Harvest Justice: Twice the Speed of Lightning
Getting approved to work in Canada as a migrant farm worker seems like the opportunity of a lifetime for Diego, a new father from Mexico. However, this dream quickly becomes a nightmare upon arrival as he is forced into dangerous work, unsanitary and cramped living conditions, and is economically exploited.
James, a long-time worker in the program from Jamaica, works hard and takes Diego under his wing as he tries to advocate for changes to make the farm and program a safer place for workers.
As the injustices pile up against these workers, and the system provides little opportunity for recourse, the play asks – can anything be done to better support workers in Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker program? How can we as Canadian citizens work to ensure fair and safe working conditions for those doing essential work for Canada’s economy and ensure a sustainable food system?
Harvest Justice: Twice the Speed of Lighting, written by Catherine Frid, is an interactive Forum Theatre presentation that was created through interviews and conversations with 15 current and former migrant workers who shared their experiences. After seeing the play, audiences will be invited to discuss the issues, direct the actors, or roleplay their ideas to discover how we can all create positive change.
Advisory: This production depicts the exploitation of migrant workers on Ontario farms, performing jobs that make them vulnerable to unsafe working conditions, harassment, and exploitation. Triggers include depictions of racism, insulting gestures, and physical and emotional harm.
Recent Performances
We recently performed Harvest Justice: Twice the Speed of Lightning on the following dates/times.
Guelph
Location: Guelph Black Heritage Society, 83 Essex Street Guelph, ON N1H 3K9
Date/Time: Sat Sept 27, 2025 – 2:30 PM (ET)
Toronto
Location: Presented in Native Earth’s Aki Studio, 585 Dundas Street East, Toronto, first floor of Daniels Spectrum.
Dates/Times:
Oct 1, 2, 3, 4, 2025 – 7:30 PM (ET)
Oct 2, 4, 5, 2025 – 2:30 PM (ET)
Project Context
Many sectors of Canada’s economy, such as agriculture, hospitality, construction, and care-giving, rely heavily on the labour of migrants. For many years, Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) have brought migrants to come to Canada to fulfill our labour shortages in these sectors. Although the work and the demand for this work is permanent, the workers are given only temporary migration status within strict limits, making them targets for exploitation and abuse.
Mixed Company Theatre, and the Collaborative Network to End Exploitation are working together to share the stories of these workers, through an interactive theatrical production. Our intention is to empower action for policy change that will make so-called Canada a more fair and equitable place for all.
The production will use the pedagogy of Forum Theatre – an interactive, participatory, UNESCO recognized tool for communal dialogue, learning, and catalyzing social change – to tell stories and highlight the root causes of injustices migrant workers face, equipping audiences with the tools they need to join the migrant worker movement for a more just, equitable, and sustainable Canada.
Artists
Click on each artist’s name to learn more about the talented artists bringing “Harvest Justice: Twice the Speed of Lightning” to life.
Troy Crossfield: “James”
Troy Crossfield is the CEO and one of the visionary forces behind Crossfield House Productions (CHP), celebrated for curating soul-stirring narratives in both theatre and film. Since 2016, CHP has consistently delivered sold-out shows, earning esteemed recognition like the 2018 People’s Choice Award for Stage Production of the Year.
Troy, a multi-hyphenated talent as an actor and songwriter signed with OAZ acting agency, has graced major films like ‘Sisterly Christmas OWN’ and holds a significant songwriting deal with Sony ATV. Recently won the 2023 People’s Choice By Blacks Award for Director of the Year, Troy’s accolades also include the 2022 Outstanding Black Men in Canada and the 2021 Best Actor title at the Canadian Diversity Film Festival. Notably, he has directed and produced content for influential entities like Sony ATV and TD Bank.
Troy’s films, ‘SOAP DISH’ and ‘Out of Order,’ have garnered acclaim at prestigious festivals, including the Montreal Black Film Festival. In addition to his creative pursuits, Troy fosters a safe space for Black men through his impactful initiative, Iron Sharpens Iron.
Manuel Chaves: “Diego”
Manuel is excited to make his Canadian debut with “Harvest Justice: Twice the Speed of Lightning.” Manuel is a multi-award-winning actor born in Bogotá, Colombia, with extensive experience in theatre, film, and television.
He first gained recognition in the show “De Pies a Cabeza,” winning the “India Catalina” and “TV y Novelas” awards for Breakthrough Performance of the Year. Following this success, he travelled to Paris to perform in Augusto Boal’s Théâtre de l’Opprimé. His television career continued with notable roles in shows such as “Francisco el Matemático,” “Pura Sangre,” “El Capo,” and “La Saga.”
