Author:sean

2017/18 Season Announcement: April 25!

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Theatre has been quietly busy the last few months, putting together one of our most exciting seasons ever, filled with insightful, provocative and passionate theatre and community engagement. We’ve got an inspiring community project about the Muslim experience in Canada, as part of the Canada 150 Celebrations. We’re excited to announce the Canadian premiere of one of the hottest political plays in the US this year. And we have plenty of new projects in the works, […]

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When Present Meets Past: “Confessions”

There’s been a lot of online discussion surrounding the 1964 “Confessions of a Republican” ad, created by Doyle Dane Bernbach for the 1964 LBJ campaign. The theory is that this ad must be a fake, since the ad’s claim – in which a Republican voter is frightened of extremism within his party – is too much like what’s happening now with Donald Trump. In 2014 I interviewed the actor who starred in this commercial. I was doing research for my […]

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Speaking Truth to Power: Talking Diversity

From Sean Devine: A couple of years ago Valerie Sing Turner sent me an email with a question of concern over my new play DAISY, which was still in its early development. I think she may have either read a draft or heard about the characters, or something to that effect. At the time, the characters were all white, and all male. And it was going to require a large cast of 7 male actors to perform it. Valerie wrote […]

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History Repeats Itself: DAISY

The cyclical nature of humankind’s foibles and achievements is a common thread to much of HHG Theatre’s work. Several of our plays – shows like Re:Union, Except in the Unlikely Event of War, and works-in-progress like Glacier and It Can’t Happen Here – are set in bygone eras or previous generations. In a sense, we’re choosing to investigate our present state through a “reflective” lens. Perhaps it’s a more direct route to coming to terms with who we are by connecting […]

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Fifty Years Ago Today…

On November 2, 1965, American Quaker Norman Morrison took his own life in an act of protest that continues to mystify the world today. This event bears special significance for us here at Horseshoes & Hand Grenades Theatre, since Morrison’s actions are the subject of our production of RE:UNION, written by HHG artistic director Sean Devine. The life and death of Norman Morrison was a subject of deep study and reflection in our company and our home for many years. […]

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Bold Exploration: Pig Girl

HHG Theatre continues to operate out of both Vancouver and Ottawa, developing and creating work in both cities which reflects our mission to use theatre in order “to reveal the vulnerable heart and champion the brave idea.” HHG Theatre co-founder and associate artist Mindy Parfitt sends in this latest blog post about her ongoing work in Vancouver on one of the most controversial new Canadian plays in years: Colleen Murphy’s PIG GIRL. When I was a small child there was a […]

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