Vicki Stroich for being the play’s first dramaturg and bringing it to the attention of Alberta Theatre Projects.

ATP’s amazing team, in particular Artistic Director Vanessa Porteous, Producer Dianne Goodman and Dramaturg Laurel Green.

The cast and crew of Butcher’s first production, all of whom contributed to making the play better. Their names are listed here.

The wonderful team at Coach House Books, in particular Alana Wilcox, Heidi Waechtler and Sarah Smith-Eivemark.

Jonathan Bartlett for his incredible cover art.

Throughout the process, different drafts were read by friends and colleagues and their feedback was invaluable. They are listed here alphabetically: Pierre Billon, Adam Bradley, Sochi Fried, Ravi Jain, Daniel Karasik, Sarah Kitz, Matthew MacKenzie, Andrew Templeton and E. Jane Thompson.

The dedication and rigour of Christina E. Kramer and Dragana Obradović in the creation of the Lavinian language was inspiring.

Finally, I want to share a special thank you to three women for their help with Butcher:

Louise Arbour for taking the time to read the play, discuss it with me and write such an articulate foreword to Butcher. Her insight into forgiveness changed the tenor of the play’s ending.

My most demanding reader, as always, is my partner in life, Aislinn Rose, who read and commented on every iteration of the play.

And finally, to Weyni Mengesha, whose intelligence and sensitivity shaped the play and made it better than I ever hoped it could be.

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About the Playwright

Nicolas Billon’s work has been produced in Toronto, Stratford, Vancouver, New York and Paris. His book of three plays Fault Lines: Greenland – Iceland – Faroe Islands (Coach House) won the 2013 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama. He recently adapted his first play, The Elephant Song, into a feature film. Nicolas grew up in Montreal and now lives in Toronto. His website is www.nicolasbillon.com.