Winner of the MECCA award for Best Actress

Last Call

New Classical Theatre Festival – Montreal
August 23 – September 2, 2006

Uno Festival – Victoria
May 23 – 27, 2007

Written by Holly O’Brien
Directed by Alison Darcy

Last Call is an evening spent with Celia, a 36-year-old, down-and-out alcoholic. The play is set in her favourite bar where she pounds the unpredictable jukebox, and tries to coax free drinks from the staff and patrons. Truthful and raw, Last Call is motivated by the real story of a woman losing control of herself. Celia laughs at the tragedy of her own life while you bear witness; she’s that sad woman at the bar that corners you, that doesn’t stop talking and just won’t leave. She carries with her the intolerable grief of the person gone, the one she could have been. After a while, the party girl isn’t just partying anymore. But hey…if you can’t laugh, you’ve lost so much already.

The play was lauded for its strong, uncompromising tone, as well as the way it navigated poetic language and crude irreverent humour. Celia is not asking for handouts, pity or forgiveness. She’s here to tell her story in her own arrestingly honest way, showing us how we’re all prey to our desires and self-destructive impulses.

Credits:

Written by Holly O’Brien
Starring Holly O’Brien
Director, Dramaturge: Alison Darcy
Producers: Joseph Shragge, Melanie St. Jacques, Alison Darcy and Holly O’Brien
Stage Manager: Kathy Daehler
Poster Photographer: Andi State
Poster Designer: Alison Darcy

Reviews/Awards:

“Painfully beautiful” (Amy Barret, Mirror)

“Last Call’s loser makes great theatre” (Matt Radz, The Gazette)

Winner: MECCA Award for Best Actor (Holly O’Brien)