Thought For Food launched their “give us an hour of your time” crowd-funding campaign on February 1, 2014. The funds raised will support the upcoming Toronto theatre production The Memo, Vaclav Havel’s hilarious satire of office life. Taking their cue from this workplace comedy, Thought For Food is asking people to donate one hour of their wages on Kickstarter.
Inspired by Havel, the give us an hour of your time campaign is equal parts fundraiser and political statement, drawing attention to the ever-growing income disparity in the industrialized world.
Here’s how it works: if you work for minimum wage, pledge as little as $10, if you’re part of the 1% you should donate $92 or more and if you’re one of Canada’s top-paid CEOs, you can fund the entire goal twice over with only one hour of your time – $7,281.
All funds raised by February 28th go towards producing the Canadian premiere of a new translation of Havel’s classic play.
The Memo is a parody of bureaucratic banality instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever dealt with a large organization. Full of absurd characters, ridiculous situations and an undercurrent of political satire, this intellectual comedy will make you laugh – just before it makes you think.
Havel was one of the twentieth century’s leading playwrights as well as an accomplished statesman (President of the Czech Republic, Member of the Order of Canada) and The Memo is a masterpiece. With this new edition by Governor General Award-winning translator, Paul Wilson, Thought For Food explores the terrifying, comical parallels between Communist Czechoslovakia and modern-day Canada.
This is an exciting opportunity to support a fresh, new, Canadian take on one of the great plays of the twentieth century. An hour of your time is all it takes.
The Memo will be performed at Unit 102 Theatre in Toronto from April 23, 2014 – May 10, 2014. The show will be directed by Tyler Seguin and the full cast and crew will be announced soon.
