Last month, Corenski Nowlan’s one-act play Opi-Void premiered at the Miramichi River Community (MRC) Theatre Festival. Opi-Void addresses the prescription drug epidemic in Miramichi, an area that has “seen significant economic and cultural changes; none of which have been for the better.”

“There’s a lot of addicts in my hometown, a lot of pain and depressing stories. It’s heartbreaking,” Nowlan says. “I love my home. I’m proud to be from the Miramichi but I’m also deeply concerned and legitimately afraid for the area.”

While opioid abuse and addiction has been declared a major public health crisis in Canada, Nowlan says a local perspective is needed to understand how the opioid crisis impacts small communities like Miramichi. Nowlan views Miramichi as a “bubble culture” and distinct within the province. “I think people there understand the world in a very different way than people in New Brunswick’s southern cities; and their understanding is extremely localized,” Nowlan says. “The Miramichi area, and specifically the smaller rural settlements, are all about community.

Everyone knows everyone and everything you do can effect [sic] someone else. If you’re an addict, you’re hurting other people in your community, people you might not even think about, in ways that you probably didn’t think about. In a small town it’s a domino effect. When something bad happens, it happens to the whole community.”

Writing Opi-Void was “very easy” for Nowlan thanks to the playwright’s first hand experience and knowledge. Still, Nowlan says Opi-Void challenged and caused him anxiety because he was writing something “so true” and “so close to home.”

“Opi-Void is about a group of three friends, three addicts, who are in over their heads,” Nowlan says. “They’re trying to make sense of their lives from this insular small town perspective. They’re in a bad situation and I think they want to do the right thing, they know what the right thing is… but it’s a real struggle for them.”

About Opi-Void’s premiere at the MRC Theatre Festival, Nowlan says “[the] Miramichi audience watched this play and the characters were people they knew.”

“Theatre is a very special medium for storytelling, especially a story like this,” Nowlan says. “There’s lots of information out there about the opioid crisis. People know what the medical community says, what politicians say… but theatre provides a different perspective.”

“I want to tell stories about my home. I want to raise awareness to the problems there, start a dialog. Show people that these struggles are real and they are not alone.”

Opi-Void, presented by Herbert the Cow Productions, will run for one-night only at St. Thomas University’s Black Box Theatre on September 13th, 7:30PM. Admission is Pay-As-You-Will.