Free event with Michael Ondaatje Jan. 9

TORONTO (Tuesday, January 3, 2012) – Toronto Public Library is pleased to announce that David S. Young, Toronto Reference Library Playwright-in-Residence will interview acclaimed Canadian author Michael Ondaatje and theatre director Daniel Brooks about the adaptation of Ondaatje's novel Divisadero into Divisadero: A Performance.

Everyone is welcome; the event is being held Monday, Jan. 9, 2012, 7:00 – 8:30 pm at Toronto Reference Library. It is free and no pre-registration required. Please join us for this very special evening of Canadian literature and theatre in discussion of Divisadero and how it came to life onstage.

Michael Ondaatje, who was honoured with the Governor General's Literary Award, 2007, set the story partly in the gambling parlours of California and Nevada, and a village in south-central France. Ondaatje collaborated with Daniel Brooks, the artistic director of Necessary Angel Theatre Company, to adapt his novel Divisadero - a “violent and passionate story exploring themes of memory, identity, love and the grip of the past on the present.” The story is an “examination of the intimate relationship between the speaker and the listener, and of language's ability to weave a magical spell." (Necessary Angel Theatre Company)

Due to the success of the show in 2011, the play will run again at Theatre Passe Muraille, February 8 – 26, 2012. Necessary Angel is giving everyone who attends the event at Toronto Reference Library January 9 a $5 discount coupon on tickets.

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Media Contact:

Anne Marie Aikins 416-393-7212

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