Presented at the Actors’ Lab and Toronto Fringe Festival

June 13 to 18, 1989 | June 20-24, 1989

Two soldiers stumble upon a silent and solitary Sufi. In their attempts to force him to speak, the conquerer becomes the conquered, and brutality is their downfall.

Playwright: Bahram Beyza’ie Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa
Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Tracy Card | Greg Danakis | Peter Farbridge Musician: Bruce Russell Stage Manager: George Mirabelli  
Poster by: Farhood Farmand

Produced in association with the Theatre Centre

April 8 to 22, 1990

 In this absurdist piece, set in a nameless city in a time of revolution, a high-end brothel serves as a metaphor for a corrupt and violent regime.

Playwright: Jean Genet Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: David Botten | Leanna Brodie | Kim Collier | Martha Cronyn | Ann-Marie Kerr | Anita La Selva  Gord MacKenzie | Sandy MacMaster | Richard Malouin | Barbara Nicholson  Andrew Scorer Musicians: Ezra Azmon | Kevin Gould | Beverly Kreller Set: Soheil Parsa Lighting: John Christie Costumes: Barbara Nicholson  Milt Jewel Stage Manager: Ian Rea  Producer: George Mirabelli | Peter Farbridge

Presented at the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace and the Montreal Fringe Festival

June 6 to 10, 1991 | July 10 to 21, 1991

In Bahram Beyza’ie’s allegorical work about how society manufactures its own dictators, four colours representing the intelligentsia, clergy, merchants and labourers are divided and conquered by a malevolent scarecrow.

Playwright: Bahram Beyza’ie Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Peter Farbridge Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Peter Farbridge | J. Brian MacDonald | Gordon Mackenzie | Viv Moore | Randy Swyer  Musician: Baha Sadr Lighting: Nicholas Greenland Stage Manager: Baha Sadr

Produced in association with Phyzikal Theatre and the Tarragon Theatre

 May 1 to 11, 1992

In Beyza’i’s re-telling of two Persian fables, the Arabian Night’s Sinbad story and Rumi’s Conference of the Birds, eight sailors search for the truth on a ship lead by Sinbad the Sailor.

Playwright: Bahram Beya’ie Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Peter Farbridge Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Roy S. Cameron | Kae Donais | Ed Fielding | Peter James | Martha Cronyn | Peter Farbridge | Arturo Fresolone | Angela Johnston | Philip Shepherd | Celaleddin Ucar Choreography: Peter James | Philip Shepherd  Set: Milt Jewel Lighting: Nicholas Greenland Music: Ali Koushkani  Stage Manager: Michael O’Hara Photo by: Tom Skudra

Presented at the Tarragon Theatre Extraspace

April 1 to 28, 1993

Gholam Hossein Sa’edi’s satirical drama about a village harassed by mysterious thieves explores contemporary Iran’s relationship to the West and the limits of social and political expression.

Playwright: G.H. Sa’edi Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Peter Farbridge  Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Sarah Armstrong | Margarette Lamarre | Christopher Kelk | Eileen O’Toole | Tom Shultz | Maureen Cassidy | Stan Coles | Gene Mack | J. Brian MacDonald | Sandi Ross Set: Steve Lucas Lighting: William F. Gosling Costumes: Manon De Gagné Soheil Parsa Sound: Eileen O’ Toole | Tom Scholte Stage Manager: George Mirabelli Photo by: Greg Tjepkema

Presented at 524 Wellington St. West

April 7 to 24, 1994

In Beyza’ie’s poetic and political work about the cruel dynamics of a class-based society, a miller, his wife and his daughter are accused of killing a fugitive king, who sought refuge in their mill to avoid enemy invaders.

Playwright: Bahram Beyza’ie Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Peter Farbridge Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Tanja Jacobs | Peter James | Tracy Wright | Dean Marshall | Duncan Ward | Stan Coles | Andrew Scorer Set and Costumes: Gita Hashemi Lighting: Aisling Sampson Stage Manager: Joanne Fishburn Photo by: Dina Almeida

Presented at Buddies-in-Bad-Times Theatre

October 14 to November 5, 1995

An adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic set within the simple, codified style of a Persian passion play (Ta’ziyeh-Khani).

