A Comedy of Bad Manners

A PLAY IN TWO ACTS FOR FIVE ACTORS

Two unapologetic Canadian nationalists...

One sophisticated Cuban oncologist...

One high-functioning, over-medicated Manhattan lawyer.

One befuddled two-time daytime Emmy winning TV producer.

What have they got in common?

They're all fully realized, full-tilt narcissists sharing one stage, one border, one world.

International high-stakes hijinks ensue.

Comedy reigns as borders are breached, century old assumptions are challenged and new wounds among old friends begin to heal.

Not one second too soon.

In the beautiful Canada/US border-straddling Haskell Free Library and Opera House theatre. This November...

EXCESS:A Cuban American Canadian Comedy about Sex! Shopping! and War!

By Kent Stetson

A play in two acts for five actors.

The Haskell Free Library and Opera House

Built in 1904, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House is one of North America’s most extraordinary cultural landmarks. Straddling the international border between Stanstead, Québec, and Derby Line, Vermont, it was created as a shared home for neighbouring communities on both sides. The stage rests in Canada while much of the audience sits in the United States, making every performance a uniquely cross-border experience.

More than a century later, the Haskell remains a rare place where borders exist, yet culture brings people together. It is a living reminder that theatre can transcend geography - and that one stage can become common ground.

Could there be no more fitting place for EXCESS to begin its journey?

Why EXCESS Matters Now

One theatre. Three countries. One conversation.

EXCESS explores a moment in time when fear, misinformation and nationalism strained one of the world’s closest relationship.

Twenty-three years later, the questions have only become more urgent.

Canada has always answered difficult moments with one of its greatest exports: comedy. EXCESS is not an attack on America: It is an invitation to laugh together, argue together, and learn how to be good neighbours again.

There is no better place to stage that conversation than the Haskell Opera House theatre, which spans the international border: Two audiences, two countries, one roof.

Conversations That Shaped the Play

  • ShirleyDouglas

    Canadian actor and activist, contributed to the play’s early development. Her father, Canadian icon Tommy Douglas became a central presence in the text through long conversations with Shirley and her family.

  • The Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien

    the former Canadian Prime Minister is one of the funniest and most compelling people I’ve ever met - helped shape the play through conversations about his extraordinary 2003 “No to Iraq” speech.

  • The Rt. Hon. Michaëlle Jean

    inspired The Half-Life of Love speech that opens Act Two during a conversation at Rideau Hall. Later conversations with the former Governor General of Canada informed the play’s Caribbean perspective.

  • The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson

    who preceded Madame Jean as Governor General, answered my question about Canada’s greatest challenge: maintaining the sovereignty of the Canadian North.

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Watch the Sizzler - Excerpts from a public reading

Meet the Creative Team

  • Kent Stetson

    Playwrite/Exec. Producer

  • Wade Lynch

    Director

  • Paul Hopkins

    Producer / Artthur Briknale

  • Charlotte Moore

    Actor / Grace MacKinnon

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