A series of mini-dramas based on public conversations, as overheard and rewritten by local playwright/director Aurora Stewart de Peña.
Overheard on the patio of John’s Italian Caffe on Baldwin Sreet.
Trey, in his late 20s, is wearing an apron and a black shirt. He stands talking to Claire and Jan, early sixties wearing silver jewelry, who are sitting at a table upon which he has just set two 16-inch pizzas.
Trey: Yeah, so, it’s like, people think Canadian history is boring, right? Like, most women that I talk to in your generation, they don’t even really remember a lot of it. And that’s a shame, right?
Claire and Jan each pick up a glass of wine from the table and take a sip.
Like, it’s not your fault. The school system wasn’t really teaching it in any interesting way. Like, Family Compact, who wants to hear about that? Just a bunch of old men making decisions in a room, right?
Pause.
Wrong. I mean, these people were corrupt, right? They were bullies. They were just these fucking bullies with their own interests and it’s like Taminy Hall in New York. They were the original patriarchical institution in Canada and that is something that I think women need to know about.
Or, like, Louis Riel, that’s an exciting story. Tragedy, treason, and, like, a Métis hero. And he was a good looking guy!
Claire and Jan take a sip of wine.
Anyway, it’s just a shame that more people don’t know about it. Because Canadian history, that’s where it’s at.
Anyway–
(Trey makes a broad gesture at the pizza)
Enjoy.
(Exit Trey)
Jan tosses back the last of her wine.
Claire: You’re not allowed to talk about your PhD in American History ever again.
Jan: I’m sorry.
Claire: Especially not in public, especially not in front of eager young men.
Jan refills her wine glass. She holds it up.
Jan: Cheers.
____
Aurora Stewart de Peña is half of the theatre company Birdtown & Swanville (the other half is Nika Mistruzzi). You can follow her on Twitter at @Aurorahhh.
For more, follow us on Twitter at @torontostandard, and subscribe to our newsletter.
