"They don’t understand that human decency is at the core of everything."
So says Stan the bartender, played by Stewart Leese, pouring pints on stage this week at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts. But these drinks aren't for the audience - it's for the cast of Burloak Theatre (BOTG) in their production of Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Sweat.
BOTG stages a famous play each year in January, such as runs in recent years of An Ideal Husband or last winter's 20th Century Blues. You may not have heard of Sweat before, but it's possibly one of the best plays you haven't seen.
Sweat tells the story of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, going through a set of changes to the workplace over the year 2000. Current events, racial tensions, changing politics and some recent promotions mean that everyone's jobs are on the line - and it leads to some dire decisions and consequences.
Even though Sweat only premiered several years ago in New York, it's made headlines around the world since, selling out productions in London and in Toronto back in 2020. (It played the city just weeks before the first COVID-19 shutdowns.)
The Oakville Centre (OCPA) doesn't regularly program modern dramas on the main stage - and BOTG is the first GTA community theatre gorup to ever present the show.
But the combined efforts of the company's ten brave actors and Nottage's magnificent script make a strong case that Sweat is the most exciting play to come to the Oakville Centre in years.
"These are real stories from real people," says director Randolph Burlton, making his Oakville Centre debut.
"That's what makes this play so relatable. Even if you haven’t lived this blue collar life, you can understand these struggles of people trying to find fairness in work. That’s what theatre like this can do."
In approaching the play, Burlton mentions several factors that make this 2000-set story "extremely relevant" to 2025 audiences. The play's addressed subjects of migrant works, union fairness, cost of living and fighting among class and race lines: all of those exist not just in Pennsylvania, Burlton suggests, but right here in Oakville and the GTA too.
"One of my first thoughts when planning the show was, even knowing it took place in Reading, PA, is that we know what it’s like," Burlton explains. "Hamilton, 15 minutes down the road, has gone through union disputes and factories shutting down."
Burlton says growing up in Bradford gave him real-life insights into the world of Sweat and how to coach his cast on bringing that world to life.
"My whole family was blue collar. I was the kid that didn’t fit into that world, but I saw a lot of the discrimination in the factories where I worked saving up money trying to get out."
One effort made to bring authenticity to the story and the play was going to Hamilton and running a rehearsal inside a factory bar.
"Some of the locals came in to watch, and began participating in the play," says Burlton. "One of them said, 'I come to the bar to get away from this kind of talk.' So it’s relatable for people working in these jobs, and that's when we knew the show was doing something special."
Multiple cast members may be recognizable to local audiences: Michelle Righetti and Maria Michelli have both performed in multiple plays from recent seasons, while Ivan Bond and Mike Scalera were both in last April's The Spongebob Musical and Sumer Seth was in the cast of Freezing - A Holiday Pantomime just a few weeks ago.
Read more here: There's 'snow' place like the Freezing pantomime show
But the cast also features a number of newcomers to the Oakville stage, including Richelle Tavernier as Cynthia. One of the lead characters in the play, Tavernier plays a woman who makes the rare jump from the factor floor to its main office, causing tensions among her friends.
"This is my first dramatic role in over 20 years," says Tavernier. "I normally do musicals. So to do something different and learn a new skill set here, this play let me meet a lot of new people and it opens up a lot of opportunities for me and the audience."
Tavernier says she believes the play will allow for openness in audiences' minds: "The play looks at how some people get ahead and others don’t. What do you do when they feel left behind?"
"All of the ideas of this show, including racism and friendship, are very real. Even though it’s set in 2000, the things that are happening in the story are still happening, and happening here in Canada too."
She ends by smiling and commending her fellow actors: "It’s a talented cast, and this is a play to make you think and help open your eyes to a kind of living you might not understand. Lots of people live paycheck to paycheck, and missing just one can have you in dire straits."
Many of the same ideas are shared among the whole cast and crew, taking a big chance at telling a heavy story on the Oakville Centre stage.
But Burlton says the cast and crew are ready for that challenge, and this is a special opportunity for a unique kind of theatre in Oakville.
"Each of the characters has a different perspective on how the factory and friendships has impacted each of their lives. I find that story incredibly gripping. and I hope the Oakville audiences find it too."
Sweat
Now playing at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts until January 19, 2025.
Tickets are available online here.
Written by Lynn Nottage.
Directed by Randolph Burlton.
Starring Ivan Bond, Martin Huss, Stewart Leese, Kevin Lloyd Reid, Maria Michelli, Sandy Milne, Michelle Righetti, Mike Scalera, Sumer Seth and Richelle Tavernier.
Rated 14+. Runs 2hrs 45mins. Tickets range from $26-39.
Exclusive for Oakville News readers: Use promo code HARDWORK at checkout to receive three tickets for the price of two. Valid for all performances until Jan. 19, 2025.