. These plays, performed from Los Angeles to Lisbon, have garnered numerous awards, including the Mellon Foundation Environment Arts Commission and accolades from the Victoria Fringe and Victoria Critics Circle.
The first play features a diverse cast portraying characters from a radical socialist to an Italian laundress, exploring the dreams of immigrants and workers in Canada and the Pacific Northwest, as well as their fight for rights. It includes period music, including a new ballad by composer/activist Earle Peach, and centers on the mysterious death of Albert “Ginger” Goodwin, who halted the WWI British war machine through a strike at a Canadian zinc smelter.
The second play is set in Kitimat, British Columbia, an industrial town surrounded by stunning wilderness, which becomes embroiled in controversy over an upcoming oil pipeline project. As election day nears, residents grapple with the choice between economic gain and environmental preservation. The first play features a cast of 2 women and 3 men, while the second is flexible, accommodating between 6 and 16 actors.
