2020/2021 Season

UNMUTE

Sat, Mar 13, 2021
  • By Cedric Martin, Lindsey Middleton, and Kimberlee Walker
  • Directed By Erin Brandenburg
Season Sponsors:
Run Time: 2 hours
Room: Registrants will be given links to join virtually
Warning: UNMUTE deals with abuse, and assault. Not recommended for audiences under the age of 13.
Door Sales / Will Call:

  • The Will Call window is located through the main theatre entrance.

  • Opens at 5 pm for evening performances and 11 am for matinees.

  • 416-978-2452

Event Ended

Overview

Hart House Theatre and FIFSW Graduate Student Association present a forum theatre piece created by Theatre of the Beat that addresses the rise of domestic violence and gender-based assault during COVID-19.

While a family’s life may seem normal from the other side of the screen, abuse is lurking behind closed doors. Immerse yourself in this important and timely piece that gives audience members the chance to rehearse scenarios for real life. Audiences will learn skills and resources for how they can make a difference. Participate in changing the story through forum theatre.

UNMUTE: The Impact of a Pandemic on Gender-Based Violence is an interactive, forum theatre piece that allows audience members to stop the action of the play and makes suggestions of different approaches to navigating these difficult situations around gender-based violence.

Creative Team

Praise for UNMUTE

“Powerful. And empowering. I felt so helpless watching, wanting to scream at the participants to do something more helpful during the production. This allowed me and others to intervene, to change the course of the narrative, and to try things out and see the result. I found it so empowering and thought-provoking.” - Audience Member

“It was very helpful to watch how people were responding when intent listening was happening. I really like the dialogue between the two men where there is significant denial and not wanting to get involved. This was portrayed accurately.” - Audience Member

“I watched others participate and I was inspired by the various (often simple) modifications and the way the conversation shifted. In every instance, the conversation went in a different direction than was portrayed in the play, and it made me feel hopeful to see how individuals who were experiencing abuse could open up and were more willing to share what was going on at home with their close friend/partner.” - Audience Member

About Theatre of the Beat

Theatre of the Beat (TOTB) is a Canadian touring theatre company working to catalyze conversations on social justice and its intersection with the beliefs of the communities in which we find ourselves. Since 2011, Theatre of the Beat has been staging change across North America by creating original social justice theatre and workshops for underrepresented populations. Through an immersive cultural exchange of grassroots theatre, hospitality, and philosophy, the company empowers its audience to work towards a just future.