2b theatre celebrates 25 years of boundary-pushing work

Christian Barry is photographed at Soulpepper Theatre in Toronto on Saturday, May 24, 2025.

In the early days of his music career, Hawksley Workman ran into Christian Barry, the artistic director of the Halifax-based 2b theatre company, backstage after a show. Barry told Workman he wanted to make something theatrical with him. Workman agreed, but it would take a long time for them to find the right inspiration.

“It took years and years of emails back and forth to arrive at a subject,” Workman said. “I bet that took 15 years.”

Eventually Workman, who wanted to do something that focused on hedonism and balance, settled on the idea of adapting The Bacchae, the Greek tragedy about a king who is punished for rejecting Dionysius, the god of festivity.

Workman and Barry started piecing together the show that would come to be known as “The God That Comes,” improvising elements for the one-man show. Workman admits there was a learning curve for him.

“Theatre people love process,” he said. “Rock and rolls guys like to write the song and get to the gig. Theatre people don’t mind building something and tearing it apart. I was really frustrated with Christian at the start.

“Once I got a little more comfortable, we worked and poked away at that show for about three years before it went to stage. We’d set up a stage and I’d be almost forced into improvisation.”

“The God That Comes” debuted in 2013 and took Workman around the world for years with performances in the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia. It was a major show for 2b theatre as it demonstrated the fusion of theatre and music that would define them for years to come.

“We’re making theatre that incorporates music, or music that incorporates theatre,” Barry said. “It’s driven by a narrative. “God That Comes” was the first of those. It blew the doors open to the touring scene.”

2b theatre is celebrating its 25th birthday this month by reflecting on major shows like “The God That Comes” and looking to the future. It will be bringing together past collaborators for a special concert on June 25.

“From the beginning I had a deep interest in music,” Barry said. “Music was a first love of mine. The idea of working with musicians was core to my idea of what great original theatre could be.”

Origins

Barry co-founded Bunnies in the Headlights Theatre with several friends in 1999. He said the name referred to being open and honest under the theatre lights, but they ultimately rebranded to 2b theatre.

“Who was going to let us direct anything? The theatre scene in Halifax felt particularly hard to break into at the time,” Barry said. “It didn’t seem like anyone would give the keys of the car to a 19-year-old. We wanted to make our own work.”

Barry said they reconsidered their theatrical model around 2004 and began looking at touring original pieces.

“If you’re going to take three-to-five years to make an original work, you don’t want to just do it for two weeks in Halifax,” he said.

Old Stock

Following the production of “The God That Comes,” Barry started working with East Coast musician Ben Caplan in 2015 on a project that would be performed more than 400 times in 37 cities: “Old Stock – A Refugee Love Story.”

“It was a magic stroke of luck as far as I was concerned,” Caplan said. “I got a call from Chrisitan Barry who said he was a big admirer and he wanted to make a musical. I didn’t really know him at all, but it sounded great. I’d always had an interest in theatre.”

Caplan said they wanted to explore Jewish identity with the piece, but he had trouble finding an angle for the songs until he watched the 2015 federal election leadership debates.

“(Stephen) Harper talked about ‘old stock’ Canadians,” Caplan said. “It really got under my skin. I thought it was a dog whistle. When does somebody become Canadian? Where does the line get drawn?

“Thinking about that kicked off the deeper artistic process. This needs to be an immigration story, a story about refugees. We’ll use a Jewish story to think about the universal story.”

Caplan and Barry slowly brought the show to life, ultimately debuting it in 2017. It received six Drama Desk Award nominations and was a New York Times Critics’ Pick.

“It has the right level of artistic integrity and having a deep meta narrative,” Caplan said. “Unfortunately, the issue has only become more present in our daily lives and political conversations, this idea of who belongs and who doesn’t belong.”

Future productions

Currently Barry is working with Halifax musician Aquakultre on a show that’s set to premiere in 2026.

“Music is the most direct way to the heart,” Barry said. “Sometimes with theatre people can be intimidated. We make plays about modern existence.”

Workman, Caplan and Aquakultre will perform select songs from their 2b shows at the June 25 celebration at the Canadian Museum of Immigration.

Looking back at the last 25 years, Barry said he’s glad he’s been able to represent Halifax theatre on a global stage.

“We just wanted to make original works in Halifax and stay home,” he said. “It’s a tried-and-true path to go to Toronto. We made our own opportunity.”

The June 25 show kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

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