In January 2018, Pi Theatre brought David Greig's The Events to the stage of the Russian Hall, presented with the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival.

The Events is an incendiary exploration of a tragic contemporary phenomenon. The play features Claire, a priest and choir leader who has survived a mass shooting. Shattered and bereft, she looks for answers that may lead to some kind of affirmation of hope and faith. In this soul-searching work, the presence of the choir represents the most beautiful aspects of our shared humanity.

Pi drew on community choirs from the Metro Vancouver area for participation; each performance, a different choral group shared the stage with the show’s two actors. This work of art about a community torn apart was an act of community engagement, prompting discussion as well as catharsis. In its compassion, its inclusivity and its spirit of inquiry, The Events was an act of resistance—an act of love.

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The Events follows Claire, a left wing female priest who leads a community choir. Claire has experienced something terrible.  She is attempting to understand the act that changed her life and the boy behind it. A moving play about a faith-shattering act of violence, this gutsy work sets the pain of a mass-shooting survivor against the stolid, consoling presence of a community choir. While The Events struggles with violence, it also explores how we find empathy and common ground inside a tragedy.

The Events is not filled with violent acts. It focuses on how communities react to acts of aggression and how hard it can be to move past them. Greig’s play explores our destructive desire to fathom the unfathomable and asks how far forgiveness can stretch in the face of atrocity.

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“The Events pulls off the trick of being both chilling and immensely warm-hearted” – Sunday Times

Playwright: David Greig

Composer: John Browne

Director: Richard Wolfe

Featuring: Luisa Jojic and Douglas Ennenberg, accompanied by Mishelle Cuttler and twelve of Metro Vancouver's community choirs.

Costume Design: Connie Hosie

Lighting Design: Brad Trenaman

Design Consultant: Alan Brodie

Music Supervisor: Mishelle Cuttler

Production Manager: Jayson McLean

Stage Manager: Jethelo E. Cabilete

Movement Advisor: Jo Leslie

Choir Coordinator: Davey Calderon

Dates: January 17 - 20 and 23 - 27 at 8pm

January 20, 21, 27 and 28 at 2pm

A discussion took place after every show.

VocalEye services were available for both shows on January 27th.

Venue: The Russian Hall, 600 Campbell Avenue

Tickets were $26 for January 17 preview and 2pm shows & $31 for 8pm shows. All tickets were general admission and had a service fee of $3.

The show ran approximately 85 minutes with no intermission.

Included adult content and material that some audience members may find confronting.

Presented with

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