A MAN CONTEMPLATES THE ABYSS. A STORYTELLER TAKES ON AN APPRENTICE.

Lord Sword

An Epic for Two Actors

A grieving storyteller takes on a young monk as apprentice who draws him into telling an epic beyond his power to control.

“Lord Sword is a minimalist epic, a highly original meditation on storytelling and orality - about fathers and sons, about war and legacy. This beautiful play is a philosophical treatise full of humour in which the word is central.” – Anne-Marie Donovan, Director

Two actors play a total of eleven roles in what turns out to be an ode to the art of acting.

In the era of post-truth politics, live theatre shines a light on our willing suspension of disbelief.

MICHAEL PENG AND ALDRIN BUNDOC IN REHEARSALS FOR ACT III OF LORD SWORD - PHOTO NICHOLAS REES

Lord Sword has many layers, and each layer speaks louder to a certain kind of audience: there is the tale of seeking justice and revenge; a story of politics and propaganda; a ghost story; a story that was only imagined, desired or dreamed; the story of an acting experiment and exercise.

Storytelling, a as shorthand for all kinds of narrative, structures information - from the making of the sun and the moon to the creation of a company, a product or a service. Used to instruct and to seduce, storytelling is used in teaching, selling, but also in bearing witness. The concept of storytelling is barnacled with pieties that Lord Sword cuts to pieces.

LORD SWORD

An Epic for Two Actors
by Douglas W. Campbell
Directed by Anne-Marie Donovan
Mike Peng as Storyteller
Aldrin Bundoc as Apprentice
Paul Pulford, cellist
Original music and sound design by Colin Labadie
Costume design and set concept by Marzena Cegys
Light design by Jennifer Jimenez
Projection design by Isabella Stefanescu
Fight choreography by Daniel Levinson
Movement director Brad Cook
Production manager Nicole Quesnel