About the Play:

Messenger is a full-length drama by Wendy Lill. An enthusiastic environmentalist tries to change the world in a fast-paced, compelling and emotionally charged drama about a family torn apart by the politics of climate change. Messenger is a timely play in terms of environmental issues, full of lots of great political dirty tricks.

Messenger begins in the present day but flashes back to 1990 when the Conservative government of the day, contrary to the public record, in fact set lofty goals of joining – if not leading – the world in tackling climate change. The mechanism by which that goal was lost is played out primarily between two brothers. One brother, Thomas Stockman, is an idealist, a newly minted environment minister who rides a bicycle everywhere. He has just gotten the Prime Minister to agree on a 21-point plan to reverse climate change. The other brother, Peter, is the Prime Minister's chief of staff, who immediately sees the plan as too radical for Canadian politics and the fossil fuel industry. Thomas wants to maintain political control and works with a reporter friend to push his own agenda. The stakes are raised when strong family loyalties are tested by the crisis that ensues when Thomas refuses to back down from what he knows is right. While inspired by Ibsen's Enemy of the People, familiarity with that play, which also deals with an environmental crisis and one man's fight against the establishment, is not a prerequisite for enjoying Messenger.

Messenger premiered in 2015 at the Neptune Studio Theatre in Halifax and was nominated for three Merritt awards, including best play.

Cast: 1 female, 3 male

What people say:

"...a play for the times ripped from the headlines and steeped in the human soul ... Messenger is more heart than history or politics. Lill keeps her audience on edge with her insights into the complexity of human dynamics. Her characters are crafted as real, contemporary Canadians." — The Chronicle Herald

About the Playwright:

Wendy Lill is a Canadian playwright and former parliamentarian who worked in various parts of Canada, finally settling in Nova Scotia. Her experiences in journalism and broadcasting influenced and encouraged her to "fictionalize real incidents and events." She has been described as a writer of "contemporary social issues with a clear-cut women's perspective." Her plays are produced in professional and community theatres and universities across Canada and internationally.