Photo of Nakuset, Lena, Jordan, David, Luke, Yuki, Margot, Keita, Elena, Dexter, Phoebe, Rebecca, Andrew, Sofia, Kino, Ailish & Garnet by Tim Matheson

Produced by Theatre Replacement, PuSh Performing Arts Festival & On the Boards
With support from Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre

You feed us. You wash us. You dress us. You sing to us. You watch us when we are sleeping. You make promises that you think we won’t remember. You tell us stories with happy endings, and stories with unhappy endings and stories with endings that are not really endings at all. You explain to us what love is. You explain to us the different causes of illness and the different causes of war. You whisper softly when you think we can’t hear. You explain to us that night follows day.
                                                                          —Tim Etchells

A play for adults performed by children, That Night Follows Day  starts out from observations as to how the adult world shapes the world of the young. With humour and great clarity, the evening explores the economies of parenthood, upbringing, discipline, control and care that define the adolescents’ worlds. As so often in his equally poetical and analytical works, Etchells also turns the spotlight on the actual situation of the performance. In That Night Follows Day, this revolves around the social and aesthetic construction that makes adults the audience, listening to children and adolescents on stage as they talk about the way adults project their world onto them. But also about how both — adults and children — are imprisoned and shaped by language when they imagine and try to appropriate their own future.

Originally produced by Victoria in Ghent and written in response to conversations Etchells’ had with the Belgian cast, the script catalogues the many ways a child’s world is determined by that of adults. With great clarity and humour it examines the systems of parenthood, upbringing, discipline, care and welfare that define children’s’ and adolescents’ worlds. The play not only gives a fresh slant on the old ‘nature vs. nurture’ debate but also allows an adult audience to rediscover the sense of wonder as well as some of the darker fears we all experienced growing up.

That Night Follows Day is directed by James Long and Maiko Bae Yamamoto with lighting design by John Webber, set design by James Long and featuring Ailish Elisabeth, Margot Berner, Luke McAndless-Davis, Andrew Warner, Garnet Barret, Jordan Zanni, Rebecca Zanni, Phoebe Conway, Na'ku'set Shepherd Gould, Dexter van der Schyff, Yuki Nakahara, Sofia Newman, David James Wilson, Keita Dueck, Leina Dueck, Elena Anderson Kirby and Kino Roy. The show premiered at the PuSh Festival at the Roundhouse in February 2009 and then toured to On the Boards Behnke Centre for Contemporary Performance in March.

Winner of the 2009 Children's Choice Awards:

"Best of the Fest"
"Best Music" (thank you to MIA)
"Most Cheering from the Audience"
"Best Use of Adjectives"
"Best Use of Swearing"
"Most Educational for Parents"
"Best Teamwork"
"Best Voice"