Playwright: William Shakespeare Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Joe DePaul  Natasha Doyon | Peter Farbridge | Matthew Heney | Ron Kennell | J. Brian Macdonald | Soheil Parsa | Elizabeth Rogers | France Rolland Lighting: Nicolas Descouteaux Set: Soheil Parsa Music: Ian Lefeuvre Costumes: Heather MacCrimmon Stage Manager: Paul Mark Producer: Rhonda Lipstein 

Presented at Buddies-in-Bad-Times Theatre

May 6 to 18, 1997

This adaptation of Anton Chekov’s ‘The Cherry Orchard’, reinvented the story through the prism of the memories of the elderly serf, Firs.

Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Peter Farbridge Director: Soheil Parsa Cast:  Desmond Ellis | Paul Herwig | Peter James | Anna Khimasia | Michael McMurtry | Soheil Parsa | Kim Renders | France Rolland Lighting: Andrea Lundy Set: Kayhan Mortezavi Costumes: Mitra Ghavamian Sound: Richard Feren Stage Manager: Erica Heyland Photo by Kayhan Mortezavi

Produced by Modern Times Stage Company and Rightime Productions at Le Monument National

January 27 to February 8, 1997

An adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic set within the simple, codified style of a Persian passion play (Ta’ziyeh-Khani).

Playwright: William Shakespeare Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Peter Farbridge | Matthew Heney | Ron Kennell | Anna Khimasia | René-Madeleine Leguerrier | Soheil Parsa | France Rolland | Ian Watson | Frank Zotter Lighting: Martin Labrecque Music: Ian Lefeuvre Costumes: Veronique Avery Stage Manager: Johanne Pomrenski Producers: Robert Gervais | Mike Kronish Photo by David Lawrence

Produced in association with Theatre Passe Muraille

May 14 to June 7, 1998

A naïve and human stablehand named Aurash becomes an unwilling player in his country’s post-war border treaty. Bahram Beyza’i updated this 1000-year-old Persian myth with strong humanist and pacifist themes.

Playwright: Bahram Beyza’ie Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa| Brian Quirt Director/Choreographer: Soheil Parsa Cast: Ron Kennell | Joan Heney | Todd Hammond | Earl Pastko Lighting: Philip Cygan Set and Costumes: Soheil Parsa | Karen Krupa Composer: Richard Feren Dramaturge: Brian Quirt Stage Manager: Kathryn Davis

Presented at Theatre Passe Muraille

May 13 to 30, 1999

An adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic play in which Prince Hamlet avenges his father’s death.

Playwright: William Shakespeare Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Peter Farbridge Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Christopher Barry | Sean Baek | Terrence Bryant | Juno Cocknell-Mills | John Evans | Peter Farbridge | Stavroula Logothettis | Dax Lough | K. Scott Malcolm | Gregory Thomas Set and Costumes: Soheil Parsa | Peter Farbridge Lighting: Andrea Lundy Text Coach: Kate Lynch Sound: Richard Feren Stage Manager: Kathryn Davis

Produced in association with Artwood Theatre

October 19 to November 5, 2000

Five incarcerated women find solace through acting out stories they find written on the walls by former female inmates.

Playwright: Soheil Parsa Director: Soheil Parsa Choreography: Norma Araiza Cast: Beatriz Pizano | Michelle Polak | Yashoda Ranganathan | Gail Roberts | Dragana Varagic Set and Lighting: Stephen Droege Sound: Richard Feren Costumes: Karen Krupa Stage Management: Andrew Dollar  Production Management: Mark Ryder Photo by: Stephen Droege

Produced at Artword Theatre

September 24 to October 14, 2001

Ionesco depicts an eternally aging couple in a lighthouse awaiting their guests in this absurdist classic.

