The 2b team has been enjoying autumn on Canadian soil after a busy summer of presenting work around the world.
After an award-winning run of Red Like Fruit at the Edinburgh Fringe, team 2b switched tracks and headed to sunny Shanghai with Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story.
Read on to learn more!
This summer, 2b theatre company took the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by storm. Again.
2b’s Red Like Fruit, a new play by Hannah Moscovitch, played at Traverse Theatre as part of TravFest25 from July 31st to August 24th.
It received rave reviews from the UK and Scottish press, and as was announced at the festival, has received a Scotsman Fringe First Award.
2b theatre company is one of only five companies at the Fringe to be awarded in the first week of the festival, praising the company for exceptional new writing. The Scotsman’s prestigious Fringe Firsts are the longest running awards at the Edinburgh festivals, and are recognised all over the world. The Fringe Firsts were designed to encourage performers to bring new work to Edinburgh in the spirit of adventure and experiment.
2b won a Fringe First for our biggest ever touring hit, Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, during its UK premiere run in 2017. 2b has toured five shows to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the world’s largest performing arts festival.
“This recognition means a lot,” says 2b Artistic Director, Christian Barry. “For us, the Edinburgh Fringe is kind of the centre of our universe for original creation, touring companies. There are over 3,800 shows here this month. So many worthy shows by so many remarkable colleagues from around the world. So to be recognized with this prize is significant.”
Canadian playwriting (and screenwriting) sensation Hannah Moscovitch says, “Red Like Fruit is a personal piece, and it’s unconventional. It means a lot to me, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it would resonate for other people. So to see it being so well received, is really nice. Thank you, Edinburgh. I hope this means even more people will come and see 2b’s wonderful production.”
Thank you to Traverse Theatre and Edinburgh Fringe for hosting us!
CREDITS
Playwright: Hannah Moscovitch
Director: Christian Barry
Starring Michelle Monteith and David Patrick Fleming
Designer: Kaitlin Hickey
Associate Lighting Designer/Stage Manager: Alison Crosby
Company Manager: Olivia Rankin
Producer: Derrick Chua
Marketing Associate: Emma James
PR and Marketing for Edinburgh: Storytelling PR
Trailer: Mallory Brown
Later in August, we visited China with Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, which played at the prestigious ACT Shanghai Contemporary Theatre Festival, a program of the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre.
Three sold-out shows were follow by rich dialogue with Shanghai audiences via moderated talk-back sessions. The show was warmly welcomed, and roundly celebrated by the Shanghai Community. We hope to be back in China very soon. Stay tuned!
Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story is a humorously dark folktale woven together with a high-energy concert. This Klezmer-folk music-theatre hybrid starring genre-bending sensation Ben Caplan is inspired by the true stories of two Jewish Romanian refugees coming to Canada in 1908. It’s about how to love after being broken by the horrors of war. It’s about refugees who get out before it’s too late, and those who get out after it’s too late. And it’s about looking into the eyes of God.
Thank you to the ACT Shanghai Contemporary Theatre Festival and the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Centre for hosting us!
CREDITS for this tour
Playwright: Hannah Moscovitch
Director: Christian Barry
Songs by Ben Caplan & Christian Barry
Additional music by Graham Scott
Starring: Ben Caplan as The Wanderer
Featuring: Eric Da Costa (Chaim, woodwinds), Shaina Silver-Baird (Chaya, violin), Graham Scott (keyboard and accordion), Jamie Kronick (drumset)
Stage Manager: Christine Oakey
Sound Engineer: William Fallon
Tour Producer: Rebecca Desmarais
Music Director: Graham Scott
Assistant Director: Laura Vingoe-Cram
Costume Design: Carly Beamish
Set Design: Louisa Adamson & Christian Barry
Lighting Design: Louisa Adamson & Christian Barry
