About the Play:

Finalist for the 2015 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama (Canadian equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize)

Odd Ducks is a full-length comedy by Bryden MacDonald. Mandy Menzies, a sweet and self-absorbed trophy wife, is having an affair with the smooth-talking pathological liar, Ambrose Archibald. This lively comedy takes place in a small seaside town – before, during, and not long after the infamous "incident" that has shaken all the skeletons right out of the closet, generating a healthy dose of chaos in the otherwise mundane lives of Odd Ducks four eccentric characters.

Odd Ducks is an absurdist romp about self-discovery. Welcome to the small town of Tartan Cross, Nova Scotia, where skeletons rattle in closets and past histories are so intertwined that the lives of four forty-something, eccentric characters have become so complicated that something needs to change. At the centre of the drama is Ambrose Archibald, an irredeemable reprobate and the type of guy who rants philosophically at the bar while mooching beer from his friends. He's a narcissist who thinks he's God's gift to women. And he's having an affair with the charming and beautiful Mandy Menzies, who was the high school beauty queen but is now stuck in a marriage of convenience and a life of boredom. Her housekeeper and confidant, Estelle Carmichael, who has just returned from away with her own baggage, watches their train wreck of a relationship from the sidelines. And Freddy Durdle, Ambrose's one and only friend, has finally had enough. In Odd Ducks, award-winning playwright Bryden MacDonald traps his four characters at the brink of existential angst – and then let's the comedy fly from there. Things work out okay in the end… sort of.

Odd Ducks premiered in 2012 at the Chester Playhouse in Chester, Nova Scotia and was named a Finalist for the 2015 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama. Subequently performed in 2019 at Ship's Company Theatre in Parrsboro, Nova Scotia.

Cast: 2 women, 2 men

What people say:

"Odd Ducks is a tragedy that is essentially a comedy because really, without comedy, nothing can be taken seriously ... The writing sizzles and sings ... the play builds to a great finish." — Chronicle Herald (Halifax)

"MacDonald has become a colourful voice in Canadian theatre." — Globe & Mail

"The dialogue is snappy, the laughs are frequent." — The Coast (Halifax)

About the Playwright:

Bryden MacDonald is a Canadian playwright, director, dramaturge, and teacher. He has directed more than 40 professional theatre productions. He has taught and coached students at The National Theatre School of Canada, McGill University and Dalhousie University. He has conducted workshops or been artist-in-residence or guest artist at a number of theatres and festivals across the country, including The National Theatre School, Playwrights Workshop Montreal, Mulgrave Road Theatre, Neptune Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and The Stratford Festival.