Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes

After his third divorce, a novelist and star lecturer is tortured with self-loathing when he notices himself liking a pupil — a girl in a red coat. The girl turns out to be a major fan of his work and who just so happens to live down the street from him.

Following a first reading in the United States, Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes has been performed for audiences in Canada and in Australia.

• 2017 - Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle, Washington (first reading){{Cite web|last=Mulkerrins|first=Jane|date=2021-02-26|title=Teacher-student affair 'not a love story': why play's male directors got it wrong|url=https://www.theage.com.au/culture/theatre/teacher-student-affair-not-a-love-story-why-play-s-male-directors-got-it-wrong-20210219-p57416.html|access-date=2021-11-26|website=The Age|language=en}}
• 2020 - Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, Ontario (premiere)
• 2021 - Southbank Theatre, The Sumner, Melbourne, Australia (Melbourne Theatre Company)

The play had its first reading in June 2017 at the Seattle Repertory Theatre in Seattle, Washington and had its world premiere at the Tarragon Theatre, in Toronto, Ontario, known for its development, creation and encouragement of new work in Canada.{{Cite news|last=Ouzounian|first=Richard|date=2010-09-27|title=Speaking of theatre, Tarragon Theatre celebrates 40 years|language=en-CA|work=The Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/2010/09/27/speaking_of_theatre_tarragon_theatre_celebrates_40_years.html|access-date=2021-11-26|issn=0319-0781}}

• Annie: Alice Snaden
• Jon: Matthew Edison

• Hannah Moscovitch – Playwright
• Sarah Garton Stanley – Director
• Eva Barrie – Assistant Director
• Michael Gianfrancesco – Set Designer
• Michael Gianfrancesco – Costume Designer
• Bonnie Beecher – Lighting Designer
• Hilary Pitman – Assistant Lighting Designer
• Julian Iacob – Assistant Lighting Designer
• Miquelon Rodriguez – Sound Designer
• Laura Warren – Video Designer
• Joanna Falck – Dramaturge
• Siobhan Richardson – Intimacy Coach

• Daniel Oulton – Stage Manager
• Jaimee Hall – Apprentice Stage Manager
• Jahnelle Jones-Williams – Resident Student

• Gerry Egan – Production Manager
• John Thomson – Technical Director
• Kathleen Johnston – Head of Wardrobe
• Shaw Forgeron – Interim Head of Properties
• Andrew Chute - Scenic Carpenter

• Annie: Izabella Yena
• Jon: Dan Spielman

• Petra Kalive – Director
• Marg Horwell – Set and Costume Designer
• Rachel Burke – Lighting Designer
• Darius Kedros – Composer and Sound Designer
• Isabella Vadiveloo – Assistant Director
• Michala Banas – Intimacy Coordinator
• Xanthe Beesley – Movement Consultant

• Annie: Ella Beatty (u/s Sophia Talwalkar)
• Jon: Hugh Jackman

Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes won the Governor General's Award for English-language drama{{Cite news|date=November 18, 2021|title=Halifax playwright Hannah Moscovitch wins Governor General's Literary Award for drama|work=CBC News|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/halifax-playwright-hannah-moscovitch-wins-governor-general-s-literary-award-for-drama-1.6253788|access-date=November 30, 2021}} at the 2021 Governor General's Awards.{{Cite news|last=Bresge|first=Adina|date=November 17, 2021|title=Inuk author Norma Dunning wins $25K Governor General's fiction prize|work=Coast Reporter|agency=Canadian Press|url=https://www.coastreporter.net/the-mix/inuk-author-norma-dunning-wins-25k-governor-generals-fiction-prize-4766110|access-date=November 30, 2021|archive-date=November 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211117161409/https://www.coastreporter.net/the-mix/inuk-author-norma-dunning-wins-25k-governor-generals-fiction-prize-4766110|url-status=dead}}

The play has generally been well received in both Canada and Australia. In Toronto, Joe Szekeres, chief critic for the Onstage Blog writes, "Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch viscerally overturned the #metoo movement on its head with a sizable goose egg bump at the premiere",{{Cite web|last=Szekeres|first=Joe|date=January 9, 2020|title=Toronto Review: "Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes" at Tarragon Theatre|url=https://www.onstageblog.com/reviews/2020/1/9/toronto-review-sexual-misconduct-of-the-middle-classes-at-tarragon-theatre|access-date=2021-11-30|website=OnStage Blog|language=en-CA}} and Carly Maga, theatre critic at the Toronto Star calls Moscovitch, "in control of her narrative, which she increasingly makes clear in her characterizations", claiming it to be "a powerful thing to witness."{{Cite news|last=Maga|first=Carly|date=2020-01-09|title=Review {{!}} 'Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes' is a familiar story of seduction — until it isn't|language=en-CA|work=The Toronto Star|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/stage/review/2020/01/09/sexual-misconduct-of-the-middle-classes-is-a-familiar-story-of-seduction-until-it-isnt.html|access-date=2021-11-30|issn=0319-0781}} In Melbourne, Jane Mulkerrins at The Age adds the play explores "deftly subverting traditional tropes within the age-old story of a student-teacher affair".{{Cite web|last=Mulkerrins|first=Jane|date=2021-02-26|title=Teacher-student affair 'not a love story': why play's male directors got it wrong|url=https://www.theage.com.au/culture/theatre/teacher-student-affair-not-a-love-story-why-play-s-male-directors-got-it-wrong-20210219-p57416.html|access-date=2021-11-30|website=The Age|language=en}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website}}

{{Governor General's English drama|state=collapsed}}

Category:2020 plays

Category:Canadian plays

Category:Governor General's Award–winning plays