15 DOGS, ALL OF THEM HUMAN ON STAGE IN TORONTO
IT IS A DOG’S LIFE IN THE WORLD OF ANDRE ALEXIS Woof. Woof. Who let the dogs out? The Crow’s Nest Theatre in downtown Toronto is quick to answer that it is Caribbean Canadian author Andre Alexis who is to blame. For almost two weeks the Carlaw Avenue theatre has been selling out each and every performance of their new play “Fifteen Dogs”. The new work is based on the award winning novel by Alexis which won the Giller Prize, the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, and Canada Reads back in 2015. The book has been adapted for the stage by Marie Farsi and has received funding in part from The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation and the Canadian Literature Adaptation Fund. The play follows the book storyline which begins with two Greek Gods – Hermes and Apollo, drinking in a seedy Toronto tavern. They make a bet to what will happen when they grant 15 dogs human consciousness. They watch from above as the pups discover the pitfalls of complex thought and emotion. In this mo