Vancouver’s Pacific Theatre will launch its 2016-2017 season by bringing local gang life to the stage in Cara Norrish’s A Good Way Out. Tough and uncompromising, this world premiere follows Joey, a hardworking mechanic who just happens to be the front man for a local biker gang.
He joined “the family” for protection when he was young, but now he has a family of his own and his priorities have changed. You can’t leave family behind, though, whether they are by blood or bond, and a few bad decisions turn this dangerous world against him and those he loves.
It isn’t just gang activity that’s been dominating the Lower Mainland news cycle for years that inspired Norrish to pen A Good Way Out.
The story is, in large part, inspired by a person close to her who was involved in gang life. Despite its personal origin, she sees the story as extending to more universal questions. “This play is about what pushes us as human beings,” says Norrish on the script, adding “how far we will go to protect the ones we love.”
Director Anthony F. Ingram has helmed a number of award-winning shows at Pacific Theatre including The Seafarer and The Whipping Man and can’t wait to work on a new script.
“I think the script leads the audience into that part of our world that many of us – often by choice – ignore, and that’s one of the things I love about theatre: it can throw light on the darker places of our world and give us a better understanding of what’s going on in places we would rather ignore.”
Pacific Theatre Presents A Good Way Out
Dates: September 23 to October 15; Weds. to Sat., 8 pm; Sat., Sun. October 9, 2 pm matinee
Venue: Pacific Theatre, 1440 West 12th Avenue (at Hemlock), Vancouver
Tickets: $23.95 to $34.95 (excluding tax and fees); available online or via phoning 604.731.5518
