The Runner

By Christopher Morris

Z.A.K.A is an Orthodox Jewish volunteer force in Israel that collects the remains of Jews killed in accidents. When Jacob, a Z.A.K.A volunteer, makes the split-second decision to treat a young woman -- instead of the soldier she may have killed -- his world is changed forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Scirocco Drama
• Release date: Jul 21, 2022
• ISBN: 9781990737862

Christopher Morris

Christopher Morris is a playwright, director and actor and is the artistic director of the Toronto-based theatre company Human Cargo. Past writing credits include The Runner (Human Cargo/Theatre Passe Muraille - 2019 Dora Awards for Outstanding New Play and Best Production), Our Beautiful Sons, (Blyth Festival 2017 and 2012 Playwright in Residence), The Road to Paradise, co-playwright with Jonathan Garfinkel (Human Cargo/Crow's Theatre/Buddies in Bad Times Theatre), Night (Human Cargo/National Arts Centre, published by the Canadian Theatre Review/Canada Playwrights Press), Return: The Sarajevo Project (co-playwright, Theatrefront, Dora Mavor Moore Award Nomination, published by Canada Playwrights Press). Christopher lives in Toronto with his partner Gillian Gallow and their daughter Eileen.

Book preview

Cover: The Runner by Christopher Morris, published under Scirocco Drama, by J. Gordon Shillingford, shows a coloured but ghostly image of a man. Red and brown paint is sprinkled all over the back of the man, and is seen on the background too.

The Runner

Christopher Morris

The Runner

first published 2020 by Scirocco Drama

An imprint of J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing Inc.

© 2020 Christopher Morris

Scirocco Drama Editor: Glenda MacFarlane

Cover design by Doowah Design

Author photo by Tim Leyes

Printed and bound in Canada on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Manitoba Arts Council and

The Canada Council for the Arts for our publishing program.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, for any reason, by any means, without the permission of the publisher. This play is fully protected under the copyright laws of Canada and all other countries of the Copyright Union and is subject to royalty. Changes to the text are expressly forbidden without written consent of the author. Rights to produce, film, record in whole or in part, in any medium or in any language, by any group, amateur or professional, are retained by the author.

Production inquiries, please contact:

[e-mail]

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: The runner / Christopher Morris.

Names: Morris, Christopher, 1974- author.

Description: A play.

Identifiers: Canadiana 20200173499 | ISBN 9781927922576 (softcover)

Classification: LCC PS8626.O75725 R86 2020 | DDC C812/.6—dc23

J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing

P.O. Box 86, RPO Corydon Avenue, Winnipeg, MB Canada R3M 3S3

For Yakov Mueller.

A black and white photograph of the author Christopher Morris. He is seen posing with a smile.

Christopher Morris

Christopher Morris is a playwright, director, and actor, and is the artistic director of the Toronto-based theatre company Human Cargo. Past writing credits include The Runner (Human Cargo/Theatre Passe Muraille – 2019 Dora Awards for Outstanding New Play and Best Production), Our Beautiful Sons (Blyth Festival 2017 and 2012 Playwright in Residence), The Road to Paradise with co-playwright Jonathan Garfinkel (Human Cargo/Crow’s Theatre/Buddies in Bad Times Theatre), Night (Human Cargo/National Arts Centre, published by the Canadian Theatre Review/Canada Playwrights Press), Return: The Sarajevo Project (co-playwright with Sue Balint, Daryl Cloran, Alena Dzebo, Holly Lewis, Tanya Smoje and Dylan Trowbridge, Theatrefront, Dora Mavor Moore Award nomination, published by Canada Playwrights Press). Christopher lives in Toronto with his partner Gillian Gallow and their daughter Eileen.

Acknowledgements

The Runner flourished under the guidance of director/dramaturg Daniel Brooks. His insight, patience, and persistence were empowering. Thank you, Daniel.

I’m also grateful to all the individuals/organizations who’ve helped me during The Runner’s creation and premiere: Judy Zelikovitz, CIJA, Francis Mueller, Hinda and everyone at Ein HaNetziv, Noam Shalev, Ruti Barkai, Samer Shalabi, the Al-Akhras family, Howard Rypp, Ishai Golan, Signe Katz, David Weinberg, Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer, everyone at the Z.A.K.A. office in Jerusalem, Marwan Athamneh, Natasha Greenblatt, Andy McKim, Regine Cadet, Jefferson Mappin, Alexandre Alexandrov and Marina Stefanovic at Broadview Place, Joel Beddows, Judy Farthing, Ada Aguilar, Remington North, Jane Johanson, Graham Isador and the staff at Theatre Passe Muraille, Amy Matysio, Kat Gauthier, Tyrone Savage, Lucy Peacock, Kevin Bundy, Andre Morin, The Stratford Festival, Craig Pike, Phyllis Berck, Sylvia Morris, Linda Gallow, Ron