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The December Man (L'homme de décembre)
By Colleen Murphy
In the aftermath of the 1989 Montreal Massacre, Benoît and Kathleen do everything they can to help their beloved son cope with his guilt and rage… but Jean's young life becomes unglued.
Using humour and the humdrum of everyday life, Murphy intuitively moves backwards in time ... Read more
Overview
In the aftermath of the 1989 Montreal Massacre, Benoît and Kathleen do everything they can to help their beloved son cope with his guilt and rage… but Jean's young life becomes unglued.
Using humour and the humdrum of everyday life, Murphy intuitively moves backwards in time to the fateful day when Jean, the only ray of hope in this working-class family, escaped the massacre… or thought he did. This searing drama on courage, heroism, and despair explores the long private shadow that public violence casts. Winner of the 2007 Governor General's Literary Award for Drama and the 2008 CAA Carol Bolt Award.
Colleen Murphy
Born in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, and raised in Northern Ontario, Colleen Murphy won the 2016 and 2007 Governor General’s Literary Award for English Language Drama for her plays Pig Girl and The December Man / L’homme de décembre respectively. Both plays were also awarded a Carol Bolt Award. Other plays included The Society For The Destitute Presents Titus Bouffonius, Armstrong’s War, The Goodnight Bird, The Piper, and Beating Heart Cadaver, which was short-listed for a Governor General’s Literary Award. She is also a librettist—Fantasma for composer Ian Cusson, My Mouth On Your Heart for composer August Murphy-King, and Oksana G. for composer Aaron Gervais—and an award-winning filmmaker. She has been Writer-in-Residence at six universities and Playwright-in-Residence at two Canadian theatres as well as at Finborough Theatre in the UK.
Reviews
"…a stroke of genius on Murphy's part to tell the story backwards, a device Harold Pinter used for similar compelling effect in his 1978 drama Betrayal. Not only is the drama in The December Man heightened because of this theatrical device, but the comic moments have a bitter sting to them. "
"…a chilling must-see. It isn't too often that the gurgling sound of a coffee maker percolating brings tears. "
"The December Man is a time out from a pop cultural world so drenched in violence that it's almost become commonplace to pour a drink, flip on the news and watch bedlam unfold in various time zones around the world, all woven into a nice, tidy narrative by an attractive, trustworthy correspondent. Murphy is the correspondent for the fallen. "
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- Dimensions 72 pages, 5.40 x 8.40 x .25 in
- Published May 1, 2007
- Publisher Playwrights Canada Press
- Category Drama
- Keywords Canadian , Women Authors
Other titles by Colleen Murphy
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