Playwright: Eugène Ionesco Direction: Soheil Parsa  Artistic Conception: Soheil Parsa | Jan Komarek Cast: Peter Farbridge | Ed Fielding | Michelle Polak Set and Lighting: Jan Komarek  Sound: Ben Grossman Stage Manager: Alexa Carrol Photo by: Jan Komarek

Presented by the Fadjr International Theatre Festival

January 21, 22, 2002

A naïve and human stablehand named Aurash becomes an unwilling player in his country’s post-war border treaty. Bahram Beyza’i updated this 1000-year-old Persian myth with strong humanist and pacifist themes.

Playwright: Bahram Beyza’ie Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Brian Quirt Director/Choreographer: Soheil Parsa Cast: Peter Farbridge | Ron Kennell | Andrew Scorer  | Anna-Mackay Smith Lighting: Stephan Droege Sound: Richard Feren Costumes: Andjelija Djuric  Stage Manager: Hilary Unger

Presented at the Fadjr International Theatre Festival

January 23, 24, 25, 2003

An adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic set within the simple, codified style of a Persian passion play (Ta’ziyeh-Khani).

Playwright: William Shakespeare Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: James Acton | Mark Ellis | Peter Farbridge | Ashleigh Hendry | Ron Kennell | Stavroula Logothettis | Dax Lough | Soheil Parsa | Yashoda Ranganathan Lighting: Stephan Droege Music : Ian Lefeuvre Costumes: Andjelija Djuric Stage Management: Andrew Dollar Producer: Laurel Smith

Presented at Artword

November 4 to 23, 2003

A quintet of interrelated one-act plays depict a surrealist world where reality and time are interconnected.

Playwright: Abas Na’lbandian Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Peter Farbridge Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Stewart Arnott | Nita Costa | Mark Ellis | Peter Farbridge | John Gilbert | Daniel Karasik | Stavroula Logothettis | Andrew Scorer Set: David Skelton Lighting: Andrea Lundy Costumes: Angela Thomas Sound: Thomas Ryder Payne Photo by: Karen Braaten

Presented at the Theatre Centre

March 5 to 27, 2005

An adaptation of Shakespeare’s classic set within the simple, codified style of a Persian passion play (Ta’ziyeh-Khani).

Playwright: William Shakespeare Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Juana Awad | Peter Farbridge | Stavroula Logothettis | Karim Morgan | Brendan Murray | Alon Nashman | Soheil Parsa | Yashoda Ranganathan | Lyon Smith Set: Soheil Parsa Lighting/Installation: Stephan Droege Costumes: Andjelija Djuric Music: Ian Lefeuvre Additional Sound: Thomas Payne Stage Manager: Elaine Lumley Assistant Director: Setareh Delzendeh Producer: Laurel Smith Photo by: David Sweeney

Presented at Summerworks Festival

August 2, 3, 4, 2006 

Two youth loyal to the anti-colonial struggle in Algeria cannot stop their acts of violence, even after the revolution has been won.

Playwright: Mohammad Rahmanian Translator/Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Leanna Brodie | Michelle Latimer | Ali Momen | Earl Pastko Set and Lighting: Soheil Parsa Sound: Thomas Ryder Payne Stage Management: Brenda Kamino

Presented at the Theatre Centre

February 15 to March 19, 2006

Inspired by T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Wasteland’, bloom is the haunting story of despair and hope played out between an old man with a decaying soul, and the boy who bears the seeds of his redemption.

Playwright: Guillermo Verdecchia Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Anita Majumdar | Andrew Scorer | Simon Casanova | Peter Farbridge | Stavroula Logothettis | Beatriz Pizano Set: David Skelton Lighting: Andrea Lundy Composer: Thomas Ryder Payne Costumes: Angela Thomas Stage Manager: Elaine Lumley Photo by: Guy Bertrand

In co-production with Cahoots Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille

February 13 to March 7, 2007

Set on a cargo freighter in the Strait of Gibraltar, The Sheep and the Whale examines the complexities of both individual identity and social relationships, navigating the chasm between North and South.

