Presented with Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad



Feb 4 – 7, 2009 7pm & 8:30pm Feb 7 & 8 2009, 2 & 3:30pm


Running Time 70m Post-show Talkback following each performance

By Geraldine Pratt and Caleb Johnston in collaboration with the Philippine Women Centre of BC
Director Alex Ferguson
Dramaturg Martin Kinch
Actors Hazel Venzon, Karen Rae, Alexa Divine, Melissa Dionoso, Patrick Keating
Sceneographer Andreas Kahre
Additional Design Tamara Unroe
Costumes Barbara Clayden
Lighting John Webber
Community Coordination Philippine Women Centre
Associate Producer neworld theatre

Are you desperate for childcare? Need someone to look after your ailing parents? Have you left your children in the Philippines to find a better life in Canada? Nanay is a testimonial play that puts these different worlds of need and desire into collision. It uses the words of domestic workers, their children, nanny agents and Canadian employers to explore the complexity of live-in care giving in Canada. Realized as a multi-media event, Nanay takes the audience through a series of encounters in search of a deeper understanding of the human costs of Canada’s Live-In Caregiver Program.

Based in Vancouver, Urban Crawl’s vision focuses on producing artistic work that opens up spaces for physical and social dialogue. The company is committed to an artistic practice that is socially engaged and enmeshed in the messy world of everyday life. It works to create art that crosses disciplinary boundaries, crisscrossing sites of aesthetic and political exploration. For Urban Crawl, Nanay represents an opportunity to further the potential of testimonial theatre, and to put theatre to work on an issue of civic importance.

clip from the making of Nanay