Apple
Andy is in trouble. Downsized from his job, his marriage in crisis, he meets a mysterious young woman who he looks to for salvation. But when his wife becomes seriously ill, Andy must make a choice: care for an estranged wife, or run away with a woman he knows little about. A haunting tale of sex, secrets, and second chances.

Winner of the Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Outstanding New Play (2002) and winner of the Alberta Play Competition (2001).

“A belief in the power, or at least the grace, of silence is one of the pluses of Apple, a tightly knotted, carefully crafted play where the concept of love gets dissected and scrutinized like a renegade cell under a microscope...” —Edmonton Journal

Blowfish
“...we all have to eat... we all have to die....” What do food, funerals, the Edmonton tornado, and Mila Mulroney have in common? Join the elegant and debonair caterer Lumiere as he serves up a whole new eating experience.

“The dramatic fabric Thiessen has woven is a tight accumulation of emotional and narrative threads... a life picture that entertains... that frequently moves, that engages, that disturbs.” —The Ottawa Citizen

“Let’s just say that it’s black. It’s creepy. It’s deliciously morbid and delectably dark.” —Vue Weekly

Vern Thiessen is one of Canada's most produced playwrights. His plays have been seen across Canada, the UK, United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, and have been translated into five languages. His works include Of Human Bondage, Vimy, Einstein's Gift (Governor General's Literary Award winner), Lenin's Embalmers (Governor General's Literary Award finalist), Apple, and Shakespeare's Will. He has been produced off-Broadway five times. Vern is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Dora and Sterling awards for Outstanding New Play, The Carol Bolt Award, the Gwen Pharis Ringwood Award, the City of Edmonton Arts Achievement Award, the University of Alberta Alumni Award of Excellence, The Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition, and the Governor General's Literary Award for Drama, Canada's highest honour for a playwright. He was also a finalist for the Siminovich Prize in Playwriting. Vern received his B.A. from the University of Winnipeg and an M.F.A. from the University of Alberta. He has served as president of both the Playwrights Guild of Canada and the Writers Guild of Alberta. For six years he served as Artistic Director of Workshop West Playwrights Theatre, one of Canada's leading new play companies. He is married to acclaimed screenwriter and novelist Susie Moloney.

Vern Thiessen's profile page

• Winner, Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award for Outstanding New Play (Apple)
• Winner, Alberta Play Competition (Apple)