Description Updated July 22, 2024

In the nowhere town of Peplum, Ontario, three days before prom, two teenagers steal a wedding dress and unleash a frightful force. Staged in a laundry room at Barrie’s Hampton Inn, this short play by festival curator Nathaniel Hanula-James is a claustrophobic horror-comedy about the meaning of marriage, and the desire to keep your loved ones close. 

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TIFT is proud to celebrate its 750th performance of Tales of an Urban Indian this season!

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Staged entirely on a moving city bus, Tales of an Urban Indian is the story of Simon Douglas, a contemporary Indigenous man who grew up on both the reserve and in the "big city". This dark comedy conjures up many characters that appear in Simon's life, all played by one actor.

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TIFT's production of Tales of An Urban Indian has been touring internationally since it premiered in 2009, having played in cities and smaller communities across Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and Suriname.

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Past performers include:

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DARRELL DENNIS (2009, 2014)

HERBIE BARNES (2009, 2018)

JONATHAN FISHER (2011)

CRAIG LAUZON (2016, 2018, 2019)

BRENDAN CHANDLER (2019, 2020)

JUSTAN MYERS (2022)

RYAN CUNNINGHAM (2023)

NOLAN MOBERLY (2023, 2024)

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Madame Minister is a lively modern adaptation of a classic Serbian farce written in 1929 and still performed today. It is a comedy about a family in uncertain times.  It is a play about power.  It’s a play about a mother who will stop at nothing to recast her son-in-law. Laura Condlln is a sure fire winner as the Madame Minister, one of the funniest theatrical creations of all time. Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman has brought this thrilling and hilarious play to life, staged in a fabulous site specific location in Barrie.

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Olivia is an independent black woman. She proudly identifies as a feminist. Her deep dark secret is that she writes bodice-ripping romance novels under a pseudonym. When her life is saved by a handsome young white man who dotes on her, he seems too good to be true. Is he just perfect on paper?

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This intense work was commissioned by the Edinburgh International Festival, where it received its world premiere. After years in prison and subsequent hardships, Ray, fifty-six, has a new identity and has made a new life for himself, thinking that he cannot be found. Una, twenty-seven, has thought of nothing else; upon seeing a photo of Ray in a magazine, she has arrived unannounced at his office. Guilt, rage, and raw emotions run high as they recollect the passionate relationship they had fifteen years ago, when she was twelve and he was forty. Without any moral judgments, the play never shies away from the brutal truth of this abandoned and unconventional love. Una is looking for answers, not vengeance. Nevertheless, the consequences are shattering.

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A Presented production by Zuppa. A contemplative game happening undercover in a library. Equipped with an iPad and a headset, you have 90 minutes to explore a maze-like archive in search of the secret at its centre, guided by a live performance happening discreetly around you. Created by Zuppa with Trillium-Award-winning writer Kate Cayley, this performance, online book and game, travels through the debris of civilization in the age of rising sea levels.

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This boisterously hilarious, yet poignant, musical follows Dionysos, Greek god of wine and drama, and his slave, Xanthias, on a journey to Hades to collect renowned critic and playwright, George Bernard Shaw, so that he may enlighten the easily misled and coerced masses of Earth. Along this journey, Dionysus and Xanthias meet Chekhov, Congreve, Ibsen, Brecht and, of course, the chorus of frogs. Then, Shakespeare shows up and starts declaiming his greatest hits; before long, he engages in a battle of words with Mr. Shaw. Who will win the honor of becoming reincarnated: The Bard or Bernard?

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A Soulpepper/Nightwood Theatre Production in association with Necessary Angel and Talk Is Free Theatre

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“The Constitution can be thought of as a boiling pot in which we are thrown together in sizzling and steamy conflict to find out what it is we truly believe.”

What the Constitution Means to Me took Broadway by storm when it premiered in 2019, and was a Tony nominee for Best Play and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. Now, five years later and timed to overlap with the US election, playwright Heidi Schreck re-imagines the play specifically for Canadian audiences in this exclusive and limited run.

Featuring a tour-de-force performance by Amy Rutherford as Heidi Schreck, What the Constitution Means To Me allows audiences to explore the dynamic relationship between individuals and the foundational principles of their country, sparking conversations around citizenship, rights, and democracy.

In the year 2150, humans have become gender neutral and use the pronoun ‘Ish’ to identify themselves. This story centres around two historians, ISH56 and ISH62, who want to transform an old residence for the upcoming sesquicentennial. As the museum is being created, members of the group become too enamoured with their gendered counterparts and eventually start to re-enact the dangerous behaviours of their ancestors.

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TIFT is proud to celebrate its 750th performance of Tales of an Urban Indian this season!

‍

Staged entirely on a moving city bus, Tales of an Urban Indian is the story of Simon Douglas, a contemporary Indigenous man who grew up on both the reserve and in the "big city". This dark comedy conjures up many characters that appear in Simon's life, all played by one actor.

‍

TIFT's production of Tales of An Urban Indian has been touring internationally since it premiered in 2009, having played in cities and smaller communities across Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, and Suriname.

‍

Past performers include:

‍

DARRELL DENNIS (2009, 2014)

HERBIE BARNES (2009, 2018)

JONATHAN FISHER (2011)

CRAIG LAUZON (2016, 2018, 2019)

BRENDAN CHANDLER (2019, 2020)

JUSTAN MYERS (2022)

RYAN CUNNINGHAM (2023)

NOLAN MOBERLY (2023, 2024)

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Cock, the hit comedy by British playwright Mike Bartlett, is about John, a gay man, who has been in a relationship with his partner for seven years. But when he meets and falls in love with a woman, he is forced to contemplate the boundaries of his identity and decide what he really wants for his future. It is a hilarious and touching look at the difficulties that pop up when you realize you have a choice.