The Tribunal
A guerrilla French satire for English audiences.
Alex, a zealous massage therapist, stands accused of assaulting her client, Feda, a cyber-security analyst on leave from work to avoid a HR mediation process with her superior. A simple knot in Feda’s body becomes an obsession as Alex digs deep to release what she assumes is Feda’s “buried trauma”: the Sabra and Shatila massacres. This lands her in hot water and under the scrutiny of dishonourable Jean Genet, the radical French playwright. With Genet as judge, jury, witness, and clown in this surreal trial, Alex and Feda’’s testimony of their awkward encounters collide. Is Alex guilty of gross misconduct? Or is she simply a misguided “empath”?
Inspired by Genet’s hyper-theatrical plays, The Tribunal turns absurdity into an interrogation of our fascination with other people’s suffering, and our disturbing appetite for consuming it.
Written by BREANNE ORYSCHAK
Directed by DILLON ORR
Designed by DEVIN HARTLEY
SARAH KURIM as Feda, the client
THERESA STORK as Alex, the massage therapist
DIMITRI ABDUL NOUR as Jean Genet, the dishonourable judge
Script development: Playwrights-in-Quarantine Unit, Ottawa Fringe (2022); Sage Hill Playwriting Lab (2022)
Workshop and public reading: TACTICS development series, Arts Court Theatre, Ottawa (2022); BUS STOP MADONNAS (2026-27)
Awards: OAC recommender grants for theatre creators (2021; 2022); Creation and production fund for professional artists, City of Ottawa (2024)