1 of 1 2 of 1 How far would you go for justice? That’s a question at the heart of Why Now Theatre Collective’s A Life Sentence , which opens tonight (May 23) at The Cultch’s Historic Theatre. The show is based on real, verbatim transcripts from when co-producer and playwright Jarred Stephen Meek’s mother, a BC resident, pressed charges against her father for the abuse she experienced while she was growing up. After having its Studio 58 production cancelled due to the pandemic, the show debuted at 2023’s Vancouver Fringe.

This time around, A Life Sentence is being put on as part of Upintheair Theatre’s rEvolver Festival from May 23 to May 26. Following that, it has a run at Edmonton Fringe. Spanning from the 1970s through to the ‘90s (but undeniably relevant in a post-#MeToo world), A Life Sentence is deeply personal to not only Meek, but his family.

“My mom came to watch the show with my twin brother and his wife, and it was really important for me for my twin brother to see the show because of all of our experiences growing up,” Meek says via phone. “I think it was really important for him to have this understanding of our mom, because over the last seven years of writing this, I have gained such an understanding of her.” Meek’s co-producer Alina Blackett, who also plays the lead, says that this show means a lot to her, too.

“It’s a huge honour, and it’s close to my heart in a lot of different ways. And it’s something that I really value in th.