The Best Brothers

by Daniel MacIvor

A bittersweet comedy from one of Canada's most beloved playwrights that explores the many ways in which we grieve and the love we find in unexpected places. Bunny Best has met her unfortunate end after a mishap at a Gay Days parade. Now her two sons, Kyle and Hamilton, have the task of arranging her funeral and caring for her most beloved companion, a troublesome Italian greyhound named Enzo. In the bustle of obituary-writing, eulogy-giving, and dog-sitting, sibling rivalry quickly reaches its peak and years of buried contentions surface.

Genres: Plays, Drama

112 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 2013

About the author

Daniel MacIvor was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in 1962. He is a stalwart of the Canadian theatre scene, having written and directed numerous award-winning productions including See Bob Run, Wild Abandon, 2-2-Tango, This Is A Play, The Soldier Dreams, You Are Here, How It Works, A Beautiful View, Communion, Bingo! and his work has been translated into French, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, German and Japanese. From 1987 to 2007 with Sherrie Johnson he ran da da kamera, a respected international touring company which brought his work to Australia, the UK and extensively throughout the US and Canada. With long time collaborator Daniel Brooks, he created the solo performances House, Here Lies Henry, Monster, Cul-de-sac and This is What Happens Next.

Daniel won a GLAAD Award and a Village Voice Obie Award in 2002 for his play In On It, which was presented at PS 122 in New York. His play Marion Bridge received its off-Broadway premiere in New York in October of 2005. In 2006, Daniel received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama for his collection of plays I Still Love You. In 2007, his play His Greatness won the Jessie Richardson Award for Best New Play in Vancouver. In 2008, he was awarded the prestigious Siminovitch prize in Theatre.

Also a filmmaker, Daniel has written and directed the feature films Past Perfect, Wilby Wonderful and the short films Permission and Until I Hear From You, and he is the writer of the feature films Trigger, Marion Bridge and co-writer (with Amnon Buchbinder) of Whole New Thing.

Currently, Daniel divides his time between Toronto and Avondale, Nova Scotia and he is playwright in residence at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.

Reviews

[Tony Loyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable and funny story about family dysfunction and sibling rivalry. I wasn't a huge fan of the way that the mother was portrayed by the brothers at different times, I think I would have preferred if she was her own character. Not a lot going on but some very funny moments and a few touching ones as well, specifically with the end monologue about dogs and the love they bring. Requires a good understanding of how to deliver the dialogue effectively and appropriately to succeed on stage. A very realistic portrayal of brothers with a strained relationship.

[SWillett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comedic and heart warming tale of two brothers

[Sophie U · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn’t as fab as I remembered from seeing it live in 2014(ish??), but still have a real soft spot for this play.

[Judy Cormier · Rating 4 out of 5]

📍 Canada 🇨🇦
📖 🎭 The Best Brothers
🖊️ Daniel MacIvor
🇨🇦 🎭 📖
A really good play by a great Canadian playwright! At times funny and poignant, The Best Brothers navigate their mothers death and it’s aftermath through their grief, sibling rivalry and a dog named Enzo.

I’d love to see this play produced. I can picture it in a black box theatre with minimally staged with very few props, dressing and decor. A couple of strong male actors is all you really need.
🇨🇦 🎭 📖