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PHOTO GALLERY

Never Swim Alone

by Daniel MacIvor

Directed by Brandon Nicoletti

Stage Managed by Solange Ribeiro

Produced by Brandon Nicoletti

Starring

Sean Jacklin as Bill

Michael Ruderman as Frank

Zara Jestadt as Referee 

Photography by Gabriel Nicoletti

Fight Direction by Jack Rennie

Two businessmen, Frank and Bill, duke it out in a battle of words to see who is the better man.  The rounds are judged by a beautiful woman who holds a dark secret from their past.  Each round features a different challenge and posses a new question, such as, “Who has the bigger house?” “Who makes more money?” “Whose wife is more faithful?”.  But as the competition goes on, the attacks get more and more personal, leading to a deadly confrontation where only one man is left standing.

emerGENce Theatre performed Never Swim Alone at the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace, as part of the Toronto Fringe Festival from July 4 - July 13, 2014

AWARDS

"4 out of 5 N’s"

“This spot-on remount...remains hilarious and disturbing"

"Sean Jacklin and Michael Ruderman nail its difficult rapid-fire unison sections with precision."

"MacIvor's razor-sharp writing and absurd revelations are tweaked slightly for teh smartphone generation but are otherwise faithfully rendered."

     -Jordan Bimm, NOW Magazine (See Review)

REVIEWS

Outstanding Production - NOW Magazine Fringe Festival Wrap Up (See Post)

Outstanding Ensemble - NOW Magazine Fringe Festival Wrap Up (See Post)

Outstanding Direction - NOW Magazine Fringe Festival Wrap Up (See Post)

"What’s mind-blowing about Never Swim Alone is its blending of deadpan one-liners, the remembrance of childhood carelessness, and the mounting pressure and moral compromise of adult life."

"It's final lines, repeated over and over, will have you leaving the theatre under the pallor of betrayal, and playwright Daniel MacIvor’s distrusting, introspective mood."

     -Tavish McGregor, Mooney On Theatre (See Review)

"(A-)" grade

"Sean Jacklin and Michael Ruderman are impeccable..."

"...Director Brandon Nicoletti has been able to build a production so tightly executed and precise..."

"...Nicoletti's production is so much more than a great script."

     -Kelly Bedard, My Entertainment World (See Review)

Zara Jestadt as Referee 

(L to R) Michael Ruderman as Frank, Sean Jacklin as Bill, Zara Jestadt as Referee

(L to R) Zara Jestadt as Referee, Sean Jacklin as Bill

(L to R) Zara Jestadt as Referee, Michael Ruderman as Frank

(L to R) Michael Ruderman as Frank, Zara Jestadt as Referee, Sean Jacklin as Bill

(L to R) Sean Jacklin as Bill, Zara Jestadt as Referee, Michael Ruderman as Frank

(L to R) Michael Ruderman as Frank, Sean Jacklin as Bill, Zara Jestadt as Referee

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