Death and Taxes
I was appalled that the Prime Minister of Canada had been caught accepting cash in brown paper bags from a known lobbyist for Airbus Industries, It seemed to me a moral Rubicon had been crossed in the post-WWII history of our country. I had to try and understand it. I had to write a play about it.
Eric Davis played the lead, Nathan Carter. With minimal rehearsal he was fantastic. A fictional attempt to understand the post-war culture of Canadians transforming themselves into legal corporations for the lucrative tax benefits that can be accrued. It is also an attempt to make sure we do not forget the extraordinary number of corrupt individuals who formed the government during the Mulroney era. “Carter” is my paternal grandmother’s maiden name. I wanted it to be close to home. Note in the adjacent photo the use of live video pick-up that permitted us to get inside the heads, the thinking, of the characters.
Reviews
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Gazette
Guy Sprung looks at taxing times
When I was in acting school we mounted one of the airiest-fairiest productions of A midsummer Night’s Dream you could ever hope to see.
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The National Post
Canada: a people's history of moral decay and greed
Guy Sprung is fuming about the sponsorship scandal. Like many Canadians, especially Québécois, the director and dramaturge has been following the Gomery inquiry closely on television and in the papers.
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Townships Sun Newspaper
‘Death and Taxis; unavoidable drama at the Saidye
Now i’m really in the mood to do my taxes. You think writers are creative? They’re nothing compared to politicians and tax lawyers. Take Nathan Carter, the perfect example of a relatively new organism in the overall evolutionary timeline.
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The Globe and Mail
Our home and greedy land
If Montreal director and playwright Guy Sprung’s latest work has a single major think working in its favour, it is the current newspaper headline, which accent the show beautifully.
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Le Devoir
La corruption, de l’intérieur
Guy Sprung eat un monsieur absolument charmant. Élégant, spirituel, la cinquantaine élancée, le directeur de l’InfiniTheatre répète ces jours-ci un spectacle qui prendra l’affiche du Saidye Bronfman la domaines prochaine.
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Le Devoir
Chute d’un hero contemporain
Le rôle de plus en plus marqué de l’argent dans la vie des gens a inspiré l’auteur et metteur en scène Guy Sprung.