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  "description": "In the Pulitzer Prize-winning Primary Trust, the up-and-coming actor plays a man who is forced to move on after suffering several losses",
  "path": "/durae-mcfarlane-primary-trust-crow-s-theatre/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-24T13:30:57.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.goaheadsumi.com",
  "tags": [
    "Primary Trust",
    "immersive, intimate production",
    "2019’s breakthrough stage artists",
    "Subscribe now"
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  "textContent": "_Note: So Sumi is giving away a pair of tickets to Crow’s Theatre’s production of_ Primary Trust_, which runs until June 21 at the Guloien Theatre (345 Carlaw). See details at the end of this post._\n\nOne of the most unforgettable theatre debuts in recent years came in the fall of 2019, when **Durae McFarlane** — then a recent theatre school graduate — played a young, gangly, socially awkward movie usher in **Outside the March** ’s immersive, intimate production of **Annie Baker** ’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play **_The Flick_** at **Crow’s Theatre**.\n\nThe play went on to get rave reviews and enjoyed a sold-out run, making several critics’ best-of lists and winning awards. McFarlane’s nerdy, voice-quavering performance as Avery got singled out, earning him a Dora nomination. (He also made my list of 2019’s breakthrough stage artists.)\n\n“I was in my fourth year at Windsor when I got that play,” explains McFarlane on a Zoom call.\n\n“I hadn’t heard of Outside the March and I didn’t know who (director) Mitchell Cushman was — all of which was probably good, because there wasn’t as much pressure. I just went in to audition for a professional play, which was cool in itself.”\n\nDurae McFarlane got a Dora nomination for his debut role in Outside the March’s production of __The Flick. Photo by Dahlia Katz__\n\nThe play should have been the Mississauga-born McFarlane’s big breakthrough role — and in a way it was. Its success landed him an agent and eventually got him some lucrative TV and film work. But the pandemic put a hold on the entire stage industry. And while the actor took to writing during that time, and later joined the Soulpepper Academy for six months, he didn’t win the kinds of roles that could properly showcase his unique talent.\n\nUntil now, that is.\n\nBeginning this week, in the same theatre in which he swept up popcorn in _The Flick_ , he’s starring in **_Primary Trust_**. He plays Kenneth, a 30-something man who lives a calm, steady, uneventful life in the fictional suburb of Rochester, N.Y. His routine consists of working at a bookstore, then drinking happy hour mai tais with his best friend Bert (**Peter N. Bailey**) at a local tiki restaurant called Wally’s.\n\nAll of this is upended when he loses his job at the bookstore. After a waiter at Wally’s gives him a tip about a position at the local bank, called Primary Trust, he looks into it. And gradually, by opening up to the generosity around him, he comes to terms with his difficult past and makes the first tentative steps towards moving on.\n\n### This post is for subscribers only\n\nBecome a member to get access to all content\n\nSubscribe now",
  "title": "Durae McFarlane puts his trust in a heartwarming new play at Crow’s",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-24T13:30:57.399Z"
}