What I Learned From a Decade of Fear

Are white privilege, second-class citizenship, surveillance, and interrogation the market price we pay for peace, order, and good government? What of the lives of others, whose countries are disrupted in the name of our safety and comfort?

In an idealistic act of penance, Canadian-born white male Lyon Smith submits to having Colombian-born brown female migrant Beatriz Pizano pull incriminating details from his more-or-less average life. Under a visual palette composited from live security cameras and found footage, what begins as a eulogy for the human costs of our collective safety becomes a ritual to atone for a decade of repression, war, and paranoia.

Directed and designed by multi-award winning artist and Aluna Artistic Producer, Trevor Schwellnus, this daring piece showcases Aluna’s continuing commitment to risk and experimentation. After successful development through a Theatre Centre Residency, and presentations in New York City (La MaMa ETC), Bogotá, Colombia (Festival Alternativo), and Montreal (The Hemispheric Institute’s Encuentro), and Toronto (Aluna Theatre), the piece returns to The Theatre Centre for a remount at the Progress Festival following a 2015 Dora Award nomination for Outstanding New Play.

Read the director’s notes.

This production is tour-ready with a team of four.

Previous presentations:
New York City (La MaMa ETC) – March 2014
Bogotá, Colombia (Festival Alternativo) – April 2014
Montreal, Quebec (The Hemispheric Institute’s Encuentro) – June 2014
Toronto, Ontario (Aluna Theatre) – November 2014

The two actors are so sincere in their speeches and interactions, have such strong chemistry, that we can almost – not quite, but almost – be lulled into accepting some pretty outrageous statements. That’s part of the power of this show, a Möbius strip that turns on itself at the end, blending politics and emotions in an unusual theatrical package.

Jon Kaplan, NOW magazine

It’s not often that a show so rooted in the scariest sorts of political misappropriation of power offers thoughtful character development and humour as well.

Dani Phillipson, Royal Holloway University, UK

A fresh, visceral interrogation of how fear terrorizes us into building prisons and fortresses that confine our minds and others bodies.

Helene Vosters, performance artist

In only 65 minutes this remarkable performance piece sums up the contradictions in modern life ten years or more since the “War on Terror” was launched.

Christopher Hoile, Stage Door

Both Beatriz Pizano and Lyon Smith give strong performances that make you want to watch them…

Jeremy Gardiner, Mooney on Theatre