Winners and Losers

Two buddies, theatre artists and long-time friends Marcus and James, sit at a table and pass the time together playing a made-up game in which they name people, places, or things - Pamela Anderson, microwave ovens, their fathers, Goldman Sachs - and debate whether they are successful or not; in other words, whether they are winners or losers. Each friend seeks to defeat the other, and because one of these men grew up economically privileged, and the other did not, the competition very quickly adds up.

Winners and Losers showcases the work of two giants of the Vancouver indie theatre scene. James Long’s Theatre Replacement develops work specific to particular places and the people who live in them. Marcus Youssef’s Neworld Theatre investigates questions of power, culture, and belonging.

Their first collaborative work is a staged conversation that embraces the ruthless logic of capitalism, and tests its impact on our closest personal relationships as well as our most intimate experiences of self.

Writer and performer Marcus Youssef is the associate artistic producer at Vancouver’s NeWorld Theatre, though he is currently teaching in the theater department at Concordia University in Montreal. A graduate of both the National Theatre School (Acting, 1992) and the University of British Columbia (M.F.A., 2002), Youssef is a regular contributor of drama, commentary, and documentary to numerous programs on the CBC network. He also writes regularly for publications such as Vancouver Magazine, Georgia Straight, Ricepaper, and This Magazine. For many years, Youssef has also dedicated himself to numerous community-based advocacy programs that aim at using writing and/or theater as a tool for procuring political and social change. He co-founded CRANK Magazine with Matt Hern and Rich Lawley as well as the Reclaiming Project - a nationally recognized, immigrant-centered oral history program - with Mercedes Baines.

James Long has been making theatre since 1995 and artistic directs Theatre Replacement with Maiko Bae Yamamoto. He has also taught workshops and classes to established artists across Canada and to students at the University of British Columbia, University of Regina, Simon Fraser University, Studio 58, and Seattle’s Cornish College of the Arts. As a freelance actor and director, he has had the pleasure of working with Rumble Productions, Neworld Theatre, Cindy Mochizuki, urban ink, Leaky Heaven Circus, The Chop, The Only Animal, Stan’s Cafe, CBC Radio, and Electric Company Theatre, among many others. He is a graduate of Simon Fraser University.