Winnipeg 
Events Description
The play is a story of exploitation and survival, as a woman looks back on her teen-age years, and on her troubling relationship with her much older uncle. She struggles to escape the hold of her family and the crippling persistence of her own memories.
Originally produced in 1997, Paula Vogel’s play was described by the New York Times as “lovely and harrowing”. The work has acquired new urgency in the age of #MeToo. It is the story of a woman finding the voice to speak out about her own sexual exploitation. Yet she refuses to be a mere victim, and her unflinching account of her childhood growing up in 1960s Maryland is laced with tenderness and delicate humour.
From the play’s opening monologue: “It’s 1969. And I am very old, very cynical of the world, and I know it all. In short, I am seventeen years old, parking off a dark lane with a married man on an early summer night.”
This is the inaugural production by the Protagonista Theatre Company, a new company dedicated to bringing high quality modern drama to the Winnipeg stage. The play was a timely choice for their first production. Says Claire Thomas, who plays the lead role: “Paula Vogel’s play was incredibly controversial when it was first produced. Now I think we can see that it was controversial for all the right reasons. It gives voice to a woman who is telling her own story, and who is speaking out about issues of power and consent. It resonates with modern audiences because it is the kind of story that has gone untold for far too long.”
How I Learned to Drive runs February 20th-23rd at 7:30pm nightly (with a 1:30pm matinee on Saturday, February 23rd) at the Colin Jackson Studio Theatre at Prairie Theatre Exchange.
Who is it for?
all-ages
WARNING: Contains mature content, discussion of sexual trauma
HOW MUCH
Tickets : $20
All tickets are $20 and are available at protagonista.ca or the PTE box office.
How to get tickets?
Buy Online
At the door: PTE box office
WHEN & WHERE
Date & Time: February 20-23rd, 2019 at 7:30pm nightly with a 1:30pm matinee on Saturday, February 23rd
Run time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Venue: Colin Jackson Theatre at Prairie Theatre Exchange
3rd Floor Portage Place
393 Portage Avenue
Street Parking, Paid Parking
Public transport accessible
