Darren O'Donnell

The idea of eliciting full participation of children in all aspects of society may seem far-fetched and will spark debate. O'Donnell puts this idea into practice in his work. He is the artist behind Haircuts by Children, a collaborative piece that is exactly what it sounds like and that has been performed internationally: http://mammalian.ca/projects/#haircuts-by-children (The haircut recipient in the lead photo is Coach House founder Stan Bevington!) He currently has projects implementing...

Dr. Thoughtless Actions, a young geneticist, awakes one morning to find a cardboard box secured to his head. Unable to wrench it off, he attempts suicide, not only failing but also, unbeknowst to himself, cloning himself, creating Dr. Wishful Thinking. The two losers fall in love, fall in science, and fail to make a baby. Their conversation, an intricately woven semantic circus, traverses boxedness, love, and the more ridiculous areas of metaphysical speculation. Through a series of rapid...

Theatre doesn’t have much relevance anymore. Or so acclaimed playwright Darren O’Donnell tells us. The dynamics of unplanned social interaction, he says, are far more compelling than any play he could produce. So his latest show, A Suicide-Site Guide to the City, isn’t really a show; it’s an interactive chitchat about memory, depression, and 9/11, a dazzling whirl of talking streetcars, pizza and schizophrenia. And it’s hilarious. ...

pppeeeaaaccceee, is a vast, imaginative and mesmerizing glide through Life and Power. The play is set in Ephemeral; three people firmly floating chat – in O'Donnell's inimitable rapid-fire style – about the revolution. Which revolution? Good question. A gently aggressive meditation, pppeeeaaaccceee examines our being, asks us what we're doing and reminds us that there are monsters in here. Peace. Say it slow, stretch it out, make it last forever.

These four plays – White Mice, Who Shot Jacques Lacan?, Radio Rooster Says That's Bad and Over – written by Darren O'Donnell for his theatre company, Mammalian Diving Reflex, will challenge your politics, your ontology and everything you hold to be safe, stable and sacrosanct.