DON'T WAKE ME

DON'T WAKE ME was created in two stages. The first incarnation was performed as a part of Toronto's SummerWorks Theatre Festival in 2006 and the second as a part of the Toronto Fringe's Next Stage Festival in 2008.

DON'T WAKE ME - Version 2

Created by BRENDAN GALL, CHRIS HANRATTY, KATE HEWLETT, MIKE MCPHADEN AND CHRISTOPHER STANTON

Directed by CHRIS HANRATTY

Assistant Directed by BRENDAN GALL

Performed by JOHN CLELAND, KATE HEWLETT AND CHRISTOPHER STANTON

Stage Managed by MARIANNA ROSATO

Sound Design by CHRISTOPHER STANTON

Additonal Voice Recording by SHIRA LEUCHTER

James, the victim of a mysterious and vicious attack, has lost his vision. But at night, his dreamscape becomes a world filled with sex, with adventure, with hope. James meets a beautiful singer who swears that she can help him - and he follows her into the dark, uneasy underbelly of a strange city. It is only here, James finds, that the questions surrounding his monstrous attack can at last be answered...

DON'T WAKE ME  was performed at the Factory Theatre in Toronto as a part of the Next Stage Festival.

Christopher Stanton and John Cleland. Photo by Brendan Gall.

REVIEWS:

FOUR STARS!

"The writers have an excellent collective ear for 1930s detective story patter and there's no shortage of great one-liners. Director Chris Hanratty carries the noir aesthetic into the staging of the dream scenes, which are beautifully composed and perfectly paced.

"There's also just enough misdirection to lend a satisfying level of confusion, and just enough clues to satisfy the attentive with a plausible solution. And while the snappy dialogue is a pleasure, Don't Wake Me's sly manipulation of the audience's sympathy for the main character is what you'll remember when the lights come up."

 - Eye Weekly.

"For those who love watching talent stretch its wings, this is a flight to remember."

 - The Toronto Sun.


DON'T WAKE ME - Version 1

Created by BRENDAN GALL, CHRIS HANRATTY, KATE HEWLETT, MIKE MCPHADEN AND CHRISTOPHER STANTON

Directed by BRENDAN GALL AND CHRIS HANRATTY

Performed by JOHN CLELAND, KATE HEWLETT AND CHRISTOPHER STANTON

Stage Managed by EMILY KULASA

Sound Design by CHRISTOPHER STANTON

Dramaturged by MIKE MCPHADEN

Additonal Voice Recording by JAMES CADE, TRICIA LAHDE AND GEOFFREY POUNSETT

John Cleland, Christopher Stanton and Kate Hewlett. Photo by Lisa Stanton.

REVIEWS:

“This deliciously strange story of a man gone tragically blind follows his fantastic imagining of how it happened and the collision of what may be just a fantasy with his actual life. The UnSpun collective pushes their audience to understand complex, challenging ideas through simple, striking images and sounds.”

 – Now Magazine