You Should Have Stayed Home

BETA— An auto-biographical re-telling of the frightening events that took place on the streets of Toronto during the 2010 G20 summit protests, which saw the largest mass arrest in Canadian history and resulted in a $14.6M class action lawsuit. We join Tommy Taylor as he recounts his journey attending his first ever protest in the “Free Speech Zone” at Queen’s Park before being swept up in a mass arrest and detained at the Eastern Avenue Detention Centre. Originally a stage play that toured Canada in 2012, You Should Have Stayed Home now occurs in virtual reality and is presented in three modes: In-person audiences at The Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts can watch Tommy Taylor perform in-person, while the action unfolds in VR on screen; 10 audience members can join the performance in VR using an internet-connected VR headset (Quest, Vive, etc.); and On Friday June 10, a livestream will combine in-person and VR footage to be experienced remotely on-screen. Directed by Michael Wheeler and performed by actor and playwright Tommy Taylor, the play presents a virtual adaptation of Tommy’s original Facebook note, How I Got Arrested and Abused at the G20 in Toronto, which has been translated into seven languages and appeared in twenty-one countries. Today, Tommy’s story takes on urgent new meaning in the context of the ever-rising tensions and public dialogue on police violence, protest, and institutional reform.