About the Book:

Two of the most produced, popular, and important Canadian plays for young audiences are back in an updated edition.

The volume New Canadian Kid / Invisible Kid contains two plays for young audiences by Dennis Foon. The plays explore the issues of racism and immigration through the eyes of children. In both plays the spirit of youth prevails over differences in colour and culture, promoting the message that in the end, kids are all the same inside.

New Canadian Kid follows a young man from a foreign country and his family, who face the task of starting a new life in Canada. They go through all the expected pitfalls – failure to communicate, homesickness, racism – but finally come out the other end on their way to being "new Canadians." Our young immigrant, Nick, is from an unnamed place called "Homeland," but he and his mother speak English. The Canadians (Mug and Mench) talk in gibberish from which certain identifiable words appear, often hilarious. With a single stroke, Dennis Foon allows us to comprehend exactly how Nick feels, because we're in the same boat. It creates a nice theatrical tension as Nick tries to learn how to play baseball and hockey (where we're ahead of him), while failing to understand the people explaining the rules to him (where we're all on the same page).

New Canadian Kid premiered in 1981 by Green Thumb Theatre For Young People in Vancouver, for a tour of British Columbia and the Calgary International Festival for Young People. One of Canada's most widely produced plays for young audiences, its universal message of inter-cultural harmony has been lauded by critics and audiences around the world.

Cast: 2 female, 2 male

What people say:

"Dennis Foon’s award-winning play… looks at a serious subject, prejudice, in a bright, witty and genuinely warm and sympathetic light." — The Winnipeg Sun

"Not only a young people's theatre classic, but a Canadian one as well." — Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia

"It's never too early to learn that racism is abhorrent, and there are few better ways to present the message than Dennis Foon's entertaining New Canadian Kid. Written in 1981, it's lost none of its punch – nor, unfortunately, its importance." — Now Magazine (Toronto)

Invisible Kids is the Canadian version of a play originally produced in Europe which won the British Theatre Award for the Best Production for Young People. A group of children from a variety of backgrounds discover playground politics. The class is overjoyed when the new kid, Ranim, a Syrian refugee, wins a science-fair contest which grants everyone a trip to an amusement park in the US. But when they find out Ranim is not allowed to cross the border, they have to put aside their already developed discouragement and make their voices heard.

Invisible Kids premiered in 1985 at Unicorn Theatre in the London Borough of Southwark, England.

Cast: 2 female, 3 male

About the Playwright:

Dennis Foon was born in Detroit, Michigan but has lived the majority of his life in Vancouver, B.C. He has degrees from the Universities of Michigan and British Columbia. Founding Artistic Director of Green Thumb Theatre, Foon has written more than 20 award-winning plays produced in Canada and internationally for adults and young people. Upon leaving Green Thumb in 1988, he began writing screenplays and novels, which now occupy most of his time.