Bad New Days
Since 2014, Bad New Days has established a unique presence in Canadian theatre creating visually bold, physically innovative theatrical works exploring the complexity of the human condition, through a volatile blend of lightness and gravity.
We're dedicated to:
-Creation and production of devised work, mixing elements of music, dance, and puppetry with our unique form of physical theatre.
-Providing affordable training opportunities, and regularly hosting public artist talks.
-Touring across Canada and internationally.
We've received numerous awards and residencies, most recently a 3 year Canada Council Composite Grant, a Multi-Year TAC Grant, and we've been nominated for 36 Dora awards, winning 9.
We call our aesthetic "tragic exuberance". It challenges theatrical naturalism, and the traditional script-driven creation model, giving primacy to the body, to the image, and to emotion in storytelling to transcend linguistic barriers and discover new contemporary theatrical forms evolved to respond directly to the times we live in.
We believe there is an active link between formal innovation and social engagement, as old forms sometimes perpetuate oppressive forces. In this sense we don't see a distinction between ethics and aesthetics. We believe theatre has power to change "how" people see and we aim to make work that encourages our audience to engage with their world in new, critical ways.
To this end, since 2023, all of our projects embed sustainability into every level of the work, from process to design to production. We believe we must shift the thinking around what is considered aesthetically beautiful & urgent in light of current global crises that face us as a species. We need to do more with less: less waste, less polish, less drive for innovation without considering the consequences of our actions. For this work we've received TAPA's prestigious Ray Ferris Innovation and Sustainability Grant.
Our name
It comes from Brecht via Walter Benjamin:“Let's not talk about the good old days, but the bad new ones.”
The theatre is still live. It retains its potential to be a truly explosive civic gathering. The theatre can still play host to anarchy and offer people an alternative vision of life. We see it as our duty to challenge the predominant myths and narratives that drive our existence and are causing so many of the contemporary problems facing humanity.
Our ethos is inspired by the Roman god Janus. He was double-faced keeping one eye to the Past and one to the Future.
From the Past we evoke theatre's initial social function: a civic encounter where a spontaneous community can experience a vision of life. In this sense we are also a visionary theatre.
To approach the Future we begin with the Present, the Bad New Days. Our work starts with a deep, critical looking at life, history and civilization. It is concerned with the language of theatre and the nature of representation.