Wednesday, June 8 - 6:30 pm
Friday, June 10 - 6:30 pm
Saturday, June 11 - 12:00 pm
Sunday, June 12 - 2:00 pm

CONTENT WARNING

Moving Projections and scenes that may trigger trypanophobia and cynophobia.

#IAMTHECHEESE
HALIFAX THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE + EASTERN FRONT THEATRE
FAMILY / PRESENTATION
75 minutes
written for young adults, but intended for all audiences aged 12+

#IAmTheCheese is a reimagining of Robert Cormier's 1977 novel by the same name, written by local Dartmouth playwright Josh MacDonald. A world premiere production, the script won the Playwright Guild of Canada’s Sharon Enkin Theatre for Young Audiences Award in 2020. 

#IAmTheCheese is set in the present day, and follows a traumatized teenager named Adam Farmer through a series of interviews with an analyst named Brint, as Adam struggles to recall deeply repressed memories of his past. Beginning with just a wisp of a children’s nursery rhyme—“The Farmer in the Dell”—Adam begins to reassemble his sense of self, bit by bit. Eventually, Adam remembers the social stigma of his preteen years, when his parents inexplicably banned the use of the internet: no cellphones, no computer, no wifi, etc. But Adam dares to begin a relationship with a girl from his school named Amy Hertz, and this relationship blooms in cyberspace. However, the more that Adam remembers about Amy, and about his own parents, the closer he comes to recognizing that a massive, faceless danger might be surrounding him still. Through exploring the complex and intricate world of growing up in the digital era, #IAmTheCheese is an enriching and reflective thriller for young audiences.

CAST & CREW

Adam: Sam Vigneault
Amy: Raessa Lalani
Farmer: Sébastien Labelle
Brint: Susan Stackhouse

Director: Ann-Marie Kerr
Playwright: Josh MacDonald
Scenic Designer: Brenda Duran
Costume Designer: Everette Fournier
Lighting Designer: Olivia Rankin
Composer & Sound Designer: Jackson Fairfax-Perry
Projection Designer: Christian Ludwig Hansen

Stage Manager: Virg Iredale
Production Manager: Patricia Vinluan
Production Assistant: Ryan Wilcox
Lighting Mentor: Leigh Ann Vardy
Accessibility Consultant: Sara Graham

​HALIFAX THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Artistic Director: Tessa Mendel
Administrator: Riley Reign

EASTERN FRONT THEATRE
Artistic Director: Kat McCormack
General Manager: Elsa Pihl

ABOUT HALIFAX THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE

​Halifax Theatre for Young People was founded in 2009 by Tessa Mendel and Chris Heide as a means to fill the local gap in professional theatre created specifically for young audiences. Since 2009, Halifax Theatre for Young People has had the opportunity to create, share and produce numerous theatre productions, and meaningfully engage young audiences across Nova Scotia. Halifax Theatre for Young People occupies a unique place within the theatre ecology of both our local community and our region as the only full-time Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) Company in Halifax Regional Municipality.