Playwright: Ahmed Ghazali Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Oporajito Bhattacharjee | David Collins | Soo Garay | Elie Gemael | Timothy Hill  Paul Sun Hyung Lee | Karim Morgan | John Ng | Debbie Nicholls | Julian Richings  Andy Velasquez | Jim Warren Set: Camillia Koo Lighting: Trevor Schwellnus Composer: Thomas Ryder Payne Costumes: Nina Okens Stage Manager: Issac Thomas Photo by: Guy Bertrand

Presented at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts

March 5 to 21, 2008

Beckett’s absurdist classic in which two men wait by a tree for the arrival of Godot.

Playwright: Samuel Beckett Direction: Soheil Parsa Cast: Stewart Arnott  Peter Batakliev | Peter Farbridge | Darrel Gamotin | John Ng Set: Trevor Schwellnus Lighting: Andrea Lundy Costumes: Angela Thomas Stage Management: lindi g. papof Production Manager: Douglas Morum Photo by: Guy Bertrand

Presented at OKC Abrašević, Mostar (BiH)

June 5 to 6, 2009

A naïve and human stablehand named Aurash becomes an unwilling player in his country’s post-war border treaty. Bahram Beyza’i updated this 1000-year-old Persian myth with strong humanist and pacifist themes.

Playwright: Bahram Beyza’ie Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Brian Quirt Translation to Serbo-Croatian: Dragana Varagić | Mihaila Petričić Director/Choreographer: Soheil Parsa Assistant Director: Peter Farbridge Cast: Martina Kujundžić-Đaković | Ivan Rozić | Vedran Vilogorac Igor Vidačković Lights: Aleksander (Sasha) Dekić Music: Richard Feren Additional Sound: Husein Orucević | Attila Aksoj Stage Manager: Sue Balint Photo by: Sue Balint

Produced in association with the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts

September 22-26, 2009

Impact Festival, Kitchener, ON

September 29, 2009

A Sufi poet looking for a spiritual destiny, Hallaj won the admiration of the public and rage of the orthodoxy. In the end, four unspeakable words brought him to political trial and a brutal, untimely death.

Playwright: Peter Farbridge| Soheil Parsa Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Lara Arabian | Stewart Arnott | Steven Bush | Peter Farbridge | Keon Mohajeri | John Kin Kei Ng | Costa Tovarnisky | Bahareh Yaraghi Set: Camellia Koo Lighting: Andrea Lundy Costumes: Angela Thomas Sound/Composition: Thomas Ryder Payne Movement Coach: Thomas Jones Assistant Costumes: Setareh Delzendeh Assistant Set: Jill Tomac Production Manager: Chris Clifford Stage Manager: Dale Yim Photo by: Guy Bertrand

Produced at the Tank House Theatre,  Young Centre for the Performing Arts

May 14 to 29, 2010

A naïve and human stablehand named Aurash becomes an unwilling player in his country’s post-war border treaty. Bahram Beyza’i updated this 1000-year-old Persian myth with strong humanist and pacifist themes.

Playwright: Bahram Beyza’ie Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Brian Quirt Director/Choreographer: Soheil Parsa Cast: Martin Julien | Ron Kennell Michelle Latimer | Christopher Morris Set: Setareh Delzendeh  Soheil Parsa Lighting: Andrea Lundy Sound Design/Composition: Richard Feren Costume/Properties: Setareh Delzendeh Stage Manager: Nicola Benidickson Production Manager/Technical Director: Doug Morum Producer: Sue Balint Photo by: John Lauener

Presented at Casa del Teatro Nacional, Bogotá, Colombia

August 11 to September 11, 2010

A naïve and human stablehand named Aurash becomes an unwilling player in his country’s post-war border treaty. Bahram Beyza’i updated this 1000-year-old Persian myth with strong humanist and pacifist themes.

