2021

created by Cole Lewis, Patrick Blenkarn, Sam Ferguson

what does being (a)live look like?

Then as regards the actual connection between spirit & body I consider that the body by reason of being a living body can “attract” & hold on to a “spirit” whilst the body is alive & awake the two are firmly connected & when the body is asleep I cannot guess what happens but when the body dies the “mechanism” of the body, holding the spirit is gone & the spirit finds a new body sooner or later perhaps immediately.

As regards the question of why we have bodies at all; why we do not or cannot live free as spirits & communicate as such, we probably could do so but there would be nothing whatsoever to do. The body provides something for the spirit to look after & use. — Alan Turing

Brian was many things:

He was Canadian. He was American.
He loved socialist healthcare. He was a Republican.
He was a homeowner. He died unhoused.
He was a proud Vietnam veteran. He suffered from PTSD and feared war.
He was a technology enthusiast. He could barely use a remote control.
He was an abandoned child. He was a father who abandoned his children.

2021 is a live narrated video game designed for a participatory performance, accompanied by live music.

2021 is a collaborative storytelling event between performers, audience members, and AI.

2021 is an exploration of the significance of human data and the challenges of preserving dignity in death for those we fundamentally disagree with.

Intimate, emotional, and cerebral, 2021 is a show about the messiness of being alive in an increasingly technological world, with its story unfolding through a video game played on stage by one audience member as a stand-in for Cole's unhoused Veteran father, Brian. In playing the game, the player reenacts Brian's final weeks in a New Jersey hospital, with Cole (his real daughter) live narrating the journey, accompanied by a live musician.

The show will premiere in New York in January 2026.

TEAM

CO-CREATION, TEXT, PERFORMANCE Cole Lewis (Canada)

CO-CREATION, PROGRAMMING, PERFORMANCE Patrick Blenkarn (Canada)

CO-CREATION, MUSIC + SOUND DESIGN Sam Ferguson (Canada)

DRAMATURGY Fatma Sarah Elkashef (Canada)

SCENIC DESIGN Helen Yung (Canada)

LIGHTING DESIGN Itai Erdal (Canada)

TECHNICAL DIRECTION Alex Grozdanis (Canada)

Co-produced by Guilty by Association and The Elbow Theatre

Developed with the support of Canada Council for the Arts, Tarragon Theatre, and Playwrights Workshop Montreal.

PHASE TWO (Residency at MITU 580, Brooklyn - August 2024) — Photos by Dahlia Katz

PHASE ONE (Residency at Tarragon Theatre, Toronto - January 2024) — Photos by Dahlia Katz

PRODUCTION + DEVELOPMENT HISTORY

2022.8.15-2022.8.30 | Yale Center for Collaborative Arts and Media, New Haven, USA

2023.7.30-12.31 | Tarragon Theatre Greenhouse Residency, Toronto, CA

2024.1.11-20 | Tarragon Theatre Greenhouse Festival, Toronto, CA

2023.1.22-1.24 | Nightswimming Theatre Pure Research Workshops, Toronto, CA

2024.8.5-16 | Theater Mitu Artists at Home Residency, Brooklyn, USA

2024.9.1-2025.9.1 | Playwrights Workshop Montreal Residency, Montreal, CA

Artist Talks and Workshops focusing on 2021 

2024.10.22 Artist Talk, Queens University, Kingston

2024.6.14 Artist Talk, FOLDA/Howlround, Kingston

2024.2.1 Artist Talk, RUBIX, Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto

2024.1.24, Workshop, Nightswimming Pure Research, Toronto

2023.11.2, Artist Talk, Machine as Medium Symposium, Yale CCAM, New Haven

Press and Publications focusing on 2021

“2021: Reflections on a Work in Process” The CCAM Maquette: Machine as Medium, Yale University (upcoming publication)

10 Toronto Stage Artists To Keep An Eye On This Winter

The good and the bad (and everything in between)

Review: Tarragon’s Greenhouse Festival grows works-in-progress with audience

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Created with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, Tarragon Theatre, Playwrights Workshop Montreal, and Toronto Metropolitan University’s Design + Technology Lab.