TCG Books

Jake is a widower whose life is devoted to his son, a severely disabled seventeen-year-old boy. However, when Jake suddenly develops a serious medical condition, he becomes the one to rely on the people around him. As Jake's condition worsens, an ethical dilemma troubles the household as everyone is forced to consider the possibility of saying goodbye too early.

This book contains two of the most enduring plays from one of Canada’s most accomplished playwrights and performers. A funny, satirical story, Never Swim Alone is about two men locked in a ruthless competition of one-upmanship. A hilarious metaplay, This Is A Play follows three actors who reveal their thoughts and motivations as they struggle through a performance.

A new play from one of the world's most acclaimed and inventive puppeteers. Humanity is facing extinction, and Penny Plain, elderly and blind, can only sit and wait. An unexpected cast of characters pay her visits, struggling to escape from the hostile world outside, in this strange and spellbinding play.

Three one-act plays from acclaimed Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch. A chilling psychological thriller, Little One follows adopted siblings and their neighbors, a man and his mail-order bride. In Other People's Children, a wealthy couple's live-in nanny exposes the fragility of their marriage. In This World looks at what friendship means to two teenaged girls from vastly different social backgrounds.

A new play from revered playwright Judith Thompson, inspired by the life of disability rights activist Harriet McBryde Johnson. Julian is a bestselling author and fervent supporter of euthanasia. Elora, a lawyer and disability rights activist who has never walked a step in her life, is the counter-argument. So it comes as a shock, especially to Elora, when the two find themselves acutely attracted to one another.

Inspired by the Robert Pickton murders, the devastating parallel stories of women who suffered at the hands of a killer. Dying Girl is being held captive in a secluded barn. Her sister files a police report, but the police let the case slide. After nine years, new evidence comes to light, and it looks like Sister's instincts may have been right all along.

An enduring classic that looks at the inner emotional turmoil in ordinary people and the ways in which they cope. Seventeen years ago, Isobel was murdered at the age of nine. Now she finds herself back in her previous life as a ghost searching for the person responsible. Will she finally get the peace she's been yearning for?

A collection of monologues from diverse contemporary works by Canadian playwrights that reflect the country's artistic landscape through a breadth of themes, styles, regions, and creative practices. Refractions: Solo can be used as a monologue source for actors and students, and as a primer on diverse Canadian theater and an entry point into new works.

A three-play collection about youth that explores the themes of race, identity, and belonging. This book is comprised of And By the Way Miss . . . by URGE Collective, Beneath the Ice by Eva Colmers, and The Middle Place by Andrew Kushnir, featuring scholarly introductions for each.

A new play from acclaimed writer Tony Burgess, author of the wildly successful novel, Pontypool Changes Everything. In the sleepy town of Pontypool, Ontario, no one is safe from an epidemic so devastating it will leave you literally speechless.

I, Animal is a trio of riveting monologues from celebrated playwright Daniel MacIvor, each of which explores identity with tremendous insight and dark humor. In "Man in Scrubs," a queer black nurse is getting awfully tired of being put in a box. "Boy in Hoodie" is the story of a boy fascinated by death. In "Woman in Prada," a former suburban housewife navigates social expectations and desires.

A neglected favor sets in motion a series of events that end in tragedy, and a woman finds herself haunted by regret. Jennifer Tremblay's play, winner of a 2008 Governor General's Literary Award, is brought vividly to life in this celebrated new translation.

Two plays from the award-winning French Canadian playwright and her acclaimed translator. In The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs, Grace finds herself irresistibly drawn to a mysterious and forbidden room. Thinking of Yu follows a woman who becomes fascinated by a creative rebellion in Tiananmen Square.

A collection of contemporary Canadian plays. Includes Gwen Pharis Ringwood's Still Stands the House, Trey Anthony's 'da Kink in my hair, Tara Beagan's Miss Julie: Sheh'mah, Madeleine Blais-Dahlem's La Maculées Tain, Hillar Liitoja's The Last Supper, selections from the Impromptu Splendour series, Theatre Replacement's BIOBOXES, and Zuppa Theatre's Penny Dreadful.

