An Unsafe Place – Comedic Play Confronts Opinion and Preconceptions

AN UNSAFE SPACE is a new play by Richard Klagsbrun premiering at the Tranzac Club in Toronto. 

Find out why Shaun Proulx calls the play, “Brilliantly written, clever, laugh-your-ass-off-funny, and my fave play of the year”, and why you must go see it before it closes this Sunday 20 January, 2019.

Proulx was so impressed after seeing the play last week, that he invited writer and director, Richard Klagsbrun, along with co-stars, Precious Chong and Craig Lauzon, to join him for a lively #ThoughtRevolution chinwag earlier this week on the Shaun Proulx Show, SiriusXM Canada Talks 167.

AN UNSAFE SPACE is a comedic play about free speech, censorship, and the ideologically-based suppression of ideas, as well as the stereotyping of people and their opinions based on their racial and ethnic identities. 

Inspired by an actual event at a major North American university, the play addresses these concepts in a biting, irreverent way that entertains while acting as a stimulus for people to think about and confront their preconceptions. Could this be any more perfect for a queer audience?

AN UNSAFE SPACE begins with a meeting of progressive academics who have gathered to find ways to foil a large donation to their department by a conservative benefactor. 

Joanna Whitney (played by Precious Chong), a Political Science professor, is hosting a meeting at her home with her colleagues, some of whom happen to be her friends. In attendance is Joanna’s romantic interest, an aboriginal lawyer named Oliver Waterman (played by Craig Lauzon). Curious to learn what his political stances are and how he interacts with her friends, Joanna experiments with letting her personal and professional relationships interact.

Oliver expresses strong opinions which contradict the expectations of what the academics believe a First Nations person would and should hold. The events lead to romantic and professional rivalries, disputes, and outrage over Oliver’s opinions and confront the characters with the necessity of having to examine their own outlooks and prejudices.

Listen to the completely uncensored version of the interview above.