For its upcoming presentation of Take d Milk, Nah? by Jivesh Parasram, Theatre New Brunswick is asking patrons to pick their own ticket price.
Back in the fall, Theatre New Brunswick teamed up with three Nova Scotia theatre companies to bring Rumble Theatre (Vancouver)’s one-person play Take d Milk, Nah? to the east coast.
Written and performed by Jivesh Parasram, who grew up in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia before his career led him to other parts of Canada, Take d Milk, Nah? is unlike anything TNB have presented in the past. Part comedy, part reality check, Parasram’s play tackles enormous issues involving race and culture and what it’s like to be labeled as other.
The play’s Maritime tour begins this week in Halifax with a performance at Eastern Front Theatre with shows in Antigonish and Cape Breton to follow. Parasram will conclude his east coast tour with three performances in Fredericton April 13-15. To accompany a play about being different, the staff at TNB decided to do a little something different themselves by creating a tiered ticketing option for audiences to try.
“In the past, we have offered Pay What You Wish performances, typically at the start of a run,” said Matt Carter, director of development and communications at TNB. “The Pay What You Wish model places the ticket price in the hands of the buyer and helps organizations like ours increase the accessibility of their work. The way we’ve done these events in the past involved either booking a ticket online by making a donation, or simply dropping a donation in the tip jar at the event. This time around we’re presenting a series of price options and letting our audience choose a price point that works best with their budget.”
For TNB’s three performances of Take d Milk, Nah?, which will run at the company’s Open Space Theatre at 55 Whiting Road, patrons are able to purchase tickets at four different price points: $5, $15, $25, or $35.
“I want to see more faces at the theatre,” said TNB Artistic and Executive Director Natasha MacLellan. “Tickets for our main stage shows at the Open Space Theatre are $35 plus tax and fees. We’re keeping that option open with this new model. But by offering three additional price points, our hope is to make a night or an afternoon at the theatre a real possibility for more individuals, more groups, and more families in our community.”
About the Play:
Jiv is “Canadian. ” And “Indian. ” And “Hindu. ” And “West Indian. ” “Trinidadian,” too. Or maybe he’s just colonized. He’s not the “white boy” he was teased as within his immigrant household. Especially since his Nova Scotian neighbours seemed to think he was Black. Except for the Black people—they were pretty sure he wasn’t. He’s not an Arab, and allegedly not a Muslim—at least that’s what he started claiming after 9/11. Whatever he is, the public education system was able to offer him the chance to learn about his culture from a coffee table book on “Eastern Mythology.” And then he had a religious epiphany while delivering a calf in Trinidad. By now, Jiv’s collected a lot of observations about trying to find your place in your world.
In this funny, fresh, and skeptical take on the identity play, Jivesh Parasram blends personal storytelling and ritual to offer the Hin-dos and Hin-don’ts within the intersections of all of his highly hyphenated cultures. This story asks the gut-punching questions: What divides us? Who is served by the constructs of cultural identity? And what are we willing to accept in the desire to belong? Then again—it doesn’t really matter, because we are all Jiv.
Upcoming Performances:
April 13 | 7:30 p.m. | Open Space Theatre | Pick Your Price
April 14 | 7:30 p.m. | Open Space Theatre | Pick Your Price
April 15 | 2:00 p.m. | Open Space Theatre | Pick Your Price
