Refuge - Softcover

Ayinom, a former soldier from Eritrea, has arrived in Canada without papers, and seeks refugee status. Seen through the eyes of the couple that take him in and the lawyer who represents him, the play lays bare some of the shortfalls of the refugee system as it exists in Canada today. Refuge combines verbatim text from CBC radio interviews with the fictional world of the characters to create a work with uncommon resonance and verisimilitude

A director, playwright and actor from Halifax, Mary Vingoe splits her time between Nova Scotia and Ontario. She is the founding Artistic Director of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival at Canada's National Arts Centre in Ottawa. She is a co-founder and past Artistic Director of Toronto's Nightwood Theatre and founding Artistic Director of The Eastern Front Theatre in Halifax as well as co-founder and past co- Artistic Director of The Ship's Company Theatre in Parrsboro. Vingoe has written extensively for stage and radio, including Living Curiosities about Nova Scotian giantess Anna Swan, Holy Ghosters and Herring Gull's Egg. Mary was the recipient of the 2009 Portia White Award, the Mayor's Award for Achievement in Theatre, the Merritt Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal. In 2011 she was made an Officer of the Order of Canada for her contribution to theatre in Canada.