Playwright: Bahram Beyza’ie Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa| Brian Quirt | Peter Farbridge Spanish Translation: Simon Casanova Director/Choreographer: Soheil Parsa Cast: Gonzalo Carreño Francisco Marti | Salvatore Motta | Brunilda Zapata Photo by: Carlos Mario Lema

Presented at the Sarajevo Teatarfest, Theatre Sloga

May 23, 2010

A naïve and human stablehand named Aurash becomes an unwilling player in his country’s post-war border treaty. Bahram Beyza’i updated this 1000-year-old Persian myth with strong humanist and pacifist themes. 

Playwright: Bahram Beyza’ie Translation/Adaptation: Soheil Parsa | Brian Quirt Translation Serbo-Croatian: Dragana Varagić | Mihaila Petričić Director/Choreographer: Soheil Parsa Assistant Director: Peter Farbridge Cast: Martina Kujundžić-Đaković | Vedran Vilogorac | Igor Vidačković Lights: Aleksander (Sasha) Dekić Music: Richard Feren Additional Sound: Husein Orucević | Attila Aksoj Stage Manager: Sue Balint Photo by: Sue Balint

Produced in association with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre

November 22 to December 4, 2011

In his final night before his execution, a Sufi poet is given a choice between ascending to his spiritual perfection, or recanting his beliefs to save his wife and child.

Playwright: Peter Farbridge | Soheil Parsa Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Stewart Arnott | Steven Bush | Peter Farbridge | Carlos González-Vio John Ng | Beatriz Pizano | Costa Tovarnisky | Bahareh Yaraghi Set: Trevor Schwellnus Lighting: David DeGrow Costumes: Angela Thomas Sound/Composition: Thomas Ryder Payne Production Manager/Technical Director: Doug Morum Stage Manager: Dale Yim Producer: Sue Balint Photo by: John Lauener

Presented at the Lower Ossington Theatre 

November 12 to December 1, 2012

In Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist classic, the Professor’s lesson to his young Pupil deteriorates into a complete destruction of her mind and body.

Playwright: Eugene Ionesco Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: David Ferry  Michelle Monteith | Costa Tovarnisky Set: Anahita Dehbonehie Lighting: Michelle Ramsay Costumes: Angela Thomas Sound: Thomas Ryder Payne Movement Coach: Thomas Morgan Jones Stage Manager: Nicola Benidickson Production Manager: Erin Birkenbergs Producer: Aislinn Rose Photo by: John Lauener

Forgiveness

Presented at the Theatre Centre 

In association with Laboratoriet (Denmark), Don*Gnu Physical Theatre and Film (Denmark) and Dreamwalker Dance Company (Toronto)

February 15 to March 1, 2014

In an empty white space defined only by light and sound, three dancers and two actors examine how forgiveness affects our lives – from the conflicts that have shamed human history to the intimate tragedies that touch us personally.

Playwright: Peter Farbridge | Soheil Parsa | Barbara Simonsen Director: Soheil Parsa Dramaturg/Assistant Director: Barbara Simonsen Choreography: Don*Gnu | Dreamwalker Dance Cast: Peter Farbridge | Stavroula Logothettis | Andrea Nann | Jannik Elkaer Nielsen | Kristoffer Louis Andrup Pedersen Lighting: Michelle Ramsay Set: Lindsay Anne Black Sound: Thomas Ryder Payne Costumes: Angela Thomas Stage Manager: Marcie Januska Production Manager: David DeGrow Producer: Sue Edworthy Photo: John Lauener

Blood Wedding

Presented at Buddies in Bad Times

A Modern Times Stage Company/Aluna Theatre Coproduction

March 11 to March 29, 2015

Lorca’s ‘Blood Wedding’ is a classic of 20th Century theatre. Inspired by a fragment of a newspaper story found by the playwright, it tells the story of a family vendetta that comes to a boil when a bride-to-be runs away with the son of the enemy. As they flee the oppressing forces of their family’s histories, death pursues them through the thick of the forest under the light of the moon. This story of ill-fated romance serves as the backdrop for a poetic exploration of the conflict between individual desires and social conventions. It pits primal desire against the weight of history, and holds up love as the most powerful and unstoppable force we can harness.

