Horseshoes Hand Grenades Theatre explodes into Ottawa with Re:Union

OTTAWA: On November 2, 1965, an American Quaker named Norman Morrison drives to the Pentagon with his infant daughter, a jug of kerosene and a box of matches. With Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara looking on, the young Quaker carries out a final act of witness against the horrors of the Vietnam War. Thirty-six years later, in the wake of 9/11, his daughter returns to confront the aging McNamara, the memory of her father, and the costly legacy of sacrifice. Originally co-produced in Vancouver in 2011 by Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Theatre and Pacific Theatre, Sean Devine’s RE:UNION recounts the inspiring and ultimately tragic journey that led to Morrison’s death, an original “American martyr”, as well as the story of a fictional encounter between the adult Emily Morrison and Robert  McNamara in 2011, in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. With war again on the horizon, Emily has come to confront McNamara about their shared path, and to stop and new war in its tracks. Founded in Vancouver in 2004, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Theatre has a mandate “to create theatre that reveals the vulnerable heart and champions the brave idea”. Not content to merely hold a mirror up to society, this provocative and political group would rather conduct an autopsy on it. After 10 years of creating innovative and award winning theatre on the West Coast, we now operate out of both Vancouver and Ottawa. RE:UNION marks our first large-scale production in Ottawa, presented by Canada’s Magnetic North Theatre Festival.

“Re:Union provides a thorough moral and intellectual workout.”  The Georgia Straight

“Devine proves himself once again a master of political theatre.” Gay Vancouver

RE:UNION

features a creative team of artists from Ottawa, Vancouver, Montreal, Los Angeles and Seattle.Written by

Sean Devine

, RE:UNION is directed by

John Langs

&

Sean Devine

. Performances by

Andrew Wheeler

,

Alexa Devine

, and

Brad Long

. Set & lighting design by

John Webber

. Video projection design by

Jason H. Thompson

. Sound design by

Noah Drew

. Costume design by

Flo Barrett

and

Vanessa Imeson

. Stage management by

Lois Dawson

and

Jess Preece

. Production management by

Kyle Ahluwalia

.

RE:UNION

Presented by Canada’s Magnetic North Theatre Festival

Venue

: Academic Hall, University of Ottawa, 135 Séraphin-Marion Private, Ottawa

Run

: June 5 @ 8pm, June 6 @ 2pm, June 7 @ 4pm, June 8 @ 8pm, June 9 @ 8pm

Tickets

: $30

Video

: https://vimeo.com/42778165

Twitter

: @hhgtheatre #MNTF2015 #REUNION

Company website

: www.horseshoesandhandgrenades.ca

Festival website

: www.magneticnorthfestival.ca