About the Play:

The Cave Painter & The Woodcutter contains two full-length comedic dramas by Don Hannah. A collection of two plays: The Cave Painter is a one-woman show that deals with grief and where we put it to continue on with our lives; The Woodcutter is a deeply moving and compassionate play that begins with a man crashing his way into a clearing in the deep woods, then gradually reveals the tragic circumstances leading up to his arrival.

The Cave Painter: Dianne is a printmaker who derives her imagery from pre-history-Neanderthal teeth, the Jericho skulls, old bones. Too many people close to her have passed away, and her only son has rebelled by embracing a life of religious fundamentalism. The Cave Painter is a brilliant one-woman show about a ribald, feminist Job; a funny, moving monologue about being an aging artist, struggling with a cumulating tally of loss and the intersection of art, grief and faith. (First Staged in 2011 at Timms Centre for the Arts in Edmonton; Cast: 1 female)

The Woodcutter: A scruffy, exhausted man is lost in the woods at nightfall with only a few sentimental objects in his pockets. Alone in a clearing he unloads his thoughts to the surrounding wilderness, ranting and raging, unravelling a story of a troubled past and of the family he adores, eventually coming to terms with the impossible truth of what he's done. (First Staged in 2010 during the Working Title Festival in Edmonton; Cast: 1 male)

About the Playwright:

Don Hannah is a Canadian playwright and novelist who lives in Toronto and Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. He was the inaugural Lee Playwright-in-Residence at the University of Alberta where he wrote While We're Young. As a dramaturge, he has worked with playwrights from across Canada, and for five years was on the faculty of the Banff Playwrights Colony.