PlayME

You hover on the edge of two realities. Behind you is the life you’ve always known, growing more distant with each passing hour. Ahead is a world you could never have imagined. This summer, PlayME proudly presents: The Quarantine Chronicles. The chronicles are seven short works of audio fiction written by top Canadian playwrights. Namely: Jordan Tannahill, Kat Sandler, Hiro Kanagawa, Erin Shields, Mark Crawford, Leah Simon-Bowen, Rosamund Small and Nicolas Billon. All were invited to write short audio plays that capture the spirit of our distanced, disorienting and deranged times — with wonderfully weird results.

Laura talks to Drew Hayden Taylor, who was visiting Toronto from Curve Lake First Nations. They talk about why he decided to tackle the daunting task of writing a comedy about Sir John A MacDonald, how he went from self-taught to nationally celebrated and why he's actually feeling quite good in these uncertain times. (Hint: he's been quite busy!)

Back on the road, tensions in the car mount between Bobby and Anya as they square off about everything from racism to colonialism to the lingering effects of residential schools. They both know their fair share of history but see it from different perspectives. Hugh borrows Anya’s knife to makes some peanut butter road trip snacks, but when he accidentally lets slip their plans, she pulls it and a can of bear spray on them and demands answers.

Bobby Rabbit has some unfinished business with Canada’s first prime minister. When he finds out his grandfather’s medicine bundle has been rotting away in a British museum, he talks his buddy Hugh into taking a road trip with him all the way to Kingston. There they plan to pull off the ultimate heist. At a roadside McDonald’s they meet a university student named Anya who is licking her wounds after a nasty breakup. She joins them on their journey.

At a bar on a break from the road, Bobby and Hugh share the real reason they are heading to Kingston with Anya. She storms off after a heated debate and Hugh warns Bobby that he has to stop making smart women angry. Hugh convinces her to continue on the journey to Kingston as he doesn’t want to leave her alone in the middle of nowhere. Anya reveals she has secrets of her own. In Kingston, Bobby is confronted with an unexpected presence.

Chris talks to Chloe Hung who is currently living and working in LA. The Three Women of Swatow playwright shares why her relationship with her two grandmothers inspired her to write about family lore, how she likes to subvert people’s expectations about demure Asian women, and the differences she has learned between writing for the stage versus the screen.

After arriving at Mother’s home, Grandmother is confronted with a grisly mess in the bathtub that she must help clean up. The two generations of women argue over tea, emojis, and who is responsible for the bloody crime scene that has unfolded. They try to scrub the bathroom of evidence when the Daughter unexpectedly arrives. Dark family secrets are revealed.

The women flash back through a history of abuse. Grandmother has had to watch Mother repeat her mistakes and is determined to keep Daughter from following in the same footsteps. Three generations of Swatow women discover they are bound by more than blood.

Grandmother is drinking gin naked while reading the Bible when she hears an anxious voicemail from Mother. The message says she wants to know how to make drunken chicken, which is odd because she is a vegetarian. Only her abusive husband eats meat at their home. Grandma keeps her worries to herself when Daughter comes home and the two quarrel over alcohol, weight, and life in general. Grandmother decides to go to Mother’s apartment. There she makes a grim discovery.

Laura talks to Anna Chatterton who is physically distancing at home in Hamilton with her family. The Cowgirl Up playwright explains how she got interested in rodeo culture, the parallels she’s discovered between artists and cowgirls, and reveals which real-life women inspired some of her characters.