THE STRONGER VARIATIONS
NOVEMBER 27 - DECEMBER 7
“a diverse set of renderings: one teases out coy passive aggression, while another goes straight for the jugular.”
— Now Magazine
What happens when a woman decides to meet her husband’s mistress on Christmas Eve?
This is the question that playwright August Strindberg asked in his 1889 play The Stronger and that award-winning physical theatre company Theatre Rusticle revisits in their original work The Stronger Variations.
Set in the sumptuous world of the 1950’s, The Stronger Variations uses an intergenerational cast of five women to examine the many ways that feminine power, sisterhood, sexuality, compassion, and betrayal can express themselves. Srindberg’s original text was a ten minute monologue for two women – a wife who speaks and a mistress who remains silent. Theatre Rusticle blows apart the original text by giving multiple voices to each of the women, providing a rich and nuanced portrait of female relationships and allowing us to discover how we are not so different from each other.
The Stronger Variations was first presented at the Toronto Fringe in 2005 and was hailed as one of the best shows of the year. An expanded version was staged at Harbourfront Centre the next year, garnering a Dora nomination for designer Michelle Ramsay.
image of Allyson McMackon and Lucy Rupert by Tanja-Tiziana
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre proudly welcomes a Theatre Rusticle production
THE STRONGER VARIATIONS
conceived + directed by ALLYSON McMACKON
starring LIZA BALKAN, ANDRYA DUFF, CHALA HUNTER, VIV MOORE & LUCY RUPERT
costumes DYLAN BOBIER
fight direction SIMON FON
lighting MICHELLE RAMSAY
stage management SARAH O’BRIEN
★★★★ (out of 5) “a diverse set of renderings: one teases out coy passive aggression, while another goes straight for the jugular.”
-Now Magazine (read article)
“enchanting and wonderful…a delight for the senses…I can’t recommend it highly enough.”
-Mooney on Theatre (Read Article)
“The Stronger Variations isn’t a traditional holiday show, but it is a brilliant alternative”
-The Theatre Reader (Read Article)
Audiences will remember Theatre Rusticle from last year’s production of Dinner at Seven-Thirty where they once again turned their highly physical, impressionistic style on a classic piece of literature. For the past decade, the company has been recognized as one of our city’s leading physical theatre companies and brought their distinctive brand of poetic and physically-rigorous theatre to stages across Canada. Buddies is thrilled to welcome back this innovative company as they continue to explore and grow their cannon of work.