7 Important Things
English Theatre: All
May 7 - 19, 2007
Let the artists speak for themselves
Peter Hinton introduces the 06-07 Season
Peter Hinton on 7 Important Things
Nadia Ross, Artistic Director, STO Union on 7 Important Things
World Premiere
You may think that the next paragraph describes the play. It does not. It’s just a starting point for what it will become:
In 1971, George Acheson sat in an abandoned farmhouse in Perkins, Quebec. His hair was long. He had traveled to Morocco. He had been at Woodstock. He’d been to Berkeley & San Francisco. He had protested the war in Vietnam. As the hippie movement disintegrated all around him, George hung onto the ideology, helplessly hoping. A few short years later, George would find himself in London, U.K. at the birth of yet another counter-culture movement: punk rock. He embraced it whole-heartedly and it too disintegrated around him. Throughout his entire life, George would become identified with cultural movements that went directly against the mainstream, that opposed the status quo. Now in his mid-fifties, George can no longer identify with a counter-culture: not because he is too old or is no longer radical, but because he believes that everything, absolutely everything that goes against the mainstream now is reduced to yet another item to be consumed. In essence there is no opposing the "unstoppable growth of Growth" in a capitalism gone wild. George is a failed Utopian, but he is in no way bitter about that fact. Early in our discussions, he would tell me that his life is a shining example of a life well lived because, in his words, "at least I tried."
"The events of the 20th century have changed the role of the artist dramatically: the artist breaks away from tradition, and the fundamental method used for creating coherence within traditional contexts, storytelling , begins to shift. A man whose life was given over to subcultures that ultimately failed him, struggles to find the essential characteristics of hope. From this basic ground he is rejuvenated. On this ground his story becomes one of fulfillment." Nadia Ross
This is a brand new work, from the co-creator of Revolutions in Therapy and Recent Experiences, both of which continue to tour and be critically acclaimed around the world. So much theatre is obsessed with taking us out of ourselves and far away to other places and times; this is a play about encountering where we actually are and the future we face. See what the rest of the world is raving about. Theatre as you have never encountered it before: intimate, heartfelt – and candidly real.
"We are, essentially, in a process of becoming comfortable with the things we don’t know. The final complexities of what is created will be for the audience and the creative team to realize. The play will offer something to hang onto for the hopeful. 7 Important Things may not support any actual revolution, but it does support the idea of the attempt." STO Union
"Ever get the feeling you’ve been cheated?" Johnny Rotten
"The less able I am to believe in our epoch and the more arid and depraved mankind seems to my eyes, the less I look to revolution as the remedy and the more I believe in the magic of love." Hermann Hesse
George Acheson and Nadia Ross, Artistic Director, STO Union
Photo: Laird Mackintosh
Illustration: Lino
| Artist (s) |
Written and directed by Nadia Ross (Wakefield) in collaboration with George Acheson With George Acheson and Nadia Ross Lighting Design by Steve Lucas Video Projections by W.A.C. (Wakefield Art Collective)
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| House |
Studio |
| Seating Plan |
Non-Reserved Seating |
| Ticket Information |
Single tickets $25 to $35 |
| On Sale Date |
Single Tickets on sale September 5th
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| Company |
A STO Union (Ottawa) production in coproduction with the NAC English Theatre |
| Group Information |
Groups of 10+ receive great discounts! For more information contact grp@nac-cna.ca.
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| Season |
2006-2007 |
Performance Schedule |
Time(s) |
Buy Tickets Online |
| Monday, May 07, 2007 |
20:00 |
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| Tuesday, May 08, 2007 |
20:00 |
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| Wednesday, May 09, 2007 |
20:00 |
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| Thursday, May 10, 2007 |
20:00 |
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| Friday, May 11, 2007 |
20:00 |
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| Saturday, May 12, 2007 |
14:00 |
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| Saturday, May 12, 2007 |
20:00 |
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| Tuesday, May 15, 2007 |
20:00 |
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| Wednesday, May 16, 2007 |
20:00 |
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| Thursday, May 17, 2007 |
12:30 |
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| Thursday, May 17, 2007 |
20:00 |
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| Friday, May 18, 2007 |
20:00 |
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| Saturday, May 19, 2007 |
14:00 |
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| Saturday, May 19, 2007 |
20:00 |
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Box Office Information
Box Office Hours
Monday to Saturday: 10:00 to 21:00
Sundays and Holidays:
When a performance is scheduled, the Box Office will open 2 hours prior to curtain until 15 minutes after the curtain time of the last performance.
No service charges. Debit card and major credit cards accepted.
