{"product_id":"after-class-parents-night-and-the-bigger-issue-paperback-2","title":"After Class: Parents Night and the Bigger Issue - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eGeorge F. Walker\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eWesley Berger\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSit your butt down and learn your three Rs: ranting, resisting, and respect.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn two new plays, Canada's king of black comedy takes on the failing education system. Both \u003cem\u003eParents Night\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Bigger Issue\u003c\/em\u003e are set in public-school classrooms after hours and involve confrontations between stressed-out teachers and ticked-off parents. Both sympathize with embattled educators and evince Walker's trademark understanding of poverty and the working classes. In both, Walker's signature moves work: the audience feels simultaneously complicit in and righteously angry about injustice and inequity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eParents Night\u003c\/em\u003e finds grade-three teacher Nicole caught in the crossfire between John, an arrogant executive dad, and Rosie, a ballsy, low-income mom. Both are meeting with Nicole to express concerns for their children, but class warfare quickly erupts, and the kids' behaviour turns out to be a reflection of their parents' messed-up lives. A harried Nicole is dealing with troubles of her own, but she makes a brave attempt to discipline these overgrown brats.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Bigger Issue\u003c\/em\u003e covers the same ground but digs deeper. Suzy, a novice middle-school teacher, has been called onto the carpet by the principal, Irene, for physically accosting a violent student. But when the boy's parents show up, it becomes clear that Jack and Maggie are a middle-class couple reduced to abject poverty; the real problem isn't their son or the school but a dysfunctional society.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTogether, \u003cem\u003eParents Night\u003c\/em\u003e and\u003cem\u003e The Bigger Issue\u003c\/em\u003e comprise the first instalments in a projected play cycle similar to Walker's famous Suburban Motel. With an introduction by Toronto director Wesley Berger.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGeorge F. Walker\u003c\/strong\u003e is one of Canada's most popular playwrights and the king of black comedy. Since beginning his career in the 1970s Walker has written more than thirty plays, most of them fast-paced tragicomedies that expose and satirize the selfishness and aggression of modern urban life. Walker's awards and honours include the Order of Canada, two Governor General's Literary Awards, five Dora Mavor Moore Awards, nine Chalmers Canadian Play Awards, and the Governor General's lifetime achievement award. He has been the subject of a volume of the series \u003cem\u003eCritical Perspectives on Canadian Theatre in English\u003c\/em\u003e, a collection of academic writing on his plays. Walker's plays have been presented in more than seven hundred productions across Canada, the United States, and around the world; they have been translated into French, German, Hebrew, Turkish, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, and Japanese.Moore Awards; and eight Chalmers Canadian Play Awards. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWes Berger\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario. As a director, he is recognized for his direction of \u003cem\u003eRukmini's Gold\u003c\/em\u003e (2015), \u003cem\u003e Mamma's Boy\u003c\/em\u003e (2010), and \u003cem\u003eLarger Than Life: The Musical\u003c\/em\u003e. As an actor, he is known for \u003cem\u003eThe Incredible Hulk\u003c\/em\u003e (2008), \u003cem\u003eBridal Fever\u003c\/em\u003e (2008), and \u003cem\u003eLove You Like Christmas\u003c\/em\u003e (2016).\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 176\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.5 x 8.9 x 5.9 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e December 05, 2017\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47449145737437,"sku":"9781772011845","price":21.55,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/qnmoXHhbnN9781772011845_ef44b05f-616f-45e4-b273-463a77948bd7.webp?v=1771525138","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/after-class-parents-night-and-the-bigger-issue-paperback-2","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}