In 40,027 BCE (a time when the average human could only count to five), a grief-stricken Homo sapiens couple adopts a Neanderthal child. But language separates parents and child, only to then separate mother and father–and how do we love when we can’t communicate? With that, a mythic journey of danger and sacrifice ensues, to connect to the Neanderthals and to protect the child at all costs. Orphan Song is a heroic tale of clashing cultures and an examination of how the bonds of family are truly formed.
About the Author
Sean Dixon is a playwright best known for his work with Victoria’s Theatre SKAM and Winnipeg’s renowned Primus Theatre. He’s written several shows for the Okanagan’s Caravan Farm Theatre and Eastern Ontario’s Blyth Festival, and will be publishing a novel next year with Calgary’s Freehand Books. In 2014, he was nominated for the Governor General’s Award for his play A God In Need of Help, first produced at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre.
Other works include the plays The Wilberforce Hotel, The Orange Dot, Jumbo, The Child Empress, France, (or, ‘The Niqab’), Falling Back Home, The Painting, Sam’s Last Dance, Billy Nothin’, and The Gift of the Coat; the novels The Many Revenges of Kip Flynn and The Girls Who Saw Everything, and a picture book (with illustrator Lily Snowden-Fine), The Family Tree.
Sean lives with his wife, the multi-award-winning documentary maker Katerina Cizek, and a nine-year-old daughter whose brilliant, funny, stubborn character inspires much of his current work.