In 2004, Manuel received a nomination for a Colombian acting award for his portrayal of “Ernesto Manrique.” His filmography includes over 13 features, including “Soñar No Cuesta Nada,” “Como el Gato y el Ratón,” “Edipo Alcalde,” and “Afuera del Tiempo.” His performance in “La Luciérnaga” was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Macondo Awards, Colombia’s prestigious film awards, in 2016. His work is also featured in “Bolívar,” co-produced by Netflix. Manuel was the guest star in the international tour of “Betty La Fea.”
Robert Belllissimo: “Customs Officer/Supervisor/Bill”
Robert has appeared in numerous plays, television shows, commercials and feature films, such as PRIVATE EYES (A TV Series, which starred Jason Priestley), ROBBERY (A Canadian feature film, which can be seen on Amazon Prime), and MOOSE ON THE LOOSE (a play that was produced at Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay, Ontario). Robert teaches scene study classes at Talent INC Canada, as well as privately. “Twice The Speed of Lightning” is Robert’s second time appearing in a production produced by Mixed Company Theatre, after first appearing in “Push” in 2022.
Iza Rincón: “Liaison Officer/Sammy/Service Canada Representative”
Iza Rincón (she/her) is an actor and singer born and raised in Tijuana, Mexico. She moved to Toronto in 2022 to realize her dream to perform and create art across borders. She is a recent graduate from George Brown Theatre School.
She is grateful on having the opportunity to work with some of Canada’s distinguished theatre professionals such as Stewart Arnott, Jeannette Lambermont-Morey, Matt Pilipiak, and Nicole Wilson in her time at George Brown. Notable credits include: Anna Karenina in Anna Karenina and Ms. Gomez in Carnival of Munsch (George Brown Theatre School), Conspirator 9 in The Ensemble (Perchance Productions) Mads in The Last Mammoth (Good Old Neon), and Bruja in Velum (Short Film, Fugitiva Productions).
Iza is passionate about using magical realism to bridge the border between Mexican and Canadian theatre in order to blend the depth of the former with the richness of the latter. When not performing, you can find Iza sitting on a patio watching dogs pass by. She is thankful for the people that helped her along the way to be able to perform here today.
Simon Malbogat: Director and Facilitator
Simon Malbogat co-founded Mixed Company Theatre in 1983 and has been the Artistic Director since 1989. In 1992 Mixed Company Theatre became Canada’s first CTO (Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed). Simon has over thirty years’ experience as a director, dramaturg, teacher, actor, and workshop facilitator.
Teaching highlights include University of Toronto, Concordia University, York University, Humber College, Brock University and Queen’s University. Simon has facilitated hundreds of workshops for youths and adults in Europe, South America, USA, and Canada and has facilitated over 1,000 Forum Theatre presentations.
Simon has led workshops in Turkey, Brazil, Finland, and the Ukraine. In Toronto, Simon has been involved in developing the arts in the community with programs for families, women, seniors, youth, homeless adults and youth and persons with disabilities.
Catherine Frid: Playwright
Catherine Frid co-creates and presents new work with communities, including Belonging in the Township of Wellesley, Two-Sided Mirror, Living Below the Line, AfterWhys, and Our Voices: Senior Selfies.
Catherine’s other produced plays include Spend Your Kids’ Inheritance (Toronto Fringe – Patron’s Pick), What I Gave I Have (Guelph Museums), Half Full (Mixed Company Theatre school tours), Burying Toni (Alumnae), The Bold Canadian (Arts and Letters Club), Homegrown (SummerWorks and others), GuineaPigging (Alumnae), Dead Cat Bounce (Toronto Fringe and others), and many short works in Canada and the United States.
Publications include Advocating for and Empowering Those Living with Poverty through Applied Theatre (Journal of Community Practice, co-author); Our Voices: Senior Selfies (Art Age Publications); This Isn’t Toronto in Long Story Short (Playwrights Canada Press); Community with Strangers in Scenes from a Diverse World (ICWP Press); and Us and Them in Thirtysomethings: Mother-Daughter Monologues (ICWP Press).
She has been Playwright in Residence at Mixed Company Theatre, and Artist in Residence at Osgoode Hall Law School. Catherine is Artistic Director of Watercourse Theatre, and has taught dramaturgy at Ryerson University’s Chang School.
Stevie Baker: Lighting Designer
Stevie Baker is a director, producer and designer based in Severn, Ontario. She approaches her designs with a deep curiosity about the history of the characters and settings in a story. She enjoys enhancing the audience’s emotional experience through design by exploring colour, time and shadow.
Stevie is the President of the Mariposa Arts Theatre Foundation (MAT), the General Manager of Mixed Company Theatre and serves as a director on the board of Arts Orillia.
