WINNERS AND LOSERS

The game is of cruel simplicity, with winners on one side and losers on the other. Tom Cruise, microwave ovens, Alberta – winners or losers? Opinions spew forth, from the brilliant to the comical, but the friendly game quickly and imperceptibly slips into a profound existential enquiry. What makes us winners? How far is too far when confronting another person’s values?

Everything here is autobiographical, the danger is real. Vivacious, over the top and at times dishonest, James Long and Marcus Youssef appear to hail from a similar social background. But between the two long-time friends conflicts arise, heavy with tension. Around a table that resembles a boxing ring, an extreme combat of ideas and values gets underway. Indeed, some are higher up in the middle class than others, and certain privileges die hard. In this vicious, provocative game, no blow is too low. Anything goes.

PRODUCED BY NEWORLD THEATRE + THEATRE REPLACEMENT
WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BYJAMES LONG + MARCUS YOUSSEF
DIRECTED BY CHRIS ABRAHAM
LIGHTING DESIGN JONATHAN RYDER
PHOTO SIMON HAYTER

CO-PRODUCED IN ASSOCIATION WITH CROW’S THEATRE (TORONTO)

WRITTEN BY DIANE JEAN
TRANSLATED BY NEIL KROETSCH

PREMIERED AT GATEWAY THEATRE, RICHMOND, DECEMBER 1, 2012