Playwright: Federico García Lorca Translation: Langston Hughes Director: Soheil Parsa The Cast: Lara Arabian | Steven Bush | Sochi Fried | Carlos Gonzalez-Vio | Mina James | Derek Kwan | Jani Lauzon | Sebastian Marziali | Liz Peterson | Beatriz Pizano | Chiamaka G. Ugwu | Bahareh Yaraghi Scenographer: Trevor Schwellnus Costume Designer: Angela Thomas Sound Designer / Composer: Thomas Ryder Payne Stage Manager: Erika Morey Production Manager: Charissa Wilcox Producer: Sue Balint Production Photographer: Jeremy Mimnaugh

The Death of the King

March 25 to April 10, 2016

Coproduced with the Theatre Centre

Critically-acclaimed Iranian playwright, Bahram Beyzaie wrote The Death of the King shortly after the Iranian Revolution. Beyzaie’s play tells the story of a family charged with treason, and accused of killing their nation’s ruler. The execution gallows are being prepared while a miller, his wife, and their daughter embark on a desperate bid to reveal the truth about their despotic, yet desperate, leader. This highly-inventive and physical production explores the vulnerability of ordinary citizens struggling under the extraordinary circumstances of their political fate. 

Playwright: Bahram Beyzaie  Translated by: Soheil Parsa | Peter Farbridge Directed by: Soheil Parsa Cast: Sean Baek | Steven Bush | Colin Doyle | Carlos González-Vio | Ron Kennell | Jani Lauzon | Bahareh Yaraghi Scenographer: Trevor Schwellnus Composer/Sound Designer: Thomas Ryder Payne Costume Designer: Teresa Przybylski Stage Manager: Michael Hart Production Manager: Charissa Wilcox Production Dramaturg: Ric Knowles Assistant Director: Carla Melo Producer: Sue Balint  Associate Producer: Gabrielle Immelman

Blood Weddings

Presented at Buddies in Bad Times

A Modern Times Stage Company/Aluna Theatre Coproduction

March 4 to March 19, 2017

Lorca’s ‘Blood Wedding’ is a classic of 20th Century theatre. Inspired by a fragment of a newspaper story found by the playwright, it tells the story of a family vendetta that comes to a boil when a bride-to-be runs away with the son of the enemy. As they flee the oppressing forces of their family’s histories, death pursues them through the thick of the forest under the light of the moon. This story of ill-fated romance serves as the backdrop for a poetic exploration of the conflict between individual desires and social conventions. It pits primal desire against the weight of history, and holds up love as the most powerful and unstoppable force we can harness.

Playwright: Federico García Lorca Translation: Langston Hughes Adaptation: Melia Bensussen Director: Soheil Parsa The Cast: Lara Arabian | Steven Bush | Sochi Fried | Carlos Gonzalez-Vio | Mina James | Derek Kwan | Jani Lauzon | Sebastian Marziali | Carla Melo | Beatriz Pizano | Chiamaka G. Ugwu | Bahareh Yaraghi Scenographer: Trevor Schwellnus Costume Designer: Angela Thomas Sound Designer / Composer: Thomas Ryder Payne Stage Manager: Erika Morey Production Manager: Charissa Wilcox Producer: Sue Balint Production Photographer: Jeremy Mimnaugh

bloom

Presented at Buddies in Bad Times

March 26 to April 8, 2018

Inspired by TS Eliot’s “The Wasteland”, “bloom” is a humorous and haunting story of despair and hope played out between an old man with a decaying soul, and the boy who may bear the seeds of his redemption.

Playwright: Guillermo Verdecchia Director: Soheil Parsa Cast: Peter Farbridge | Kim Nelson | Liz Peterson Costumes & Set: Anahita Dehbonehie Lighting: Michelle Ramsay Sound: Thomas Ryder Payne Movement  Stage Manager: Lori Andersen Production Manager: Charissa Wilcox Producer: Gia NahmensPhoto by: John Lauener