{"product_id":"after-class-parents-night-and-the-bigger-issue-9781772011845","title":"After Class: Parents Night and the Bigger Issue","description":"\u003cp\u003eSit your butt down and learn your three Rs: ranting, resisting, and respect.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn two new plays, Canada's king of black comedy takes on the failing education system. Both \u003cem\u003eParents Night\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Bigger Issue\u003c\/em\u003e are set in public-school classrooms after hours and involve confrontations between stressed-out teachers and ticked-off parents. Both sympathize with embattled educators and evince Walker's trademark understanding of poverty and the working classes. In both, Walker's signature moves work: the audience feels simultaneously complicit in and righteously angry about injustice and inequity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eParents Night\u003c\/em\u003e finds grade-three teacher Nicole caught in the crossfire between John, an arrogant executive dad, and Rosie, a ballsy, low-income mom. Both are meeting with Nicole to express concerns for their children, but class warfare quickly erupts, and the kids' behaviour turns out to be a reflection of their parents' messed-up lives. A harried Nicole is dealing with troubles of her own, but she makes a brave attempt to discipline these overgrown brats.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Bigger Issue\u003c\/em\u003e covers the same ground but digs deeper. Suzy, a novice middle-school teacher, has been called onto the carpet by the principal, Irene, for physically accosting a violent student. But when the boy's parents show up, it becomes clear that Jack and Maggie are a middle-class couple reduced to abject poverty; the real problem isn't their son or the school but a dysfunctional society.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTogether, \u003cem\u003eParents Night\u003c\/em\u003e and\u003cem\u003e The Bigger Issue\u003c\/em\u003e comprise the first instalments in a projected play cycle similar to Walker's famous Suburban Motel. With an introduction by Toronto director Wesley Berger.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e George F. Walker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Talonbooks\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 12\/05\/2017\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 176\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.6lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.90w x 0.50d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781772011845","brand":"Talonbooks","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43349252538505,"sku":"9781772011845","price":19.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_0c403bcb-a17a-4a05-9278-c738a27853be.jpg?v=1739258217","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/after-class-parents-night-and-the-bigger-issue-9781772011845","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}