Special Lobby Talks

Insights into some of our classic titles with special guests. Free.

Let Slip the Dogs of War: Reflections on the Stories of War with R.H. Thomson 

“Cry ‘Havoc’ and let slip the dogs of war” Julius Caesar, III.i.

From Julius Caesar to Jason Sherman, how do we fit stories about war into our culture? What responsibilities do playwrights and storytellers have? Are stories guides to our future or traps set by our past?

Actor and author R.H. Thomson, through an extraordinary look at his family’s war history, ponders how communities digest stories of wars in their aftermath. Touching on theatre, military history, art, memorials, literature, science and movies, he explores how the storied calm and order of ceremonial parades, memorials, and monuments can bury the jaw dropping costs of war.

He proposes mindfulness of the three story layers that emerge from every war. He offers a re-imagined commemoration called The World Remembers, that places the war stories from every community in Canada - Anglo, Punjabi, Irish, Chinese, American, German, Italian and many more - into a communal frame. Whether we are enthralled by King Lear or the haunting post-Vietnam film The Deer Hunter - how do these stories reveal our mindset about conflict?