Socrates Project presents award-winning thriller The Runner

Photo by Graham Isador.


Multiple award-winning play The Runner is heading to Hamilton with performances on Sept. 19 to 22 and 26 to 28 at McMaster’s Black Box Theatre, L.R. Wilson Hall.

McMaster’s Socrates Project is presenting Human Cargo Theatre’s gripping new work as part of its 2019-20 season.

Staged on a 24-foot continuously moving treadmill, the 70-minute, one-person play is based on a real-life member of the Orthodox Jewish Israeli volunteer force Z.A.K.A. Jacob grapples with the ethical and emotional turmoil created by a split-second decision made in the line of duty.

In his research for The Runner, playwright Christopher Morris travelled to Israel to spend time with Z.A.K.A. members and the parents of 18-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber Ayat Al-Akhras.

“As we slide further down the path of political and social division, now more than ever, we need plays like The Runner that champion individuals who put human decency above tribalism, while knowing full well the consequences they’ll face by doing so,” says Morris.

“We are thrilled to be able to bring this powerful and thought-provoking production to Hamilton,” says Socrates Project director Rina Fraticelli. “The Runner pulls us into the heart of Jacob’s story. His dilemma reminds us that the question of what is right or wrong is complicated; there are many sides to a story.”

The Runner, which won Outstanding Production, Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Direction in the 2019 Dora Mavor Moore awards in professional theatre, is directed by Daniel Brooks and performed by Shaw and Stratford Festival alumnus Gord Rand.

The Runner by Christopher Morris

  • Sept. 19, 20, 21 at 7:30 p.m.
  • Sept. 22 at 1:30 p.m.
  • Sept. 26, 27, 28 at 7:30 p.m.

Black Box Theatre, McMaster University

Tickets: $15 general admission, $5 students

Buy online or call 905 525 9140 ext. 26848

A trailer of the show is here.

The Socrates Project is a two-year pilot designed to create an important bridge between academic disciplines, and between McMaster and the wider community. With programming on subjects ranging from the future of work and the science of climate change to performances by leading national and international performers, the Socrates Project provides space to discuss critically important topics, diverse perspectives, and global challenges.

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