An updated edition of the compelling play that won the 2003 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama. Einstein's Gift follows the story of Nobel laureate Dr. Fritz Haber, a chemist who risked everything for a country that never accepted him, and discovered too late this his knowledge had fallen into the wrong hands.

When Karin meets Markus, she can hardly believe her luck—perhaps with good reason. Equal parts romantic comedy and spy thriller, The Romeo Initiative follows a West German government secretary as she investigates her suspicions about her new boyfriend, who may have come from East Germany with ulterior motives.

A unique theatrical endeavor comprised of plays written by four of Canada's most celebrated playwrights. The series reveals the shocking story of a mill's past, exposing the secrets of the land's inhabitants as the plays jump through time. Includes Now We Are Brody, The Huron Bride, The Woods, and Ash.

Winner of the 2012 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama.

After learning of the death of her former husband, Margaret begins to unearth the blissful and painful memories of their marriage, all through the lens of Wallace Stevens's poem "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird." Bold and poetic, It Is Solved by Walking is an intimate portrait of a writer making her way back to poetry one step at a time.

As the community forges through physical and psychological darkness, Christopher Morris reveals that a past most have long forgotten can still have its repercussions. Darkness abounds in this story of a man long thought lost, shedding light on an isolated northern Canadian community whose struggles many would choose to ignore.

A new play by an award-winning playwright and one of Canada's most accomplished playwrights and performers follows five classmates in town for their thirtieth high school reunion. The more alcohol that's consumed, the closer the friends come to confronting their darkest secrets.

Winner of the Governor General's Literary Award, and produced on stages across the world, The Monument is a searing exploration of the nature of forgiveness. It is a profound classic that examines the paradox of the soldier today and the ambiguities of morality and justice.

This is the play that established a reputation for the playwright as a daring chronicler of the urban underclass, available here as a revised version.

Such Creatures portrays Judith Thompson's raw style of storytelling and showcases her incessant quest to understand the dark, neglected, and troubling corners of society. Both unbelievably cruel and unbelievably human, Such Creatures is an awe-inspiring portrayal of the breadth of the human spirit.

Erin Shields' award-winning play is a shocking, uncompromising examination of the horrors of war, giving voice to a woman long ago forced into silence, and placing a spotlight on millions of female victims who have been silenced through violence, delivered through the lens of Greek tragedy.

The Greek Playwright outlines the major playwrights of the ancient Greek era, their major plays, and the impact they had on our modern understanding of drama. Clem Martini weaves his direct, informative, and entertaining style through centuries of dramatic evolution to show us exactly what the first dramatists have to say to contemporary playwrights.

Based on the novel by Leon Rooke. With four legs and a keen eye, Hooker, Shakespeare's dog, tells the story of how the Stratford rogue became the world's most famous playwright, and how in the Elizabethan era, lust, love, and lives collide—and it is anyone's guess who is top dog.

“The monologue is like the tip of one of those seasonal icebergs that float so majestically down the Newfoundland coastline. They catch one’s breath, but underneath lies the other nine-tenths of the beast, an ice-blue bedrock, glowing as if with an inner light.”—from the introduction by David Ferry

An anthology of modern Canadian monologues for the male voice, for use in classes and auditions, or for general interest.

This is a collection of stage plays by some of Canada’s leading playwrights. Included are: R.H. Thomson’s The Lost Boys, David French’s Soldier’s Heart, Stephen Massicotte’s Mary’s Wedding, Guy Vanderhaeghe’s Dancock’s Dance, Vern Thiessen’s Vimy, Margaret Hollingsworth’s Ever Loving, Jason Sherman’s None is Too Many, and Marie Clements’ Burning Vision.

Winner of the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Outstanding Original Script

Three men—a great American playwright, his trusted and loyal assistant, and a young Canadian street hustler—find themselves together for two days in a hotel room. This is the story about the nature of life in a created world.

Griffiths plays take on the most emphatic dilemmas of our century—nationalism, mythology, monarchy, sexuality, and spirituality—with tenacious humour, inside, and finally, personal transformation. Sheer Nerve presents: Maggie & Pierre, O.D. on Paradise, The Darling Family, Brother Andre's Heart, Jessica, A Game of Inches and The Duchess.

