It’s one thing to make your opinions known to the faceless world at large — it’s another to have those opinions come to a head in your own home.
A new Canadian play making its world debut with 25th Street Theatre in Saskatoon is tackling exactly that.
The Watch List, written by Rachel Aberle, will hit the stage for the first time at the Remai Arts Centre’s BackStage Stage from Feb. 4 to 14. Both funny and full of biting social commentary, Aberle said her play explores what happens when someone’s black-and-white ideals get tested at a personal level.
“I wanted to look at what happens when an issue that people feel strongly and clearly about in the theoretical comes home to roost and what that does to their position,” Aberle said. “Are they the people they believe themselves to be, or is there a disconnect?”
Inspired by some of the largest activism touchstones in recent memory like the “Me Too” and “Black Lives Matter” movements, the show follows the story of a son coming home to introduce his parents to his new girlfriend. Positions much easier to hold strongly from behind the veil of social media are suddenly thrust into the spotlight, and the family is forced to reconcile with their beliefs.
In writing the show, Aberle said she wanted to highlight the kind of mental “gymnastics” people will go through when it’s someone they care about who might compromise their staunchly-held ideals.
“I watched a lot of conversation online that was very clear cut, we should all know exactly what to do, and I think life is harder than that,” she said. “Living in a black-and-white world, I think that actually can make it harder to hold people to account. I wanted to look at theory versus reality.”
The show isn’t a comedy outright, but Aberle referred to it as a “comedic drama.” She described the first part of the show as finding the humour in family politics and generational divides in opinion before taking a more serious turn as those opinions are brought starkly to the forefront.
Aberle’s new play came to the attention of 25th Street Theatre artistic director Anita Smith when she was outlining what the next few years could look like for the company.
But The Watch List stuck with her so much Smith wanted to put the show on this season.
“I thought I knew where this play was going in the first ten pages … and then it sent me careening in an entirely different direction,” she said. “I was captivated by this script. I couldn’t help myself.”
Smith said while it’s an absolute honour for 25th Street Theatre to be putting on the debut performance of The Watch List, what she was looking for more than a world-premiere show was one that spoke to the present moment — and Aberle’s play more than fit the bill.
“It’s about confronting our own biases and how we might think we are these woke people, but what happens when you find yourself in a situation that challenges your deeply-held beliefs?” Smith said. “It’s about consent, it’s about racial dynamics, and about how we move through the world.”
Both Aberle and Smith said they hoped people would leave the theatre talking — about the topics of the play, about their own biases and about how these social dynamics play out in their own lives. Aberle credited the cast and production team’s caring and thoughtful handling of her script with making this a powerful, but safe, experience for the actors and the audience alike.
“I am so grateful and excited by 25th Street Theatre wanting to produce this play,” Aberle said. “It does delve into some heavy topics … and I feel honoured to have the play brought to life by a company that gets it and cares as much as they do.”
The Watch List runs Feb. 4 to 14 at the BackStage Stage. Tickets can be purchased online at 25thstreettheatre.org.
