Mouthpiece

By (author): Amy Nostbakken, Norah Sadava

Winner of the 2017 Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best New Canadian Play
Winner of three Dora Mavor Moore Awards
Stage Award for Best Performance, 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Mouthpiece follows one woman, for one day, as she tries to find her voice. Two performers express the inner conflict that exists within a modern woman’s head: the push and pull, the past and the present, the progress and the regression. Interweaving a cappella harmony, dissonance, text, and physicality, Mouthpiece is a harrowing, humorous, and heart-wrenching journey into the female psyche.

AUTHOR

Amy Nostbakken

Amy Nostbakken is an award-winning director, writer, performer, and composer. She is co-artistic director of the theatre company Quote Unquote Collective in Toronto and core member of Theatre Ad Infinitum in the UK. She has created and composed numerous productions including The Big Smoke (2011), Ballad of the Burning Star (2013), Bucket List (2016), and Mouthpiece (2015) – which she directed, co-wrote, composed, and performed. Mouthpiece was published by Coach House Books and Oberon UK, and continues to tour internationally. It has been adapted into a feature film directed by Patricia Rozema. Now You See Her, which Amy co-wrote, directed, composed, and performed, premiered in Toronto. Amy currently lives in Toronto.

AUTHOR

Norah Sadava

Norah Sadava is an award-winning director, writer, and performer. She is co-artistic director of the theatre company Quote Unquote Collective in Toronto. Norah has created and performed numerous productions including Mouthpiece (Coach House Books), which she co-wrote and has performed internationally for the last four years. Mouthpiece continues to be produced internationally and was adapted into a feature film in collaboration with acclaimed Canadian director Patricia Rozema. Now You See Her, which Norah co-wrote, directed, and performed, premiered in Toronto in 2018 to critical acclaim. Norah is currently working on Quote Unquote’s next production Universal Child Care, set to premiere in 2021. A graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre in California, Norah teaches theatre for both adults and young people. She lives in Toronto.

Reviews

When we first saw Norah and Amy’s breathtaking performance we were speechless. Mouthpiece touches on every part of the female experience from birth to death using dance, music, and wicked humour with just a bathtub for scenery. The result is a new kind of feminist language which ignites pure, intravenous emotion. It’s impossible to describe and truly unforgettable.’ – Jodie Foster and Alexandra Hedison ‘It’s an engrossing and virtuosic performance, layered with meaning and culminating in a silent scream that any woke person – male, female, or undefined by arbitrary binaries – will recognize from their own confused, complicated, and conflicting mind.’ – The Toronto Star ‘A smart show, beautifully put together and performed, and one that speaks up for all women who daily bite their tongues.’ – The Guardian