February 6 – March 3, 2024
by Christine Quintana
WORLD PREMIERE
“Quintana’s writing is natural, bitingly funny, and heartfelt.” Georgia Straight
Commissioned by the Belfry and written by a Jessie and Dora Award-winning BC playwright, As Above appeals to the hope in all of us.
Set in Victoria, As Above centres on Jo, eight years sober, and attempting to rebuild the life she destroyed. Once a prominent botanical researcher, she now lectures at a horticultural centre, while embarking on a new relationship with Rick, who may be too good to be true.
A mysterious phone call sends her on an urgent quest to find Ada, her estranged daughter, as her research bleeds into her complicated personal life in rich, unexpected, and life-changing ways.
Why I Chose This Play
Christine Quintana is one of this country’s most talented and celebrated artists. I commissioned her to write a piece for the Belfry after seeing—and loving—her play Never the Last. At the centre of As Above is the relationship between Jo and Rick—a relationship unlike any I have seen onstage before. This is a play full of compassion for humanity—with all our virtues, our flaws—and our desire for connection. Michael Shamata
The commissioning of As Above was supported in part by the Vi Armstrong Play Creation Fund.
This production is supported in part by a generous gift from Ronald Polstein in Loving Memory of Juliana.
As Above is generously sponsored by