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The Valley
"MacLeod has a wonderful ear and eye for the everyday details."--"Calgary Herald"
Inspired by the 2007 Tasering death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport, "The Valley" dramatizes the volatile relationship between law enforcement and people in the grip of mental illness. The play connects both sides of this relationship by portraying two families embattled with depression, each guided by good intentions but challenged by their own flawed humanity.
Joan MacLeod is the author of numerous award-winning plays. Her work has been translated into more than eight languages with productions throughout the world, including a sold-out run in New York.
Inspired by the 2007 Tasering death of Robert Dziekanski at the Vancouver airport, "The Valley" dramatizes the volatile relationship between law enforcement and people in the grip of mental illness. The play connects both sides of this relationship by portraying two families embattled with depression, each guided by good intentions but challenged by their own flawed humanity.
Joan MacLeod is the author of numerous award-winning plays. Her work has been translated into more than eight languages with productions throughout the world, including a sold-out run in New York.
96 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 4, 2023
connor is me 2 years ago fr
April 28, 2016
An altercation between a mentally ill teen and the cop who violently apprehends him hinges this gripping play that explores the event itself and the situations leading up to and proceeding out of it. It's a mix of dramatised scenes and monologues which give us insight into the depressed teen, his intrusive mother, the angry cop and his depressed wife. The characterization is raw and honest and painful, yet MacLeod manages to challenge some of our early sympathies by concealing certain revelations till the end. This is an intense, challenging work that expresses the pain of depression, and the exasperation and desperation of those who love the depressed. Worth reading or seeing. I would love to stage it.
March 19, 2016
I am sobbing my eyes out and I am not okay.
I had the honour of being taught by Joan in a workshop, and she is a truly a master of drama. She emphasizes feeling and emotion and character and, goddamn, does she ever do it well. I am forever changed after reading this, and I imagine I could only be emotionally destroyed after seeing it performed live.
I had the honour of being taught by Joan in a workshop, and she is a truly a master of drama. She emphasizes feeling and emotion and character and, goddamn, does she ever do it well. I am forever changed after reading this, and I imagine I could only be emotionally destroyed after seeing it performed live.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews