Pop Dialectic: To Ed Sheeran, or not to Ed Sheeran?

ty)” debate and anti-trans speakers in early January. Much like the right-wing professor invited to speak in the play, the debate in Chancellor Day Hall sparked discourse about the difference between encouraging open dialogue and platforming hatred and intolerance. Abracen’s script is perfectly geared toward McGill students, providing an enlightening and sobering social commentary on the current state of political tensions and vulnerabilities on campus.

“It was very important to me that the students are central characters,” Abracen said in an interview with The McGill Tribune . “Each of [them], in some way, feels that they are carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. They are making decisions that are going to have major ramifications. The stakes are no less high because they are students.”

What Rough Beast asks the question many college campuses are currently grappling with: Does fostering genuine discussion have to mean legitimizing bigoted views, and if so, how can we achieve consensus and unity? This thought-provoking and nuanced conversation is sure to have a lasting impact on audiences, sparking discussions about politics and ideological differences long after they leave the theatre.

What Rough Beast ran at Centaur Theatre from March 2 to 11.