commonplacetheatre is thrilled to present a powerful rendering of Rajiv Joseph’s play Gruesome Playground Injuries.
The show will run for a total of four performances over the March 17th – 19th weekend and will be presented in The Box inside The H’Art Centre at 237 Wellington Street, Kingston.
Rajiv Joseph’s Gruesome Playground Injuries offers its audience fleeting glimpses into the calamitous lives of Doug and Kayleen, childhood friends whose connection is both sparked and kept alive by the physical ailments they continuously suffer.
Upon meeting at the age of eight, each finds familiarity and comfort in the others’ pathology. Doug is a daredevil with a penchant for self-destruction, while Kayleen is a healer whose body and mind continually reject her. They end up forming a life-long bond that, for better or worse, etches itself into their hearts.
Told through a series of poignant, funny and sardonic sketches, separated by vast jumps in time, GPI follows Doug and Kayleen as they traverse their lives, always one beat out of step with the other.
A tale of loose endings and near beginnings, the consolations of self-destruction and the fear of intimacy, this show asks of its audience members to reflect on why we so often hurt ourselves as well as those we love the most.
At commonplacetheatre we look to push beyond the boundaries of what might be thought to be ordinary/mainstream theatre productions.
Because we believe theatre to be a useful medium for provoking critical and creative thought on contemporary issues, we aim to look for hard-hitting plays that challenge the status quo or shed light on issues that tend to be overlooked.
Our goal is to challenge normative ideas or views held in mainstream society by creating theatre that is intellectually and emotionally stimulating for theatre artists and audience members alike.
Gruesome Playground Injuries
Written by: Rajiv Joseph | Directed by: Chantel Martin
March 17th, 18th & 19th at 8pm | March 19th at 2pm
Admission: $12 | Tickets available at: www.commonplacetheatre.com as of March 1st
The Box | The H’Art Centre, 237 Wellington Street Kingston ON
Release: Heather Salema, commonplacetheatre | Graphic Design: Kia Kortelainen
