The Playwrights Database
LEAH JANE ESAU
Nationality: Canadianemail: Click here to contact Website: Click here
Literary Agent: n/a
Leah Jane Esau was born in Winnipeg, MB and now resides in Montreal. She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. She has an MA in Drama from the University of Toronto, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph.
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below is a list of Leah Jane Esau's plays - click on a Play Title for more information
Disappeared Shed Waterfront: The BlessingDisappeared
Synopsis:
Playwright Leah Jane Esau says, "Disappeared, for me, represents the struggle of my generation in this economy. Often over-educated and under-employed - or unemployed - many of my friends suffer from anxiety. They feel lost, under-appreciated, directionless, and worthless." Disappeared is about 4 young people trying to gain autonomy. Juxtaposed generationally with the struggle of an old man suffering from Alzheimers, (whose memories and life-experiences are literally disappearing), the young people feel as if they make no impact in the world. Cate, 30, sums up Disappeared when she says, "There's nothing at stake in my life. I don't put anything into the world ... I don't do anything worthwhile. I'm just a person who might as well not exist, a disappeared person!"
Notes:
Disappeared is the winner of the 2012 Pam Dunn Award, and the 2012 Post-Secondary Play Competition, awarded by the Playwrights Guild of Canada.
1st Produced:
National Theatre School of Canada 2012
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
Political Drama
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageShed
Synopsis:
In Winnipeg, 2006, a group of children (aged 8 to 11), pushed another child into a shed, blocked the door, and lit the shed on fire. He was saved by a neighbour. In an interview, writer Leah Jane Esau says, "I was shocked, not only by the ages of the children, but by the violence. I asked myself: What kid would light another on fire? Did they not realize the seriousness of the situation? Was it an accident? Where were their parents? These questions surfaced, and many more. I wrote Shed in an attempt to understand these kids and their circumstances. The story haunted me for years." Shed is the result of exhaustive research into this case, and others like it. Shed presents the story of Mitch: 12-years-old, abandoned by his mother, high on hallucinogens, and threatening to jump off a roof, in downtown Winnipeg, 40 below zero. David, a police officer, has come to arrest Mitch for murder. Shed is, "raw and haunting," a "compelling story that leaves you questioning every Canadian service system we have in place." Through it's story, Shed shows the blatant failure of our society to help its most vulnerable members.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Factory Theatre, Toronto 2010
Organisations:
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1st Published:
- -
Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Political Drama
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageWaterfront: The Blessing
Meet Ed and Jeremy on the eve of their father's funeral. Ed, a pathological liar, was always considered the father's favourite son. Ed is on the cusp of changing his life: he's overcome his drug addiction, has a steady girlfriend, and has a brilliant idea for a business: all he needs is his inheritance. Wildly funny, and "deeply moving," this play explores grief, sibling rivalry, betrayal, truth and lies, memory and identity. The characters tell stories: but which ones are true? Nothing is as it seems, and just as you think you know the truth: things are turned upside-down. Waterfront: The Blessing shows the consequences when one sibling appears to be loved more than the other.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Factory Theatre, Toronto 2011
Organisations:
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1st Published:
in Out on a Limb: Short Plays by New Playwrights, Signature Editions (October 30, 2011) 978-1897109-55-7
Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
short play
Parts:
Male: 2 Female: 1 Other: -
Further Reference:
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