Touchstone Theatre and Ruby Slippers Theatre co-present Pippa Mackie’s Hurricane Mona, an absurdist dark comedy about a middle-class family grappling with their life and relationships under the grim shadow of the climate emergency.
Hurricane Mona follows the story of rebel environmental activist and elder millennial Mona, who is placed under house arrest after smashing a police car topless during a peaceful climate march. Forced to serve her term in her parent’s suburban home, tensions flare as Mona rails against the shopping habits of her Boomer parents and her Gen Z sibling’s apparent apathy in the face of looming catastrophe. But as Mona’s burning drive for her family to “do better” begins to turn the home on its head, an unimaginable disaster happens in the middle of their living room, forcing them to reckon with themselves and a future in crisis.
“I was driven to create Hurricane Mona, not only to share my past experiences as a young climate activist but create a show that isn’t about educating or blaming people,” says Mackie. “I wanted to find a way to address climate change with humour, in the hopes that it will offer people a chance to have a cathartic community experience. One that is free from blame or guilt.”
In this edition of Before The Curtain Goes Up, Vancouver Presents contributor David C. Jones chats with playwright Pippa Mackie to learn more.
Touchstone Theatre and Ruby Slippers Theatre present Hurricane Mona at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre (1895 Venables St, Vancouver) from November 18 through December 3. Visit thecultch.com for tickets and information.