From Alaska, by Sébastien Harrisson
(Translated from D'Alaska)
One summer evening, a retired librarian is “taken hostage” in her suburban home by her tough-talking teenaged neighbour. Time passes with the unpredictable rhythms of grief – the slowness of healing, the fast-forwards of distraction. Meanwhile, the old woman and the young man discover what they have in common: the one they love most in all the world has just gone away... Moving effortlessly between street-smart humour and lyrical elegance, Harrisson explores love in all its pain, confusion, and unexpected joy.
Cast Size: 1F/1M
Nominated for the Carol Bolt Award for Best New Play in September 2020. Winner of the Critic’s Prize for best play of the Montréal season. Nominated for the Governor-General's Award for Drama. From Alaska will have its world premiere in 2020 at Gateway Theatre in Vancouver BC, in collaboration with Ruby Slippers Theatre. CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
D’Alaska toured for three years with Montréal’s Théâtre Bluff. Leanna Brodie's English translation was the first project of the Québec Translation Exchange at the Banff Centre in 2008. It subsequently had a public reading by Theatre Direct, and also by Canadian Stage as part of their Festival of New Ideas and Creation.
"Through his lively and intelligent text, which combines humour and sincerity, Sébastien Harrisson managed to captivate his audience from start to finish. D'Alaska [From Alaska] is a lovely success that warms the heart."
– La Presse
"It is a play about coming to terms with identity, be it social, political, sexual, linguistic, generational, or intellectual. Solid in content and intriguing in theme, it had teenagers jumping to their feet for a standing ovation at a recent school performance."
– The Montreal Gazette
"It goes by very fast... an incredible text."
– Radio-Canada
”In his play From Alaska, Sébastien Harrisson pits the limitations of daily life against the vastness of the human spirit. This captivating tale sets up a duel between Today, a young runaway, and Miss, a heartbroken senior, which reads like a long sentence with no period, but punctuated by questions, exclamations, dashes, and ideas left dangling. As in life, time sometimes goes by fast in From Alaska, and sometimes slow: a treasure that flows through our fingers.”
– Canadian Literature
Kosta Lemermeyer and Brenda Robins in Michael Shamata's 2024 Belfry Theatre production (English-language premiere). Photo by
Set and Costumes: Christina Poddubiuk
Lighting: Leigh Ann Vardy
Projections: Keith Houghton
From Alaska, published by the Playwrights Guild of Canada.
The cover image by David Cooper is taken from the Covid-cancelled 2020 Vanouver production by Ruby Slippers Theatre and the Gateway Theatre, to be directed by Diane Brown and featuring Kelli Fox and Jason Sakaki. Available HERE from the Canadian Play Outlet.
D'Alaska [French-language version]
An excerpt from the recent production of the original French-language text by Belgium's Théâtre du Peuple Bussang. Directed by Vincent Goethals, with Marie-Claire Utz and Sébastien Amblard. Photography by Jean-Jacques Utz.