Chlorine – October 19-29, Centaur Theatre LiveEvents October 12, 2016 2801 BRAVE NEW LOOKS creature/creature presents Chlorine Testing the waters of friendship, the passions of parenting, and the limits of love, CHLORINE is a beautiful, funny, tragic boy-meets-girl…with ballerinas. Written & Choreographed by Florence Longpré & Nicolas Michon Translated & Directed by Johanna Nutter CHLORINE is a bittersweet coming-of-age story about a boy-next-door named Nathan and the deep bond he forms with his neighbour, Sarah. Set in the Eastern Townships in the early 80s, this darkly comic play paints a poignant and refreshingly honest portrait of how profoundly we can be moved by someone living with a different ability. Three young ballerinas provide a theatrical manifestation of Sarah’s buried dreams and a constant reminder that we are all so much more than we appear to be on the surface. Based on an actual event, the title refers to the bullying incident which led to Sarah’s paralysis: when she was eight, two boys forced her to swallow chlorine. The chemical crystals burned her vocal cords, making her only form of communication the opening and closing of her eyes. At the onset of the play, it’s been almost a decade since Nathan has seen her and as he makes his way drunkenly home from a school dance, he wonders what has become of the girl everyone used to call “Lard Ass.” His questions are answered when Sarah’s father catches him urinating on their lawn and devises a penance of bi-weekly visits with his daughter. As the story unfolds, Nathan’s morbid fascination gives way to sincere curiosity, shifts gradually into camaraderie, grows into love, and ends finally, with redemption. Over the course of the teenagers’ friendship, Sarah’s parents come to realise the incident hasn’t arrested the development of their daughter’s mind and heart and the carefree little girl who went about singing the soundtrack to “The Sound of Music” has grown into a woman with more mature needs and desires. For tickets and information: www.centaurtheatre.com/brave-new-looks 514-288-3161 The Centaur Theatre 453 St. François-Xavier
