Through the Eyes is award-winning playwright Don Druickís acclaimed tour de force for a solo actor. Set in the Versailles of the Sun King, this play is the story of the great Italian artist, Gianlorenzo Berniniís visit to France in 1665. The Italian finds himself in an opulent and dangerous world, bristling with cruelty and intrigue, tyrannized by passion and violence. Bernini is commissioned to carve a bust of the king; the resultant clash between these two great egos is fearsome to behold. Survival itself becomes a compelling issue.

Critical Comment

ìThe script reveals Druickís verbal artistry: the evocation of the various characters and episodes is vivid; each interpolated character has its own rhythm; and the two-act piece is carefully constructed as a coherent whole through variations in pace and tone that are inscribed in the text.î

ó U of T Quarterly, Winter 2006

ìDruickís play.... is a series of miniature scenes crackling with emotion and politics, created with tiny, subtle brush strokes.... Music and a sense of rhythm infuse his work.î

ó Jon Kaplan, Now

ì.... one of Canadaís finest playwrights....î

ó Robert Crew, Toronto Star

ìYou can.... almost smell the danger of the place.î

ó Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail

ìFrom its very first moments, Druick conjures up the poisonous atmosphere of a world ruled by fear and rumour where truth is merely the whim of an absolute monarch.î

ó Christopher Hoile, Eye

ìDruickís script is vivid and delicate, a sensitive and sensuous piece of writing alive with colour and texture, its images polished like marble until they gleam.î

ó Jill Lawless, Now

ìThe magic of Through The Eyes is that it captures the obscene opulence and the intricate, repressed relationships of the Court of Louis XIV... using only one actor and a bare stage.î

ó Elisa Kukla, Eye

Don Druick is a distinguished playwright, translator, a baroque flutist, and an avid bread baker. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Don Druick's plays and translations have been produced on stage, radio and television in Canada, Europe, Japan, and the USA. He has received twelve Canada Council grants in Theatre, Creative Writing, Performance Art; as well as grants from the Ministère des Affairs Culturale de Quèbec, the Japan-Canada Fund, the Laidlaw Foundation, and the Ontario Arts Council. Having lived in Vancouver and Montreal, Don Druick currently lives with artist Jane Buyers in Elmira Ontario, a small village 125 km west of Toronto. Don Druick's previous works include the award-winning plays Where is Kabuki?, Through the Eyes, Lie Doggo, and the hit CBC radio series Recipe for Murder. He is presently working on a novel entitled The Name We Didn't Know.

Don Druick's profile page

• Short-listed, Governor General's Award Drama

"The script reveals Druick's verbal artistry: the evocation of the various characters and episodes is vivid; each interpolated character has its own rhythm; and the two-act piece is carefully constructed as a coherent whole through variations in pace and tone that are inscribed in the text." -- U of T Quarterly, Winter 2006 "Druick's play.... is a series of miniature scenes crackling with emotion and politics, created with tiny, subtle brush strokes.... Music and a sense of rhythm infuse his work." -- Jon Kaplan, Now ".... one of Canadas finest playwrights...." -- Robert Crew, Toronto Star "You can.... almost smell the danger of the place." -- Kate Taylor, Globe and Mail "From its very first moments, Druick conjures up the poisonous atmosphere of a world ruled by fear and rumour where truth is merely the whim of an absolute monarch." -- Christopher Hoile, Eye "Druick's script is vivid and delicate, a sensitive and sensuous piece of writing alive with colour and texture, its images polished like marble until they gleam." -- Jill Lawless, Now "The magic of Through The Eyes is that it captures the obscene opulence and the intricate, repressed relationships of the Court of Louis XIV... using only one actor and a bare stage." -- Elisa Kukla, Eye