White Lion, Brown Tiger

Written by Vishesh Abeyratne and directed by Michelle Soicher, White Lion, Brown Tiger is a biting black comedy laced with wit and venom. In a thrift shop, a heated exchange between two Sri Lankan employees breaks out into a fight. Their manager tries to defuse the situation, bringing intracultural tensions and charged racial politics to the fore. But there may be more to the conflict than the two men are letting on…

White Lion, Brown Tiger is a charged exploration of workplace racism, toxic masculinity, performative allyship, and weaponized trauma.

Cast & crew:
Featuring: Natasha Fagant, Keith Fernandez, Matt Lacas
Stage Manager: Elyse Quesnel
Production Manager: Yolanda Chow
Technical Director: Trinity McQuillan
Sound Designer: HeatherEllen Strain
Set & Lighting designer: Aurora Torok
Costume Designer: Maryanna Chan
Fight Coreographer: Zach Counsil

The performance’s runtime is an hour, followed by a talkback that can bring the show’s total length to an hour and a half.

We have formal talkbacks after the following shows, Oct 19th and Oct 22nd. More information to come.

The matinee on October 18th is a relaxed performance, October 21st is PWYC, and the October 22nd is mask mandatory. There will be masks provided.

CW: This play has physical violence, discusses war, and uses racial slurs and sexist language.

BIOS:

Vishesh Abeyratne is a Sri Lankan-Canadian playwright and poet. He has served as playwright-in-residence at the Great Canadian Theatre Company and as Literary Manager at Teesri Duniya Theatre, where he facilitated the Fireworks Playwrights’ Mentorship Program from 2022 to 2025. His plays include Exposure (published by YouthPLAYS), Blood Offering, White Lion, Brown Tiger, and The Agony Market. His poetry has been published in Bywords.ca, Flo Literary Magazine, Montreal Serai, and on Instagram at @visheshabeyratne82. He is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Sciences at the University of Western Ontario.

Michelle Soicher is a director and stage manager who splits her time between Toronto and Montreal. She has worked with The Segal Center for Performing Arts, Black Theatre Workshop, Theatre Passe Murielle, Coal Mine Theatre, 1S1 Theatre and more. Her independent theatre company, Michegas Theatre, has produced two original works for the Montreal Fringe Festival: Spiral (2021) and Games I Don’t Want to Play (2023), which was nominated for the MainLine Creativity Award. Her creative process is inspired by Jewish traditions of debate, resilience, and joy. Michelle is also the Production Coordinator for the Canadian Music Centre Chalmers Performance Space.

Keith Fernandez is a multidisciplinary theatre director, performer, and drag artist. A graduate of Grant MacEwan University and Concordia University, he founded Berlin Musicals in 2018, producing full-length musicals and revues. Select directing credits include Crash (Associate Director – Imago Theatre, 2026), An Uncomfortable Dinner Party (Fringe, 2025), Sinkhole (Infinitheatre, 2024), and Hedwig & the Angry Inch (Fringe, 2024). He has collaborated with Imago Theatre, Infinitheatre, Montreal Arts Interculturels, and Vancouver Opera. He is the Program Manager for the Artist Mentorship Program at Black Theatre Workshop. Named YES Employment’s Most Promising Emerging Theatre Producer in 2024, Keith continues to explore performance through his drag persona, KAJOL.

Matt Lacas is an Indo-Canadian artist hailing from Tiohtià:ke/Montreal and currently calling Tkaronto/Toronto home. Matt is a graduate of both Dawson College’s Professional Theatre Program in Montreal and Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto. Matt’s work has been see across Canada, US, Europe and Asia. Past Credits: As You Like It, Robin Hood: The Musical (SBTS), Brimful of Asha, New Canadian Curling Club (Festival Antigonish), Murder For Two (Neptune Theatre), Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (TUTS), Jungle Book (Kidoons/YPT), Les Moutons (Corpus, Japan Tour). Big love to my famjam and Goose for their constant support.

Hailing originally from the small town of Summerland BC, Natasha Perry-Fagant is an award-nominated actor, performance artist and director. In 2013 she received her BFA in Theatre Performance from Concordia University graduating with honours. Natasha has made Montreal her home and has been an active member of the bright voice acting community fostered in the city.

Elyse Quesnel (She/Her) is a Montreal based stage manager. Most recent stage management credits include: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Dawson College), Le Petit Prince (Bishop’s University). Three Women of Swatow (Centaur), Diggers (Black Theatre Workshop), Cymbeline (Repercussion Theatre) Meet Me (LATP/Teesri Duniya Theatre), Sinkhole (Or 6 ways to Dissapear), Extra/ Beautiful / U, Omi Mouna (Infinitheatre), Psycho 6 (Teesri Duniya Theatre), The Sound Inside, Between Riverside and Crazy, Category E, Orphans (Coal Mine Theatre). She has been awarded the following: Shaw Festival Rookie of the Year Award (Cricket Team -2015), Pamela Montgomery Award (John Abbott College – 2013).

Yolanda Chow (she/her) is an emerging filmmaker, based in Tiohtià:ke/ Montreal. After studying International Business at McGill, she found herself producing podcasts for Westbrook Studios and program coordinating at TIFF. Currently, she is the General––and sometimes Production––Manager at Teesri Duniya Theatre. Her first short film, I Worry About My Teeth, recently premiered at Pendance Film Festival, and her second short, The End of the World, funded by Canada Council of the Arts, is in pre-production.

HeatherEllen Strain: Coming Soon.

Aurora Torok (she/her/by name) is a queer and hard-of-hearing (using hearing aids) artist currently living on Tio’tia:ke (Montreal). Her experience in the live arts is primarily in theatre after graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in Production Design and Technical Arts, as well as from Concordia University with a BFA – Specialization in Design for the Theatre. Other disciplines include contemporary dance, outdoor art installations, comedy and visual arts. Aurora was nominated for Outstanding Contribution to Theatre by the METAs in 2022.

Maryanna Chan is a Queer, Chinese-Canadian illustrator and scenographer. She has a degree in illustration from the Alberta University of the Arts, and graduated from the scénographie program at the National Theatre School of Canada in 2021. Her work focuses on equality, diversity, liberation, and she strives to amplify the voices and stories of underrepresented and marginalized communities.

Zach Counsil: Coming Soon.