• Age: 14
• Grade: 9

We, each of us in the civilized Western world, live in a space inviolate. “Our home is our castle,” as the saying goes: our shelter from the intrusion of the weather and other “outside influences;” our defence against physical and mental threats, real and imagined, to our private space; vault to our accumulated private property; theatre of our desires and aspirations; arena of our private victories and defeats, no matter how large or small; harbour of our secrets and fears; refuge to our children and family.
Yet the very protection and security our home provides us with also isolates us from our neighbours, our relatives, and the public affairs of our communities—constructs a garrison of anonymity around us and our loved ones in which we can become unknown, unloved—no one that anyone need be concerned nor care about.
We see the recent rise of home invasions in our society as a violation of our most intimate places: the perpetration of heinous crimes upon the aged, the disabled, the helpless, victimizing our citizens precisely where rules of hospitality and generosity should govern our social relations.
All this and more is the subject of Joan MacLeod’s perceptively poignant play, Another Home Invasion, where “another” carries both its meanings: something commonplace; and something of an entirely different kind and nature. Of course this play involves the hapless, substance-abusing, middle-aged petty criminal we expect to find there, but is he the real threat to the home’s occupants? He even shows up for a return visit.
Who, then, are the real perpetrators of the heartless betrayal of the elderly couple who lives here: who is it that’s robbing them of their possessions, their security, their relationship, their family—their home? The answers to these questions are as surprising as they are unsettling.

Multiple Betty Mitchell, Chalmer’s, Dora ,and Governor General’s Award-winning author Joan MacLeod grew up in North Vancouver and studied Creative Writing at both the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia.Now an internationally celebrated star of the world of the theatre, MacLeod developed her finely honed playwriting skills during seven seasons as playwright-in-residence at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. She turned her hand to opera with her libretto for The Secret Garden, which won a Dora Award. She has had many radio dramas produced by CBC Stereo Theatre, including Hand of God, a one-hour drama adapted from her play Jewel. She has also written numerous scripts for film and television productions.Translated into eight languages, her work has been extensively produced around the world. Multiple simultaneous productions of her hit play Shape of a Girl toured internationally for four years, including a sold-out run in New York. Her play Amigo’s Blue Guitar won the 1991 Governor General’s Drama Award. Her Governor General’s Award nominations include one in 1996 for The Hope Slide / Little Sister and one in 2009 for Another Home Invasion.Talon has also published her 2000, Gracie, The Valley, Toronto, Mississippi, and Homechild.MacLeod also writes prose and poetry, which has been published in a wide variety of literary journals. She also teaches Creative Writing at the University of Victoria.

Joan MacLeod's profile page

• Short-listed, Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama

“The playwright shares with novelist Ian McEwan the ability to stretch tension out over everyday domestic scenes … Another Home Invasion is piercingly accurate writing that interrogates how our society is really serving our seniors at a time when they most need our help.”
— Globe & Mail

“… even better than Shape of a Girl.”
—National Post

“A perfect evening of theatre … there isn’t a false word in MacLeod’s script.”
—Calgary Herald

“A startling commentary on aging and elder care.”
—CBC

“A finely honed work of art.”
—Toronto Star

Another Home Invasion

This one act, one-woman play is both the story of an actual, criminal home invasion that Joan and her husband, Alec, experienced, as well as the story of what is happening to Joan and Alec as they age and need more care. It is a commentary on the treatment of elders in our society. Throughout, Joan addresses the audience as if they are her conversational partners. The introduction by Ric Knowles serves as a guide to the works of MacLeod and to the one-person plays as a dramatic genre. The play provides insight into what life is like for one couple who want to age in place with dignity but who also acknowledge that they may not be able to.

This play was a finalist for the 2009 Governor General’s Award for drama. MacLeod won the Governor General’s Award for drama in 1991 for her play Amigo’s Blue Guitar.