She believes in the power of the arts to fuel collective liberation.
Recent lighting design credits: MAT’s award-winning production of A Streetcar Named Desire (2025), Mafa Thomas’ Umsamo – A Philosophy of African Self-Emancipation (2025), Gypsy: A Musical Fable (MAT, 2024).
Marysia Bucholc: Set Designer
Marysia has been designing and building sets for over twenty-five years and has been twice nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award, for Treasure Island (Solar Stage, 2018) and Kafka and Son (Theaturtle, 2006).
Favourite recent sets include: The Green House (Alumnae Fireworks Festival, 2025), Mary’s Daughters at The Space, London UK (BiLLO Studio), I Found My Horn (Toronto production, visiting from the UK), Tunnel at the End of the Light (SITA), and The Importance of Being Earnest (Alumnae, 2018).
Angela Thomas: Costume Designer
Angela’s career spans 25 years, designing and building costumes for independent theatre, opera, spectacle, dance, community and educational projects. In this time she worked primarily with directors Ida Carnevalli, Jim Millan, Ed Roy, Simon Malbogat, Robert Winslow, Valerie Buhaghiar, Keira Loghran, Jacquie Thomas/ Michael Spence and Soheil Parsa.
With Patria music projects she collaborated on several environmental opera projects with designers Jerrard and Diana Smith and Murray Schafer. She was nominated 10 times for Dora Mavor Moore Awards for costumes and won for ‘Blood Wedding’ with Modern Times Stage in 2015.
Angela has worked in various roles over the past 10 years as assistant designer and BG Coordinator in television, on Coroner, The Next Step, The Strain and numerous shows. It is a pleasure to be involved in ‘Twice the Speed of Lightning’ with Simon and his wonderful team.
Maranda Tippins: Sound Designer
Maranda graduated from York University in 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre where she specialized in Devised Theatre and Playwriting. After graduating, she completed a post-graduate certificate in Arts Administration and Cultural Management at Humber College.
She has worked with Mixed Company Theatre for five years, coordinating and promoting numerous MCT workshops and productions. She previously taught children’s classes at the Visual Arts Centre of Clarington, and completed internships with The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery and the Lakeshore Grounds Interpretive Centre.
Sabrina Weinstein: Stage Manager
Sabrina Weinstein is a stage manager, producer, and multidisciplinary theatre artist. She is a graduate of the University of Toronto’s Centre for Drama Theatre and Performance Studies, as well as Theatre by the Bay’s Indie Producer Co-Op program.
Select stage management credits include Grease (Drayton Entertainment), Bad Roads (Crow’s Theatre), Maanomaa; My Brother (Canadian Stage / Bluebird Theatre Collective), Fertility (Light Echo Theatre), Earworm (Crow’s / Nowadays Theatre), This Feels Like The End (Next Stage / Theatre Orinoco), Carried by the River (Red Snow Collective), The Strange and Eerie Memoirs of Billy Wuthergloom (Eldritch Theatre), The Gray: A Wilde Musical In Concert (Hart House Theatre), and Gulp (Toronto Fringe / Lady Luck).
The Process
In participatory Forum Theatre workshops in March, migrant workers shared their experiences and challenges with MCT’s facilitators through games, exercises, and conversations designed to foster a safe, supportive, and open environment. What we learned in these workshops has been woven into a script depicting a universal story of the oppressions the workers face.
Audiences will experience MCT’s interactive approach that catalyzes the audience to develop real-time strategies for empowering social change around the challenges faced by migrant workers. In an MCT production, a story with no resolution to the challenges presented is performed. The story is then presented again—only this second time, audience members can intervene in the story, as “spect-actors,” to develop new attitudes, knowledge and to create a positive alternative ending. A trained FT facilitator (called the Joker) prepares and encourages audience members to replace the actors on stage and to change the story in a constructive way, inspiring and empowering all audience members to go forth and take action for positive social change. We call this process “Rehearsing for Reality”.
Click the link to read an article from the Catholic Register about the project: https://www.catholicregister.org/item/1838-harvesting-justice-for-migrant-labour
Webinar
On May 23rd, 2024 we hosted informational webinars to introduce this project to educators and community leaders. Check out the webinar recording below for more details and a sample of our interactive theatre techniques!
You can also sign up for the CNEE’s mailing list here to receive updates on the project: http://www.cnee.ca/mailinglist
Resources
Book the CNEE’s Migrant Worker Exercise for your group: https://www.cnee.ca/migrant-workers-exercise/
Justice for Migrant Workers Informational Video: https://www.cnee.ca/video/
Essential but Disposable Labour: Migrant Workers Exploited in Canada Podcast: https://www.cnee.ca/podcast/
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