The work done by De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre makes a significant contribution to Aboriginal theatre, culture, Canadian theatre and society as a whole.

Includes:

Lupi, The Great White Wolf by Larry E. Lewis

New World Brave by De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre

Ever! That Nanabush! by Daphne Odjig-Beavon and De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre

The Indian Affairs by De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre

New Voices Woman by Larry E. Lewis

The Gift by De-ba-jeh-mu-jig Theatre

Inspiration Point speaks about life on a small Canadian maritime reservation and the constant struggle for cultural survival. Poised between hope and despair, two men face how best to move beyond the past and adapt to a future in which cultural legacy seems destined to diminish.

This book is an excellent starting point for any person interested in studying theater for young audiences. It tackles tough issues with humor, insight, and compassion. Includes Smokescreen, Wrecked, and Napalm the Magnificent

"[Michael] Healey's dialogue is sushi-knife sharp, his dialectic banter is both ideologically solid and theatrically fascinating, and you start to think that if Tom Stoppard were to have been Canadian, he would have written this."—Toronto Star

This revised version of the Governor General Award–winner sheds light on an unexplored aspect of Shakespeare’s life by looking through the eyes and heart of his wife, Anne Hathaway, with whom he spent a lifetime.

Set in a West Indian hair salon in Toronto, ’da Kink in My Hair introduces us to a group of women who tell us their unforgettable, moving, and often hilarious stories. Mixing laughter and tears—and told in words, music, and dance—the stories explore the hardship, struggles, and joys of their lives. ’da Kink has been staged in Toronto and New York and served as the basis for a recent drama special on Vision TV.

David McMillan is a former actor on the verge of turning thirty. Together with his roommate Candy and his best friend Bernie, David encounters a number of seductive strangers in their search for love and sex. However, the games turn ugly when it appears one of the strangers might be a serial killer. A compelling study of young adults groping for meaning in a senseless world.

Annie Mae’s Movement explores what is must have been like to be Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, a woman in a man’s movement, a Canadian in America, an American Indian in a white-dominant culture. This play looks for the truth by examining the life and death of this remarkable woman.

The Blunt Playwright guides new students of playwriting through the intricacies of playwriting in a direct, informative, and entertaining fashion. It examines dramatic structure, discusses the creative process, explores the nature of character in dramatic work, provides a number of writing exercises that are useful for generating text, and cites local and international playwrights throughout.

Step into these imaginative works, and you will find yourself in Africa, Cape Breton Island, Vancouver, a native reserve, a developing country and a young girl’s bedroom. Includes: Girl Who Loved Her Horses by Drew Hayden Taylor, Cyberteens in Space by Matthew Decter, Mella Mella by Gail Nyoka, Beo’s Bedroom by Ned Dickens, The Elfin Knight by Christine Foster and Crusader of the World by Arthur Milner.

“All of the scenes in Canada on Stage have been selected with ‘scene study’ in mind.”—Iris Turcott and Keith Turnbull

This collection features scenes and monologues from fifty Canadian plays for study, audition, or general interest. Makes a great introduction to the themes and practices that have developed in Canadian theater over the past ten years.

These eight exciting new one acts, by emerging and established artists, address a fascinating range of contemporary issues in fresh, innovative ways. Includes works by Scott Sharplin, Christina Grant and Doug Dunn, Trevor Schmidt, Brian Webb, Anna Marie and Cathy Sewell, Jonathan Christenson and Joey Tremblay, and Manon Beaudoin.

Includes Savage Season by Anne Hébert; Playing Double by Françoise Loranger; Mine Sincerely by Marie Savard; Evangeline the Second by Antonine Maillet; Ocean by Marie-Claire Blais; A Clash of Symbols by Luce Guilbeault, Nicole Brossard, Frances Theoret et al.; The Fairies are Thirsty by Denise Boucher; Mummy by Louisette Dussault; The Edge of the Earth is Too Near, Violette Leduc by Jovette Marchessault; Marie-Antoine, Opus One by Lise Vaillancourt; and Night by Marie Laberge.