Synopsis

Marcus, a dying theatre director, his wife, a playwright, a wannabe actress, and a neophyte politician join forces to stage a play in the garbage dump of a small Ontario town. Their rented farmhouse becomes a refuge from reality where romance, sex, cameraderie, and conversation attempt to stave off the inevitable. A philosophical romantic comedy, "The Pessimist" asks us to consider how we keep living, when life as we know it is ending. "The Pessimist" is a companion piece to Brebner's "The Optimists", which was a finalist for the Governor General's Literary Award for Drama.