About the Play:

War is a full-length drama for young audiences by Dennis Foon. As aggression and violence permeate society, youth culture, especially among teenage boys struggles with the pressure of competitiveness, anger and vulnerability. A tough, edgy drama full of street slang and explosive interaction between characters.

War is about Shane, Tommy, Brad, and Andy, four guys in high school, all trying in their ways to be men. In this play, Dennis Foon invents a slang for the characters to speak, to point at the way we use words as weapons. But since none of them really have any idea what that means, or how you're supposed to do it, they really screw up. They're disconnected from themselves, and everyone around them because they've been taught, as part of being a man, to be aggressive and invulnerable. Language is used to reduce, disparage, and control others.

War was first produced in 1994 by Green Thumb Theatre in Vancouver. Since then it has been performed at the CAT Youth Theatre in New York City and Honolulu Theatre for Youth in Hawaii.

Cast: 4 male

What people say:

"Dennis Foon … gives us a violent jolt into the world of adolescence with his new play, War. Growing up to be a man is not easy in a society where brutality and aggression are a means of survival and dreams are held at knife-point. And Foon's teens do have dreams. Their hopes are voiced in soliloquies that are often lyrical and powerful." — CM Magazine

About the Author:

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.