Social Studies

When Jackie comes back to her childhood home after separating from her husband, she thinks her biggest problem will be readjusting to life on a smaller bed. She's surprised to learn, however, that her mother has given that bed away to Deng, a Sudanese refugee. But the former Lost Boy is not all that he seems, and the entire family -- Jackie, her earth goddess mother, and her sixteen-year old sister -- learns something about making assumptions. When Deng crashes Jackie's newly purchased car and then reveals that he doesn't have a driver's license, Jackie must make a choice. Will she make a personal sacrifice on behalf of someone who has lived through the worst?

Cultural differences, language barriers, and the self-conscious earnestness of good intentions all feature in this scathingly comic look at Canadian values. Social Studies was presented at Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg, and at Vancouver's Firehall Theatre.