'Strangers Among Us' at State Youth Theatre. Photo: Simas Sirutavicius

Strangers Among Us

By Aaron Bushkowsky

Two people suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease meet and fall in love over and over again because they don’t have very good short term memory.

Gabrielle and Michael meet by accident, fall in love, part, meet again and fall in love all over again. Every time they meet, they forget each other’s name because they suffer from Alzheimer’s Disease. Eventually, they end up at a long-term care facility where they meet other people suffering from the same malady, extraordinary people who live and die with courage and hope. In the end, Michael and Gabrielle find love again and, in the process, change the lives of the people around them. This sad, romantic tale shows that hope remains even after tragedy strikes.

Bushkowsky’s script delights in the comic possibilities of misfiring language, in conversations that stumble comically as if the dancers have forgotten the dance.

The Globe and Mail (National, Canada)

Greatly feared and poorly understood, Alzheimer's disease hardly seems fit fare for fun theatre, but Bushkowsky puts a gentle spin on it.

The Vancouver Courier

Production Details

4 Male

6 Female

2 acts, 110 minutes

By Aaron Bushkowsky

  Purchase Play Script

October 12, 2019

POSTPONED: Strangers Among Us – Theatre Woodstock (ON) April 17-25, 2020

March 10, 2011

PAST EVENT: Strangers Among Us – Theatre Burlington (Burlington, ON) February 1-16, 2019

January 19, 2011

PAST EVENT: Strangers Among Us – Korda Artistic Productions (Windsor, ON) May 25 – June 3, 2018

January 3, 2011

PAST EVENT: Strangers Among Us – Theatre Sarnia/Imperial Theatre (ON) February 2-10, 2018

Production History

First produced in 1998 at Western Gold Theatre, Vancouver, B.C. under the direction of Kate Weiss.

National Youth Theatre, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2015 – present

Nominated for four Jessie Richardson Awards, including Outstanding Production and Outstanding Original Script.

Published by Playwrights Canada Press, available through PGC’s Canadian Play Outlet.

State Youth Theatre, Lithuania. Photographer Simas Sirutavicius

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