Making Theatre: Collective Creations and Surprising Resemblances in Jinch Malrex, The Drawer Boy, and The Farm Show Anonymous 11th Grade

Paul Thompson’s The Farm Show shares several similarities with Theatre Passe Muraille’s production of Jinch Malrex. The Drawer Boy is based on Theatre Passe Muraille’s production of The Farm Show and follows a young actor as he shadows the daily lives of two farmers in order to do research for a production his theatre group is planning about life on a farm. Jinch Malrex is a play created by young people from urban areas, performed in a unique dub poetry method. While on a surface level these plays seem quite different, the core of the stories they tell are actually remarkably similar. Both plays include universal themes and provide social commentary on two very different lifestyles of people in Canada. Jinch Malrex is a collective creation, as is The Farm Show. These productions also allow for a special connection between the actors and the characters, given that they are based on the actors’ personal experiences. Despite their differences in content, these plays have an undeniable resemblance.

Jinch Malrex and The Farm Show employ social commentary to push their fundamental messages and lessons. The purpose of social commentary in theatre is often to implement change by bringing light to specific issues, whether they pertain...