2007 Finalists - Drama
Salvatore Antonio, Markham (ON), for In Gabriel's Kitchen
(Playwrights Canada Press; distributed by publisher) (ISBN 978-0-88754-670-9)
This drama moves the reader into the unfolding inner conflicts and experiences of its young central character. We follow the pivotal moments in his search for identity and feel the turmoil of his rejection by those he thought loved him most. Touching and highly theatrical.
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Anosh Irani, North Vancouver, for The Bombay Plays: The Matka King and Bombay Black (Playwrights Canada Press; distributed by publisher)
(ISBN 978-0-88754-560-3)
At once poetic and theatrical, The Bombay Plays pulse with grit, humour and despair. Anosh Irani makes an astonishing debut with these two plays. His voice is fierce, funny and wholly original.
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Rosa Laborde, Toronto, for Leo
(Playwrights Canada Press; distributed by publisher) (ISBN 978-0-88754-898-9)
Exquisitely poetic and structurally economical, Leo is pure theatre. A play which manages to delve into difficult politics while maintaining its true and human heart. As readers, we are richer for having experienced this complex friendship.
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Colleen Murphy, Toronto, for The December Man (L’homme de décembre)
(Playwrights Canada Press; distributed by publisher) (ISBN 978-0-88754-595-5)
With deceptive simplicity and great compassion, Colleen Murphy illuminates a devastating chapter in Canada’s recent history. She gives voice to the silent victims, to those who witness the unimaginable and survive.
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Morris Panych, Vancouver, for What Lies Before Us
(Talonbooks; distributed by Publishers Group Canada)
(ISBN 978-0-88922-560-2)
Funny and absurd dialogue, even when it’s in Cantonese, this is a play with momentum and a playwright’s brilliant handle on building an arc that is sustained to the very last page. Intelligent and ridiculous – pure Panych.
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