I discovered The December Man which opens today in Toronto, a year ago. I was researching one man show The Anorak.
Last year my theatre company PoorTom Productions presented the work of Murphy's former student Adam Kelly in his one man show The Anorak to small but engaged houses.
I discovered The December Man in 2007 when it premiered at Enbridge PlayRites Festival. Obviously, it’s not an easy play to watch, but anyone who has ever had family conflict will be able to relate. Similar to Harold Pinter’s Betrayal, in its structure, The December Man is written backwards with slice of life humour nuances as three characters unravel through an unspeakable tragedy.
The December Man deals with ripple effects of the Montreal Massacres and may or may not be based on Polytechnique student Sarto Blais, while The Anorak deals with the other side of the tragedy.
The Anorak as playwright Linda Griffiths noted is more “on the nose”, with Adam playing Marc Lépine. Adam who has performed the award winning monodrama in Montreal and Toronto,has since moved to New York planning to do The Anorak there. Murphy's cheering on her "sturdy" student hoping "Big Manhattan doesn't swallow him up"
Tom and I also wish Adam well but I also wish Colleen Murphy continued success with this TO play premiere.
As I hear of yet another high school lockdown, Canadian audiences need to support The December Man. In these dangerous times, we need playwrights like Colleen Murphy, Linda Griffiths, J Karol Korcynski, and Adam Kelly - prophetic voices who help us that chose progressive theatre aisles, to better comprehend the human condition.
