Spring Awakening

Long before the Broadway musical, Frank Wedekind's *Spring Awakening* was a radical play about adolescence, repression, and the damage adults cause when they refuse to tell young people the truth. Soulpepper stages the original drama in a new production adapted and directed by Paolo Santalucia, with Luke Reece as associate director.

What to expect

This is the play, not the musical. A group of young people on the cusp of adulthood are schooled in rules and expectations while trying to understand desire, love, and their changing lives. Soulpepper describes the production as romantic, restless, and driven by the characters' need for connection as silence and misinformation push them toward irreversible consequences.

The cast brings together a large ensemble of established Soulpepper artists and younger performers. That mix matters for a story built on the gulf between generations and the things each side cannot say aloud.

The venue

Soulpepper performs at the Young Centre in the Distillery District. Take the 504 King streetcar to Parliament and walk south; the theatre is inside the pedestrian-only district at 50 Tank House Lane. Arrive early if you want to eat nearby, since Distillery restaurants become busy before evening performances.