TEDxRideauCanal - Pandemic Theatre - A Shot in the Dark (the immortality of theatre) February 2, 2012

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Pandemic Theatre is a Toronto-based theatre company mandated to create and produce socio-political productions with an emphasis on personal stories within political realities. Pandemic Theatre is operated by a collective artistic board comprised of Thomas Arthur Davis, Tara Grammy, Janina Kowalski, Kat Letwin, Jiv Parasram, and Alex Rubin. Our inaugural season, "Displacement", critically explored themes including extraordinary rendition and the commodification of suffering (Guantanamo Hotels & Resorts); mental illness and stigma (Imbalance), identity and the international system (My Gaza, 'Tis of Thee), and immigration and diaspora (Mahmoud). Pandemic Theatre is currently in its second season, or "Season of Violence". (Full season information available at http://www.pandemictheatre.ca)
At Pandemic Theatre, we work to resist the creation of easily consumable performance while remaining accessible to a broader public. We believe that, by challenging and satirizing accepted truths and constructed stereotypes, a truer political potential can be realized. But of course, we also try to not take ourselves too seriously - after all, it's all still "make believe", isn't it? This TEDxTalk challenges the audience to consider the role and value of theatre in their lives.

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