Ten Thousand Things- Brendan McLeod

From the former Canadian SLAM champ—familiar to Nelson audiences as the creator and performer of ‘Ridge’ and the founder of The Fugitives folk group— comes a brand new solo performance, which, for a show about human annihilation, also has quite a few jokes.

We’ve ruined the Earth in one lifetime. 85% of the carbon in our air has happened since World War II. In Ten Thousand Things, acclaimed storyteller Brendan McLeod tracks how we got here, and how nothing (still!) seems to be getting done about it.

What begins as an examination of Western history—how commodification separates people, how language influences power, history’s annoying insistence on repeating—soon morphs into a personal exploration of grief and joy. The answer to the simple question—what would societal change actually look like—is obviously not so simple, but potential answers aren’t as complex as expected, and might even be uplifting.

Brendan McLeod is the creator of seven theatre shows, including Ridge, his award-winning musical on the Battle of Vimy, and Brain, his comedic monologue on consciousness. His music group The Fugitives has been nominated for a JUNO, as well as multiple Canadian Folk Music and Western Canada Music Awards, including Best Roots Group, Best Songwriter, and Best Vocal Group. A former Canadian SLAM champ, he’s also the author of a novel and a poetry collection.