About the Play:

Winner of 6 Montréal English Critic Circle Awards (MECCA), including for Best Text

With Bated Breath is a full-length drama by Bryden MacDonald. A poignant look at the disappearance of a shy, young gay man from the Maritimes who runs away to start a new life in the big city. Caught in the dark-side of Montréal's red light district, he retreats ever further into a world of fantasy and anonymity. With Bated Breath is a highly theatrical, poetic and provocative play!

With Bated Breath is the sensual and provocative tale of Willy, a troubled but charismatic gay kid who flees Cape Breton Island for Montréal with hopes of forgetting a newly broken heart. There, hopelessly awkward and naïve, he finds momentary comfort with the denizens of Montréal's red light district, but soon goes missing without a trace. Willy, in one-way or another, has had a profound effect on the lives of the other characters. His presence lingers. As rumours fly, secrets explode, and reality blurs with fantasy, Willy is both remembered and reinvented by his friend and protector, Esta; Float, the jaded young stripper who takes him under his wing; Camilla, the small-town gossip with a few secrets of her own; Bernie, a man running from his past, and his wife, Ricotta, a flamboyant and outspoken fading party girl whose on-the-rocks relationship takes a drastic turn after they invite Willy into their home. Imbued with equal measures of wit and warmth, Bryden MacDonald proves to be a master at merging the pedestrian with the highly theatrical.

With Bated Breath premiered in 2009 at Centaur Theatre in Montréal and was a Finalist in the Drama category at the 2011 Lambda Literary Awards.

Cast: 2 female, 3 male

What people say:

"If Tennesee Williams were from the Maritimes and writing today, he'd sound a lot like Bryden MacDonald." — Toronto Star

"Quite stunning … full of one-liners and dark poetry." — Daniel MacIvor

"Sometimes shocking, often foul-mouthed and usually hilarious, Bryden MacDonald's poetic characters are a dynamic combination of salty and sweet, of soft and hard, of light and dark. They may not be your idea of the prefect dinner guests but they certainly make for a bracing evening of theatre." — Ray Surette, Artistic Director, Centaur Theatre, Montréal

"A sexy, sensual show with plenty of bravado, some nudity and surreal, orgiastic ending." — The Gazette (Montréal)

"A tortured, Maritime Gothic story." — The Mirror (Montréal)

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.