The Frontliners

Description

THE FRONTLINERS

Co-presented by Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre & Blackout Art Society 

by Zahida Rahemtulla 

Winner of a Playwrights Guild of Canada Tom Hendry Award, Theatre BC’s Play of Special Merit Award, and the Fringe New Play Prize, The Frontliners is a comedic drama set in January 2016 when Canada has just expedited 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada. Three employees stationed at an East Van hotel are tasked with housing Syrian families against an impossible rental market. As the workers pull overtime hours to find homes, they must also navigate a frenzy of journalists, do-gooder groups, bureaucracy, impossible amounts of donations, angry landlords, hotel staff, trolls, and the hopes and wishes of families themselves, all of which chaotically, tragically, and comedically intersect with the frontlines. “Captures, with economy, humour, and heart, the intense rollercoaster ride of working in a refugee placement agency during a housing crisis.” -Voaden Prize in Playwriting The Frontliners is the winner of Playwrights Theatre Centre’s New Play in Development Prize 2022, a recipient of the national 2021 Playwrights Guild of Canada RBC Emerging Playwright Award, Theatre BC’s 2020 Play of Special Merit Award, and the runner-up for the prestigious 2021 National Voaden Prize in Playwriting. 

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT 

Canadian playwright Zahida Rahemtulla grew up in Burnaby, BC, but spent years living in Metchosin, Abu Dhabi, and Toronto. Her first play, The Wrong Bashir, premiered in Vancouver to a critically acclaimed sold-out run, and was picked up for a Toronto premiere in 2024 by Crow’s Theatre. Her second play, The Frontliners, a comedic drama about refugee resettlement, won a Playwrights Guild of Canada Tom Hendry Award, Theatre BC’s Play of Special Merit Award, the Fringe New Play Prize, and was runner-up for the national Voaden Prize in Playwriting. Zahida is currently working with Nightswimming Theatre and Talk is Free Theatre to create new acting training programs for actors of colour over the age of 55 who are new to acting. Outside of theatre, Zahida has worked in literacy, teaching, and community development, and she currently teaches in the Community Development and Outreach Department at Capilano University. She also works at Blind Tiger Comedy school to make comedy more accessible and inclusive. 

SINGLE TICKETS ON SALE: 

Adults: $47 | Seniors: $40 | Students: $16 

Save 20% with a Theatre Series subscription! 

BOX OFFICE: 604.927.6555 | Open Monday – Saturday, 12 – 5PM