Canada. 1940. In a time and country fraught with the uncertainties of war, Prime Minister MacKenzie King calls for the destruction of any “subversive elements” on the nation’s soil. The Act is supported by the majority of Canadians: anxious, patriotic and “intolerant” of fascism. After Canada officially declares war with Italy, Romano, a recent immigrant, is arrested without charge in his own home. Torn from the arms of his terrified and pregnant wife Maria, Romano is held against his will with hundreds of men of Italian descent at a prisoner-of-war camp in Petawawa, Ontario. These individuals were never officially charged with any crime. Playing out the ironies of a government acting “to protect its citizens,” Paradise by the River details the struggle to preserve morality in a nation and in a time seemingly intent on its demise.

Cast of two women and eight men.

Born in Montreal in 1961, Italian-Canadian playwright Vittorio Rossi grew up in the district of Ville-Émard and graduated from Concordia University in 1985 with a BFA specializing in theatre performance. In 1987 he was playwright-in-residence at Montreal’s prestigious Centaur Theatre, during which he completed his first full-length play, The Chain, which opened Centaur’s twentieth-anniversary season in October 1988. The show was then produced at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. From 1990–91 Rossi was writer-in-residence at Concordia University where he also taught playwriting.Rossi has also written several screenplays and directed a film version of his play Little Blood Brother. In 2003 he taught screenwriting at the University of Sherbrooke. His talent extends to acting as well, with screen credits in both television (Urban Angel) and film (Le Sphinx, 1995; Canvas, 1992; Malarek, 1989).Rossi has established himself as a significant playwright in the national theatre community with his award-winning plays.

Vittorio Rossi's profile page

“Tale of imprisoned Italians delivers explosive, full throttle energy … he succeeds at giving authentic voice to a specific community.”
—Montreal Gazette