''The Test'' is the English-language translation of Swiss playwright

Lukas Bärfuss Lukas Bärfuss (born 30 December 1971) is a Swiss writer and playwright who writes in German. He won the Georg Büchner Prize in 2019. Biography Born in Thun, Switzerland in 1971, Lukas Bärfuss began training as a bookseller after graduating f ...

' 2007 play ''Die Probe (Der brave Simon Korach).'' Themes of the play include family, paternity and identity. The translation was first staged in Toronto by The Company Theatre (TCT) in association with

Canadian Stage Canadian Stage is a Canadian non-profit contemporary theatre company, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History The company was founded in 1988 with the merger of Centre Stage and Toronto Free Theatre. Canadian Stage has produced more than 3 ...

in 2011. According to Christopher Hoile of ''Stage Door'', ''The Test'' paints "the frightening image of the older generation so self-obsessed with creating a 'legacy' that it has driven away anyone who could possible carry it on."

World Premiere

The English translation of Bärfuss' ''Die Probe'' had its world premiere on the Berkley Street Theatre Stage in Toronto in January 2011. A co-production between TCT and Canadian Stage, the show was directed by Irish-Canadian director Jason Byrne, a longtime collaborator of TCT who also helmed ''

A Whistle in the Dark ''A Whistle in the Dark'' is a Play (theatre), play by Tom Murphy (playwright), Tom Murphy that premiered on September 11, 1961 at the Theatre Workshop, Joan Littlewood's Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London, having been rejected by the Abbey Th ...

'' (2005/2007) and ''

Festen ''The Celebration'' () is a 1998 Danish black comedy-drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg and produced by Nimbus Film. It tells the story of a family gathering to celebrate their patriarch's 60th birthday, during which a family secret is ...

'' (2008). Set designer John Thompson (''

'', 2005/07; Marion Bridge, 2007; ''

'', 2008; '' Through the Leaves'', 2010) returned to TCT for the production was joined by sound designer Richard Feren. The cast of five included several TCT alumni, including co-artistic director Philip Riccio, as well as a score of newcomers: *

Eric Peterson Eric Neal Peterson (born October 2, 1946) is a Canadian stage, television, and film actor, known for his roles in three major Canadian television series – '' Street Legal'' (1987–1994), '' Corner Gas'' (live-action 2004–2009 and fi ...

as Simon *

Sonja Smits Sonja Smits (born September 8, 1958) is a Canadian actress. She was nominated for two Genie Awards: for '' Videodrome'' (1983) and '' That's My Baby!'' (1984). On television, she starred in '' Street Legal'' (1987-1992) and '' Traders'' (1996-2000 ...

as Helle *

Gord Rand Gord Rand is a Canadian actor and playwright. He is most noted for his recurring role as Det. Marty Duko in the television series ''Orphan Black'', for which he was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Performance in a Guest Role in a Dramatic ...

as Peter *

Liisa Repo-Martell Liisa Repo-Martell is a Canadian actress and artist. Repo-Martell's parents, Satu Repo and George Martell, were founding editors of ''This Magazine Is About Schools'', an influential independent Canadian magazine now known as '' This Magazine ...

as Agnes * Philip Riccio as Franzeck In 2012, Riccio received the Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Play for his role in ''The Test''. Peterson also received a Special Citation for his work as Simon.

References

{{reflist Canadian plays Swiss plays