
Like you, we have been coping, adapting, and mourning through this pandemic. Behind the scenes, we are continuing to work with all of our permanent staff to prepare and organize for our next season. For Meet Marjorie, we are almost halfway through our artist encounters, and we look forward to connecting with the rest of you throughout June. Overwhelmingly, we are seeing COVID-19 disproportionately affecting marginalized communities more than others. See Toronto’s concentration of cases in the north east and north west of the city. See Navajo Nation, now with the highest number of cases per capita of COVID-19 in the US. See the terrible neglectful legacy of cuts to long-term care facilities by the Ontario government. This pandemic has also acutely highlighted the systemic inequities of our society. With the recent deaths of George Floyd and Regis Korchinski-Paquet, we are saddened and enraged. Along with the recent spate of more visible anti-Black racism, we find ourselves asking: How to respond? What is a theatre’s role in these times? We want to rage. We want to despair. We want to cry. We do these things, through our art and our theatre. So, we will continue to bring you work that is representative of our city, that transverses boundaries, and that can challenge the status quo. We will bring these difficult conversations to you because we want you to take a stand with us, in solidarity with these afflicted communities. As a part of Theatre Passe Muraille’s commitment, next season, we will make a donation to two underfunded organizations, one each serving Black and Indigenous communities, as voted on by our audiences. We will continue to rage and mourn, but we will also continue envisioning and fighting for a better future for everyone. -Friday, May 29, 2020 |
