Graduating class performances

ABOUT TOTAL LIQUIDATION

It’s standing room only at Total Liquidation! Come for the music and the beer, stay for the drama. Inspired by Montreal, its rich indie music scene and the recent Quebec student protest movement, playwright Jordan Tannahill collaborated with the 11 graduating students of the NTS Acting program, over their 3-year training, to create Total Liquidation. This high-octane, devised play, carried by two live student-led punk and electropop bands, within an immersive, 360 degree environment, will be presented from October 20 to 24, at the Hydro-Québec Studio of the Monument-National.

Total Liquidation takes place in one single, charged night, as a group of young activists and musicians occupy their own underground performance space called Total Liquidation. They are being evicted and the building, sold to a condo developer, is now slated for demolition; tensions escalate to the breaking point as loyalties are put to the test.

“While the show is set in Montreal and is very much a love letter to this city, Total Liquidation is also a parable of how our ideals change as we grow older. It explores what we lose when the places that come to define us disappear,” explained playwright and director Jordan Tannahill, who had a real desire to give voice to youth subculture. He tapped into the NTS Acting graduating students’ wish to engage thoughtfully with the politics of the day, on the heels of the Quebec student protests of 2012 and 2014, the Arab Spring, Idle No More and the Occupy movement.

Jordan Tannahill was struck by the musical virtuosity of the Acting students and he wanted to feature their talent. The songs played by the two bands in Total Liquidation are written, composed and performed live by some of the cast members, who worked under the mentorship of Amy Millan from the Montreal band Stars as well as with musician and Set Designer Brad Murphy.

“Jordan Tannahill was the perfect choice to work with the graduating students on this long-term, three-year project. He creates from a place of authenticity rather than imitating anyone else,” adds Alisa Palmer, Artistic Director of the English section of NTS. “Jordan is recognized as a young artistic voice that sees theatre as a truly collaborative art and as a vital part of society, which mirrors my own values and those of NTS. I also knew he would be able to keep a real a sense of humor within the team as they grappled with high-stake, emotional issues that impact our lives today.”