Drama Indigenous Peoples Of The Americas
Too Good to be True
- Publisher
- Playwrights Canada Press
- Initial publish date
- Jan 2022
- Category
- Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, Canadian
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9780369102904
- Publish Date
- Jan 2022
- List Price
- $18.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9780369102928
- Publish Date
- Jan 2022
- List Price
- $13.99
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Where to buy it
Description
From the acclaimed author of Huff & Stitch comes a new dark comedy about the lies we tell each other in order to make the best of a desperate situation.
Maria and her kids—Lisa, a pregnant teenager, and Jude, an excitable preteen—are on the run following the murder of Lisa’s rapist. As the police close in, Maria is determined to give her kids a last supper that prepares them for everything they’re going to need to survive in the world without her.
About the author
Cliff Cardinal is a multiple-award-winning Cree playwright and actor. After graduating from the playwriting program at the National Theatre School of Canada, Cliff went on to write three solo plays, including Huff and Stitch, both of which garnered him awards. In addition to his work in theatre, he has also completed a music project called Cliff Cardinal and The Skylarks who recently released their debut album, This Is Not A Mistake. Cliff lives in Toronto.
Excerpt: Too Good to be True (by (author) Cliff Cardinal)
lisa: So, if we live here, is he going back to school.
maria: Yes.
beat.
Eventually.
beat.
lisa: If he doesn’t go to school, everyone will think we’re inbred.
beat.
jude: How come only I have to go to school.
How come she doesn’t have to go back to school.
beat.
maria: Your sister’s gonna have a full-time job as a mom.
beat.
And also, she must take time to find healing.
beat.
Honey, after what you’ve been through, you can’t expect to-
lisa: So you’re going to homeschool him.
maria: Yes.
beat.
Homeschool.
Homeschool on the fly.
beat.
lisa: Is there an official paper you’re supposed to get.
maria: We don’t need some paper that shows how smart we are.
jude: Colleges might.
beat.
maria: Haven’t you been learning a lot.
beat.
All that history, at those national monuments.
All that math, calculating the miles to the next hotel.
beat.
I’ve taught you both how to drive.
beat.
You wouldn’t have learned that in fourth grade.
beat.
Now, for the first lesson, in the great, Maria Grace, homeschool experiment: living every day like it’s the last episode of the season.
beat.
jude: Whoa, awesome.
The last episode of the season is where the whole world almost falls apart but then he hero risks it all to save what he cares about most.
beat.
maria: That’s right.
beat.
maria: I’ve still got a few more tricks to show you.
Then we’ll go back to school.
beat.
jude: I have a question I’ve been meaning to ask you.
beat.
maria: Let the homeschooling begin.
beat.
jude: What’s a fugitive.
beat.
beat.
beat.
maria: A fugitive is someone who wants to clear their name.
beat.
jude: That’s not what she said.
She said a fugitive is someone who everyone is chasing because they want to know all about you.
beat.
lisa: That’s celebrities . . . not fugitives.
beat.
jude: What’s the difference between fugitives and celebrities?
beat.
maria: Public opinion.
beat.
jude: Hmm . . .
beat.
lisa: Mom, I need to know, no kidding: is this our—
maria: Yes.
Why do you keep asking me that.
lisa: It just seems . . .
Doesn’t it.
jude: What.
beat.
lisa: A little too good to be true.
beat.
jude: nope.
beat.
maria: Honey, nothing is too good for you.
beat.
maria: Now grab the rest of your stuff.
Rock music.
jude exits.
lisa exits.
maria exits.
Editorial Reviews
“A darkly comic exploration of family relationships, the power of storytelling, and what it means to have a home.”
Allison Gerson, Mooney on Theatre
“You have to appreciate material that doesn’t trap its characters in victimhood.”
Radheyan Simonpillai, NOW Magazine
“This captivating tale of an off-grid mother and her desperate kids solidifies Cardinal as one of the most talented and intriguing writers in the country.”
Glenn Sumi, NOW Magazine