Tetsuro Shigematsu's outstanding new play, a multifaceted portrayal of a singular figure, tells the story of Mas Yamamoto, a man whose life was swept up by the major currents of the 20th-century:

"The year is 1977, the place planet Earth, and even though some of you were not yet born, believe me when I say it was very cool time in which to be alive… Some of the things you know and love today were just being introduced. A movie named Star Wars came out. The U.S. Department of Defense launched a series of satellites you know as GPS. 1977 was the year the Apple II went on sale. You wouldn't have wanted the Apple I. It was made of wood. Seriously! … But for my money, the coolest thing to launch in 1977 was one of the very first digital cameras. It was the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, if you can believe it, but here's the cool thing: they called it Voyager."

From growing up in a fishing village on the banks of the Fraser River in British Columbia, to being confined at a Japanese Canadian internment camp during the Second World War, to helping build the Distant Early Warning Line in the Canadian Arctic during the height of the Cold War, 1 Hour Photo's Mas Yamamoto is a grand theatrical persona, his life saturated with the most vivid colours of our times. (From Talon Books)

1 Hour Photo is a finalist for the 2019 Governor General's Literary Award for drama. The winner will be announced on Oct. 29, 2019.

Media Audio | Q : How Tetsuro Shigematsu's new play brought him closer to his father

Caption: Tetsuro Shigematsu's new play Empire of the Son explores the relationship between him and his father, Akira.

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