A man is at a silent meditation retreat where participants are not supposed to speak or communicate in any other way with each other for ten days. His recent terminal cancer diagnosis has made him acutely aware of the need for community and human interaction, but his thoughts are his only company. In this poignant and surprisingly funny solo play, Brooks invites us to bear witness as he explores the anxieties and joys of loving and living, and the inevitability of dying.
News & Reviews
“Brooks has accomplished something astonishing, and we have to commend that—Other People is a show which hits hard, both on the micro-scale of Brooks’ meditative experience and on the macro scale of human mortality. That’s no small feat.”
—Intermission Magazine
“Other People is a moving and profound look at life and death. Daniel Brooks’ show about living with terminal cancer brilliantly reflects the world back to us.”
—NOW Magazine
“Defiant, courageous, gutsy—use any word you want—in facing death head-on, but most of all, it is filled with wry wit and self-deprecating humour…An exceptional theatre experience.”
—Ludwig-van.com
“The list of works with which Brooks has been connected reads like a guide to some of the best productions of the past twenty years.” — The Walrus
About the Author
Daniel Brooks is one of Canada’s most accomplished theatre makers. As a writer, director, and performer, he has collaborated with some of the country’s finest talents in producing a body of daring and original work. He has created shows with Don McKellar, Tracy Wright, Daniel MacIvor, Guillermo Verdecchia, John Mighton, and Michael Ondaatje, among others. His many achievements include a series of monologues created with Daniel MacIvor, direction of work by John Mighton, Beckett, Chekhov, Ibsen, Sophocles, Borges, and Goethe, and the musical The Drowsy Chaperone. His published work includes Insomnia, The Noam Chomsky Lectures, The Eco Show, The Good Life, Bigger Than Jesus, and The Full Light of Day. He was co-artistic director of the Augusta Company, artistic director of Necessary Angel from 2003 to 2012. He was also a playwright-in-residence at the Tarragon Theatre for seven years and the Barker Fairley Distinguished Visitor at the University of Toronto. His many theatre awards include the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. Daniel’s work has toured across Canada and around the world.