The U.S. premiere of Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard’s Tom Na Fazenda (Tom on the Farm) brings issues of discrimination, oppression, and acceptance to the forefront.
Michel Marc Bouchard, one of the most important voices in Quebec theatre, will bring his critically acclaimed play, Tom Na Fazenda (Tom at the Farm) to the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University on Friday, March 20, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Directed by Rodrigo Portella, Tom na Fazenda is a groundbreaking play the Montreal Theatre Hub website describes as “spectacularly gutsy and gritty.” In a fast-paced narrative filled with both humor and tragedy, it tells the story of lead character Tom as he makes his way to a rural community in Brazil for the funeral of his lover.
There, Tom discovers that his lover’s mother knows nothing about him or her dead son’s love life; only a brother knows about their relationship, but suppresses the truth with astounding violence.
At its core, Tom Na Fazenda reveals the fragility of life and shows how humanity can encompass both violence and love. Armando Babaioff, who translated Bouchard’s French script into Portuguese and who plays Tom, said, “This play put me in a place that I had never experienced before. It has the power and the ability to put the viewer in the place of another.”
Tom Na Fazenda has garnered widespread public and critical acclaim and has amassed major industry awards in Brazil. Designed to stimulate dialogue and empathy, the stirring production comes at a time when Brazil holds the highest LGBTQ+ murder rate in the world.
A review on the Montreal Theatre Hub website noted that “Bouchard’s thunderous work once again proves a timely, necessary piece on a silent epidemic that transcends borders.”
One day prior to the play’s performance, the Quick will co-host a panel discussion, “Conversations in Global Humanities: Tom na Fazenda in Context,” in collaboration with Fairfield University’s Humanities Institute in the College of Arts and Sciences. The panel will feature University faculty members and members of the cast on Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 5 p.m. This event is free but reservations are required; contact the Quick at boxoffice@quickcenter.com to reserve your seat.
Tom Na Fazenda is generously sponsored by Abbey Tent & Party Rentals, Fairfield University Alliance, Triangle Community Center and 89.5 FM WPKN. Tickets are $40 | $30 for Quick Members. For more information or to reserve your seat, visit www.quickcenter.com or call the Box Office at 203-254-4010, or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396.
