Punk Rock

The Howland Company

BY SIMON STEPHENS | DIRECTED BY GREGORY PREST

TOP 10 THEATRE PRODUCTIONS OF 2018, NOW MAGAZINE
Nominated for 2 Dora Awards including Best Ensemble

In the library of a fee-paying grammar school outside of Manchester, England, a group of hyper-intelligent seventeen-year-olds prepare for their final exams. As anxiety builds and hormones rage, the students must prepare for a future that seems uncertain – and survive the volatile rites-of-passage of an unstable world. A bubbling cauldron of fear, anger and self-loathing that threatens to destroy the adolescent fantasy, Punk Rock is a painful reminder of the dormant violence that lurks in the shadows of any civilized society.

“Gregory Prest’s production takes advantage of the intimacy of the Scotiabank Community Studio to place the audience cheek-by-jowl with the ensemble’s impressive performances.” - Toronto Star

“The production is terrific.  Gregory Prest has directed this with such precision and attention to detail that you are gripped for the whole of it…. Prest establishes those relationships that will shift and change subtly and not so subtly for the whole production. And Prest knows how to ramp up the tension from scene to scene. There is a scene toward the end of the play that is so explosive I flinched and I never do that.” - The Slotkin Letter

“The strong performances from the entire cast under Gregory Prest’s insightful direction catches us up in an inexorably growing tension that we know will lead to catastrophe.”   - Stage Door

“This production…showcases moving, realistic performances that explore power and bullying, identity and mental health and friendship and complacency in ways that are in turn rich in subtlety and overwhelming in intensity…Don’t be surprised if at times you feel compelled to intervene – it feels that real… If the show’s stunning climax doesn’t leave you shaken to your core, you’d better check your pulse.” - Now Magazine

Cast: Tim Dowler-Coltman, Ruth Goodwin, James Graham, Sophia Jin, Sam Kalilieh, Cameron Laurie, Marleigh Merritt, Andrew Pimento, Hallie Seline, Kristen Zaza. Production & Design Team: Jareth Li (Lighting Designer), Nancy Anne Perrin (Set & Costume Designer), Andy Trithardt (Sound Designer), Brittany Kay (Assistant Director & Education Consultant), Simon Fon (Fight Master). Stage Management: Hannah MacMillan