Creator: Mary Vingoe
Nominator: Wendy Lill
Incorporating verbatim and fictional text, Refuge tells the emotionally riveting story of a former child soldier from Eritrea who seeks refugee status in Canada, and the people who try to help him. Set partly in Halifax, the action moves backward and forward in time and space. Overall, Refuge evokes the problems faced by refugee claimants in Canada.
Jury Comments: The jury praised the vividness with which the script conveys character and action, and its engagement with a locally significant topic. By deploying verbatim text derived from a CBC documentary, the playwright finds an authentic entrée into the story and avoids the appropriation of voice. The integration of verbatim text and dramatic fiction is original and stretches the art form, while reinforcing the tension and veracity of Refuge.
