A year after the G20 summit disrupted life in downtown Toronto, leaving a laundry list of arrests and damage in its wake, local playwright and director Kat Edwards is looking to remind theatre-goers of what transpired. Edwards has written and is directing We Few They Many, which follows a group of activists at last summer's summit. The show comes on the heels of her acclaimed play, 52 Pieces, which received rave reviews at the 2010 Toronto Fringe Festival.
Edwards, who lives in Little Italy, said she has a history of activism, but noted the play is not based on her own first-hand experiences. She was preparing to stage another Fringe show last year and decided not to risk being arrested by joining protests, but said she nonetheless had plenty of inside knowledge of the goings-on in downtown Toronto last summer.
"I did some behind the scenes stuff for activists, but once I had an idea what was going on, I was paranoid that I'd get arrested too close to putting up my first Fringe show," she said. "I have some friends who are activists who I'll leave unnamed and some of them were (detained by police) so I based the play on talks I had with them and some reports in the media."
Edwards said she did not set out to make a show that was overly preachy and acknowledged it would be easy to polarize audiences with her subject matter. She admits her leftist point of view will naturally find its way into her work, but feels We Few They Many will not alienate those with differing opinions.
"I was always trying to keep it unbiased," she said. "I tried to find a balance between offering some political insight and not making it so political that people would feel overwhelmed."
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Source: Inside Toronto
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