Opening in one week at the Havana Theatre, Ithaka, is a new play by Andrea Stolowitz, directed by Jessica Anne Nelson. Co-produced by dream of passion productions and Excavation Theatre, the Canadian Premiere performance runs, May 3-7 and 10-14, 2016 at the intimate Commercial Drive stage.
Ithaka is about a Marine Captain, Elaine Edwards, who has just returned from her latest tour in Afghanistan but this time things are different – home doesn’t feel right and nothing makes sense. After a blow up fight with her husband propels her to skip town, she undertakes an Odyssean journey through the American landscape battling her monsters, trying to find her way home.
Stefania Indelicato, artistic director of dream of passion productions, also a performer in Ithaka, found the work and brought it to the stage under the direction of Jessica Anne Nelson of Excavation Theatre. The duo previously collaborated on 2014’s After, also at the Havana Theatre.
In response to the plays subject matter, a marine dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), the producers have partnered with Wounded Warriors Canada (WWC), a non-profit organization that supports Canada’s ill and injured Canadian Armed Forces members, Veterans, and their families, through a wide range of national programs and services. Corporal David Macdonald, WWC’s National Partnerships Director says, “Having served in Afghanistan with the Canadian Infantry, this portrayal of a US Marine coming home from war strikes an all too familiar tone with me. Andrea Stolowitz captures it completely with an ending that will leave the audiences feeling what it means to be a veteran now home from war.”
To experience the powerful story yourself, get Ithaka tickets online now.
The Havana Theatre is located at 1212 Commercial Drive.
Performances are May 3-7 & 10-14, 2016 nightly at 8:00pm nightly with a 2pm matinee on May 7th.