A Line in the Sand
March 8 - 21, 2010
By: Guillermo Verdecchia and Marcus Youssef
Directed by: Mike Payette
Presented by The Tableau D’Hôte Theatre
“In Autumn 1990, during Operation Desert Shield, two young men, one a troubled Canadian soldier, the other a teenage Palestinian black-marketeer, meet in the scorched Qatari desert. Exploring the psychological and cultural roots of a war fought by Canada and dozens of other countries, this play imagines one story of inexplicable violence buried deep in the chaos of a devastating and brutal international conflict. It asks us to imagine how horrors like these could be perpetrated with our money, in our name, and by people much like us.”
Inspired by Albert Camus’ unforgettable novel L’Etranger and true events, A Line in the Sand takes us to the middle of the Qatari Desert, the heart of what served as the airbase for coalition troops (including Canada) to launch aircraft on Combat Air Patrol (CAP) duty.Private Mercer, a 20 year old Vancouver-native soldier, ventures out through the desert on his day off from guarding the perimeters of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment. There he meets Sadiq, a 17-year old Palestinian black marketeer who has been sent by his boss to sell merchandise to American soldiers. The two engage in an unlikely friendship where the histories of the two young men come to the surface and each find solace in the similarities and differences of each other. After several months of non-battle on the part of the Canadian regiment, Sadiq is found dead having been brutally tortured. Among the list of soldiers involved, Mercer becomes the centre of an investigation that reveals that he was at least a witness to the brutal murder of the friend with whom he shared so many secrets.
Although first produced in 1995, A Line in the Sand mirrors controversial events in a post 9/11 culture that tell us that even after documentations of war-related atrocities involving soldiers, very little has changed since then (i.e. Bagram, Abu Ghraib, GTMO). From the creators of Ali and Ali and the Axes of Evil, this award-winning play challenges our perception of international conflict. Writers Guillermo Verdecchia (The Noam Chomsky Lectures) and Marcus Youssef (Otherwise Occupied) weave an imaginatively tragic yet beautiful story of two seemingly opposite young people using ironically comic dialogue, with integrated speeches from top Canadian political figures.
A Line in the Sand will provoke and entice audiences to delve into the hidden psychological aspects of war. The piece engages the imagination with beautiful theatrical conventions including contemporary movement. Artistic Director Mike Payette gives the audience an innovative and entertaining presentation of theatre in this truly remarkable and important piece.
Tickets: $22.00 Regular, $15.00 Students, Seniors, Professional Artists (CAEA), $14.00 Groups (min. 10 ppl)
Inspired by Albert Camus’ unforgettable novel L’Etranger and true events, A Line in the Sand takes us to the middle of the Qatari Desert, the heart of what served as the airbase for coalition troops (including Canada) to launch aircraft on Combat Air Patrol (CAP) duty.Private Mercer, a 20 year old Vancouver-native soldier, ventures out through the desert on his day off from guarding the perimeters of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment. There he meets Sadiq, a 17-year old Palestinian black marketeer who has been sent by his boss to sell merchandise to American soldiers. The two engage in an unlikely friendship where the histories of the two young men come to the surface and each find solace in the similarities and differences of each other. After several months of non-battle on the part of the Canadian regiment, Sadiq is found dead having been brutally tortured. Among the list of soldiers involved, Mercer becomes the centre of an investigation that reveals that he was at least a witness to the brutal murder of the friend with whom he shared so many secrets.
Although first produced in 1995, A Line in the Sand mirrors controversial events in a post 9/11 culture that tell us that even after documentations of war-related atrocities involving soldiers, very little has changed since then (i.e. Bagram, Abu Ghraib, GTMO). From the creators of Ali and Ali and the Axes of Evil, this award-winning play challenges our perception of international conflict. Writers Guillermo Verdecchia (The Noam Chomsky Lectures) and Marcus Youssef (Otherwise Occupied) weave an imaginatively tragic yet beautiful story of two seemingly opposite young people using ironically comic dialogue, with integrated speeches from top Canadian political figures.
A Line in the Sand will provoke and entice audiences to delve into the hidden psychological aspects of war. The piece engages the imagination with beautiful theatrical conventions including contemporary movement. Artistic Director Mike Payette gives the audience an innovative and entertaining presentation of theatre in this truly remarkable and important piece.
Tickets: $22.00 Regular, $15.00 Students, Seniors, Professional Artists (CAEA), $14.00 Groups (min. 10 ppl)
