Hedges
Young Audiences. 6 actors. One act.
Perfect houses, perfect neighbours, all living in harmony, divided only by a lovely green hedge... And then the troubles begin.
 |
Tim Rowat (Hedge) in the Peterborough Theatre Guild production. |
The Eskers and the Drumlins are ultra-compatible neighbours and their lovely suburban homes are separated by a small - but acerbic - Hedge. The Eskers and Drumlins socialize with each other and all is harmony on their street - until the issue of the Esker's errant dog arises. The Drumlins are not dog-friendly and, egged on by their local hardware dealer, Widget, they begin a series of defensive maneuvers designed to keep the Esker canine on the Esker side of Hedge. But the Eskers are offended and they turn up at Widget's store also, requesting pro-dog armaments. Throughout, Hedge tries to remain neutral - but inevitably he too is drawn into the war.
Hedges is a modern day parable about the arms race, and illustrates how the incredible profits involved in the military armaments industry actually encourages conflict. The play is designed for the junior high level, and for performance by students.
Click here to read text from Hedges
Production Details
 |
The Playwrights Canada anthology, "Six Canadian Plays", which includes Hedges. |
Hedges was commissioned in 1985 by the late Marion Gilsenan, for production with a group of young actors in Merrickville and Smiths Falls, Ontario. At Ms Gilsenan's behest, the play was specifically written to encourage enthusiastic performance by high school and junior-high school-age children. The play's professional debut was an Ontario tour in 1995 by Carousel Players, and the cast and crew included:
Hedge -
Adrian Churchil
Drumlin - Jennifer Moor
Widget - Denis Nadon
Esker - Sanjay Talwar
Director
- Josephine LeGrice
Designer - Lori Hickling
Props
- Michael Guard
Sound - Jim Crocini
Stage Manager - Shari Beck
Publishing History
Hedges is published in an anthology of plays for young audiences, Six Canadian Plays. ISBN 0-88754-469-X. $16.95
A four character version is also available from the Playwrights Union, in copyscript format. ISBN 1-55173-061-8. $7.00
The six character version is also available from the Playwrights Union in copyscript format. ISBN 1-55290-170-X-2001. Price $7.00.