Community Play

By Zoe Maeve Jenkins

A love letter to Toronto and the myriad stories it contains--familiar, romantic, professional, and artistic connections tenderly interwoven, bringing the city to life.

An ode to the ties that bind us in the communities we inhabit, where artists flourish, carers struggle, and young adults come of age in the midst of the devastating realities of economic austerity.

After getting laid off from her cultural-sector office job, single-mom Amber strikes up a relationship with Maggie, a theatre group organizer putting on a play in her Toronto neighbourhood's community centre. The summer drags on as Amber juggles her new relationship, raising her teenage daughter Tabitha, and searching for meaningful work beyond a temporary data-entry position in an underfunded mental institution.

As the play and its participants blossom in preparation for opening night, Amber's relationships and grip on reality increasingly untether. Old anxieties flourish when Amber sinks back into familiar patterns of mental illness, while the economic anxieties of late stage capitalism echo in all corners of the city's backdrop.

Despite the turbulence, the play triumphs with a cast made up mostly of community members and non-professional actors, musicians, and set designers. A joyful reminder that all our voices and imaginations are essential in building the cities we wish to become.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1770469257
• ISBN13: 9781770469259
• Release Date: May 2027
• Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.1" x 8.5"