Theatre Ad Infinitum Canada Launches With THE BIG SMOKE

The UK's multiple award-winning Theatre Ad Infinitum expands its innovative and international theatre-making with the launch of Theatre Ad Infinitum Canada, the Canadian arm of this Lecoq-trained company known for its ambitious, highly acclaimed physical productions. Under the artistic direction of Amy Nostbakken, Theatre Ad Infinitum Canada operates independently as well as with its sister company in the UK, led by co-artistic directors Nir Paldi and George Mann.

The inaugural presentation of Theatre Ad Infinitum Canada, in association with Why Not Theatre, is the Canadian premiere of The Big Smoke, a one-woman a cappella performance by Amy Nostbakken, co-written by Nostbakken and director Nir Paldi. Inspired by the lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, this poetic waltz with death opens February 22, 2012 and runs to March 4 at Factory Studio Theatre, with a preview on February 21.

The Big Smoke won an Argus Angel Award at the 2011 Brighton Festival Fringe, and Nostbakken was nominated for Best Female Performer in the Latest Awards by Brighton's Latest 7 magazine. It premiered to rave reviews at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, leading to a national tour of Britain in spring/summer 2011 that included stops in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Oxford and Leeds.

In a courageous physical performance with a completely original text and score sung a cappella, Amy Nostbakken's nuanced voice tells the story of a brilliant young artist from Toronto given the opportunity of a lifetime: a solo exhibit at London's Tate Modern. Nathalie has everything to live for: good looks, talent, a loving family, amazing scholarships and a career just waiting to take off. But just as she is rising to the heights of her potential, she begins to spiral down into the depths of depression. Through swanky gallery parties and grim pub toilets, ex-boyfriends and meddling aunts, mauled dogs and crashed cyclists, her descent into madness unfolds. The Big Smoke is a stunning experience that walks the fine line between sanity and psychosis.

Amy Nostbakken (co-writer, composer, performer The Big Smoke) is a writer, performer and musician based in Canada whose credits include Theatre Ad Infinitum's First Class, a play she wrote and performed in which met with great success at the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and productions with the UK's Pleasance Theatre and Young Vic, among others. She trained for two years at the École Internationale de Théatre Jacques Lecoq in Paris 2007 and graduated from Concordia University in Montréal with a degree in Theatre Studies in 2005. She launches Theatre Ad Infinitum Canada with The Big Smoke which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2010, receiving immense critical acclaim. She recently concluded a three-month national tour with it throughout the UK including The Lowry, Theatre Royal Bath, North Wall, and Norden Farm. It won an Argus Angel Award at the 2011 Brighton Festival Fringe.

Theatre Ad Infinitum is a Lecoq-trained international ensemble based in London led by Artistic Directors Nir Paldi (Israel) and George Mann (UK) who brought their acclaimed Odyssey to Toronto in January of 2011. The company's numerous awards and recognitions in 2011 alone include: The Argus Angel Award, the Edinburgh Fringe Review 'Outstanding Theatre Award,' The Observer's Alternative Iron Man Award, the Brave New World Award at the MESS International Theatre Festival in Sarajevo and the Best Theatre Direction Award at ACT Festival, Bilbao, Spain. www.theatreadinfinitum.co.uk

Theatre Ad Infinitum Canada, in association with Why Not Theatre,
presents the Canadian premiere of THE BIG SMOKE
An award-winning, one-woman a capella performance
written by performer Amy Nostbakken and director Nir Paldi
Opens February 22 and runs to March 4, 2012 (preview February 21)
at Factory Studio Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street
Tuesday to Saturday at 8 PM; Sunday at 2 PM
Tickets: Tuesday-Saturday $25 (Student/Senior $18), Sunday Pay-What-You-Can (suggested donation $15.00)
Tickets are available through Factory Theatre Box Office at 416 504-9971 or on-line at factorytheatre.ca