Matchstick Theatre presents David French’s landmark Canadian drama Leaving Home in Toronto, June 10th to 15th and 17th to 22nd, 2025.
About the Production
Set in 1950s Toronto on the eve of a shotgun wedding, Leaving Home is a play about love, loss, and intergenerational conflict. More than fifty years after its legendary debut, David French’s moving and personal depiction of the fraught relationship between parents and their children continues to speak to what it means to be part of a family.
Staged in the round for a limited audience, our award-winning production (2025 Theatre Nova Scotia Robert Merritt awards for Outstanding Production and Direction, with seven additional nominations for performance and design) in Toronto's celebrated Coal Mine Theatre (2076 Danforth Avenue) is a rare opportunity to experience one of Canada’s greatest dramas.
The play is 2 hours long, including one fifteen minute intermission.
Tickets are $55 (+HST & $4.32 Box Office Fee), with one $35 (+HST & $3.23 Box Office Fee) preview performance on June 10th.
There are a limited number of $35 (+HST & $3.23 Box Office Fee) tickets for every performance for Arts Workers and 25 and Under. To get your discounted tickets, enter the promo code HAROLD when prompted with “Have a promotional code?” before checking out.
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Content & Sensory Warnings
Leaving Home deals with some intense subject matter, even for mature audiences, and Matchstick’s intimate production puts audiences face to face with the action of the play. Accordingly, there are some allergy and content warnings that we want to ensure our audiences are aware of.
ALLERGY ALERT
During the show, food will be served onstage. Audience members may be seated anywhere from 3 to 15 feet away from this food, and those with seafood or other food allergies are asked to be cautious and self-govern their comfort with that distance.
There will also be a herbal cigarette smoked (in two different instances) during the performance. The cigarettes are a cocoa bean blend, but still smell quite strong.
Anyone concerned with either seafood/food ingredients or smoke/haze is encouraged not to sit in first row.
CONTENT WARNINGS
Leaving Home contains intense moments that may make audiences uncomfortable and the intimate nature of Matchstick’s production may heighten this experience. In order to not spoil aspects of the show, we have left these content warnings separate, and audience members can opt-in to see them.
It is not necessary to read our content warnings ahead of the show. We will have physical copies of warnings on site at the theatre, or you can email us at matchsticktheatre@gmail.com with the subject "Content Warnings for Leaving Home" and we'll get back to you shortly.
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We would like to acknowledge the support of The Canada Council for the Arts, the province of Nova Scotia, and the city of Halifax.
Featuring
Shelley Thompson as Mary Mercer
Lou Campbell as Ben Mercer
Sam Vigneault as Bill Mercer
Andrew Musselman as Jacob Mercer
Abby Weisbrot as Kathy Jackson
Sharleen Kalayil as Minnie Jackson
Sébastien Labelle as Harold
Directed by Jake Planinc
Stage Managed by Chelsea Dickie
Produced by Alex Mills
Designed by
Alison Crosby
Jordan Palmer
Wesley Babcock
Kaelen MacDonald
Assistance from
Accent Coach Sherry Smith
Dance Coach Jade Douris-O’Hara
Poster by
Classic Graphic Co.
About David French
David French (1939-2010) is one of Canada’s best-known playwrights, having won many awards for his plays, particularly the Mercer family series: Leaving Home, Of the Fields, Lately, Salt-Water Moon, 1949, and Soldier’s Heart. Other works of note include the backstage comedy Jitters, a translation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (with Donna Orwin), and the pool hall drama One Crack Out. He was born in Newfoundland and spent much of his life between Atlantic Canada and Toronto. French was the first inductee in the Newfoundland Arts Hall of Honour. He also received the Queen's Jubilee Medal and was named an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Leaving Home is a landmark play in Canadian theatre history. After its premiere run as part of Tarragon Theatre’s inaugural season in Toronto (1972), the play went on to be produced at nearly every regional theatre in the country — the first Canadian play ever to do so. It also received many international productions, including an off-Broadway run. Today Leaving Home is taught in high schools and universities across Canada. It has been named one of the “100 Most Influential Canadian Books” (Literary Review of Canada) and one of the “1,000 Essential Plays in the English Language” (Oxford Dictionary of Theatre).
For more information on the playwright’s life and work, we encourage you to check out davidfrench.net
Matchstick Theatre revitalizes classic Canadian plays and professionally produces challenging contemporary theatre in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, striving to ignite, affect, and ultimately transform its audience with every performance. Since coming together in 2017, we have produced 12 Canadian plays, offering a platform that supports emerging and established Nova Scotia artists. We have collaborated with 10 nationally renowned playwrights, 20 backstage theatre artists and designers, and more than 50 actors. We would like to acknowledge the support of The Canada Council for the Arts, the province of Nova Scotia, and the city of Halifax.
Links & Contact Details
Contact E-Mail matchsticktheatre@gmail.com
Matchstick’s Website www.matchsticktheatre.ca
facebook.com/matchsticktheatrecompany
Instagram @matchstick.theatre
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