Hippies and Bolsheviks and Other Plays
By (Author) Amiel Gladstone
Coach House Books
Coach House Books
15th March 2007
Canada
General
Non Fiction
812.6
Paperback
256
Width 127mm, Height 203mm
255g
Hippies and Bolsheviks and Other Plays collects three works by Amiel Gladstone, introducing a wide range of fascinating characters and a formidable new voice in Canadian drama.
In The Wedding Pool, three single friends in unsatisfactory jobs decide to place a bet on who will marry first. The friends waitress and wannabe dancer Sylvia, rock critic Miles and inventory manager Dave open a joint account to which they each contribute $50 a month, the final sum to be collected by the first to tie the knot. But when Miles starts dating the bank teller who opens their account, the friends realize much more is at stake and are forced to consider their individual fears and failings.
In Lenas Car, a woman whose marriage has stalled reflects on how it got to that point, harkening back to her youth, when she was just a Young Girl in a Small Town Looking for Trouble. Picking over the memories of her adolescence, she attempts to figure out why she ended up in a disintegrating relationship and just when her life became like everyone else's.
Hippies and Bolsheviks set in 1970s British Columbia, a hotbed of hippie idealism, is a comedy based on the big ideas of the long-haired revolution. Star stumbles home from a Led Zeppelin concert with a draft dodger. A bizarre love triangle develops the next morning as Allan (Green Tree), a defector from the same commune Star fled, shows up on her doorstep. As The Establishment gains more ground, three dropouts struggle to hold on to their ideals.
Amiel Gladstone's work has been produced in Canada, New York, Philadelphia, and Colmar, France. His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including a Jessie for original script for Lena's Car, and best production at SummerWorks for The Black Box. He also works as a director and is the current Artistic Producer of Theatre SKAM and the Artistic Associate at Caravan Farm Theatre.