{"id":120231,"date":"2025-12-11T13:57:35","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T18:57:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=120231"},"modified":"2025-12-11T13:57:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T18:57:35","slug":"scrutiny-crows-theatres-rogers-v-rogers-is-both-funny-and-revealing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/12\/11\/scrutiny-crows-theatres-rogers-v-rogers-is-both-funny-and-revealing\/","title":{"rendered":"SCRUTINY | Crow\u2019s Theatre\u2019s Rogers V. Rogers Is Both Funny And Revealing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Tom
Tom Rooney as Edward Rogers in Crow\u2019s Theatre\u2019s Rogers v. Rogers (Photo: Dahlia Katz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Crow\u2019s Theatre: Rogers v. Rogers. Adapted for the stage by Michael Healey Based on Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada\u2019s Telecom Empire by Alexandra Posadzki. Directed by Chris Abraham, starring Tom Rooney. Guloien Theatre, December 10, 2025. Continues until January 17, 2026; tickets here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt will not be boring,\u201d promises Tom Rooney<\/strong> in the character of Matthew Boswell, Canada\u2019s Commissioner of Competition, in the opening monologue of Rogers v. Rogers by playwright Michael Healey.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s an apt statement for the funny, revealing play that unfolds.<\/p>\n

Design<\/h3>\n

A long boardroom table with a gleaming top sits centre stage in front of a red curtain, and red lights. A long, narrow screen stretches behind the table, with images that change according to what\u2019s transpiring on stage. That includes everything from a multiple windowed Zoom meeting to a park setting for a crucial meeting to the frumpy wallpaper of Loretta Rogers\u2019 sick room.<\/p>\n

Josh Quinlan<\/strong>\u2019s design is an effective and economical setting for a play that relies on animated storytelling \u2014 by Tom Rooney in all of several roles \u2014 to make its point.<\/p>\n

\"Tom
Tom Rooney as Canadian Commissioner of Competition Matthew Boswell in Crow\u2019s Theatre\u2019s Rogers v. Rogers (Photo: Dahlia Katz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Story<\/h3>\n

As the projection screen points out as the play begins, while based on the factual reporting of Alexandra Posadzki\u2019s book Rogers v. Rogers: The Battle for Control of Canada\u2019s Telecom Empire, the play itself is a work of fiction. Certainly, no one knows the private conversations that took place between parties, or their unexpressed thoughts on any of the events.<\/p>\n

But… certain facts are in evidence.<\/p>\n

The play unfolds in a series of stories, largely told as monologues to the audience by Matthew Boswell or Edward Rogers, interspersed with scenes involving other characters who flesh out the scenarios.<\/p>\n

The play begins with Matthew Boswell, who lays out the framework of the story. The Rogers media empire looked to acquire Shaw Cable in 2021, and Boswell was opposed to the idea of turning a Canadian telecom industry made up of only four players into three. He points out the way that corporate Canada has created a vast network of companies that many consumers believe represent individual choices, when in fact, they\u2019re collected into a very few conglomerates who ensure there is little competition.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Canadians among the highest rates for cell phone service in the world.<\/p>\n

The other major character in the story is Edward Rogers, son of the late Ted Rogers. Buying Shaw became his pet project, as well as a way of making his mark in a company where he had long been sidelined by Ted Rogers himself, who publicly stated, towards the end of his life when he was looking to make succession plans, that Edward wasn\u2019t ready to lead the company.<\/p>\n

Edward\u2019s clandestine behind the scenes machinations play out as he sabotages various company directors and officials, his own siblings and even his mother to win out. It contrasts neatly with Boswell\u2019s very public attempts to halt the merger via the law.<\/p>\n

The major problem for Boswell is that not a single company merger has ever been fully blocked in Canadian history.<\/p>\n

The script is sharp and filled with zingers that drew laughs from the sold out audience. Of course, a story succeeds because of characters, however intriguing the ideas and issues may be. While Rooney portrays a dizzying array of characters from former Ontario Premier David Peterson to the family retainer who looked after the Rogers brood and kept the household running, it\u2019s only Matthew and Edward who are fully fleshed out.<\/p>\n

Edward emerges as a kind of pathetic family loser who\u2019s bent on revenge \u2014 and gets it after decades of humiliation. The Rogers clan, let\u2019s just say, doesn\u2019t come off so well. Certainly, it gives Edward a classic villain\u2019s backstory of neglect and emotional abuse.<\/p>\n

Boswell is sharply contrasted as someone with a solid and loving family background and an unerring sense of justice, but also a taste for a good fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the illusion of consumer choice,\u201d Boswell says as he lays out the corporate monopoly shell game. Edward counters by calling the Rogers empire \u201ca homegrown success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Characterization works best during the longer monologues. The supporting characters most often serve as fodder for humour. Some of the comedy wrote itself, so to speak, like the very public Tweets made by Edward\u2019s sister Martha during the last and fateful meeting of the family board.<\/p>\n

\"Tom
Tom Rooney as Rogers ill-fated CEO from 2013 to 2016 Guy Laurence in Crow\u2019s Theatre\u2019s Rogers v. Rogers (Photo: Dahlia Katz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tom Rooney<\/h3>\n

Rooney, a stage and screen veteran, is remarkable in all the roles. He uses a few simple props, like the jacket that Edward wears as opposed to the shirtsleeved Boswell, or the long glittery earrings he uses o portray Edward\u2019s wife Sarah, and a variety of techniques to delineate between each of them.<\/p>\n

As Boswell, he\u2019s both passionate and profane, while Edward stutters slightly, his movements alternately self effacing and vainglorious. Rooney\u2019s speech patterns change with each character, from the Italian-accented family butler to the Shaw executive\u2019s Western drawl.<\/p>\n

There are scenes where he plays two characters in dialogue with each other that are quick and played for laughs. In a climactic Zoom meeting, he plays Edward on stage, while the projection offers multiple windows filled with Melinda, Martha, and Loretta Rogers, Phil Lind, David Peterson, and Bonnie Brooks, each of whom offers their thoughts. Rooney\u2019s particularly hilarious as Edward\u2019s chain smoking, harsh spoken mother Loretta.<\/p>\n

Final Thoughts<\/h3>\n

\u201cCanadians accept too much,\u201d Boswell says at one point.<\/p>\n

But, the ending of the story shows that you can even provoke the complacent Canadian public to a breaking point. While Edward got his wish, and both control of the company and the Shaw merger, the Canadian public was so outraged by the merger\u2019s easy approval that the Competition Act (Act) was actually amended via bill C-59 in 2024 \u2014 and according to the recommendations made by Boswell himself in a potentially career ending (albeit judiciously worded) rant<\/a> that he posted to the government website. (We have this development to thank for the recent Breadgate settlement from George Weston Limited and its subsidiary Loblaw Companies Ltd., by the way).<\/p>\n

\u201cHey, look at that,\u201d Boswell says near the end. \u201cWe both won ugly.\u201d<\/p>\n

A rebuke against corporate monopolies and greed, a clash of personalities, and a story of generational family dysfunction combine in a thoroughly entertaining performance.<\/p>\n

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A rebuke against corporate monopolies and greed, a clash of personalities, and a story of generational family dysfunction combine the thoroughly entertaining Rogers v. Rogers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":120235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41660,41918,52,62,63],"tags":[23344,40033],"yst_prominent_words":[11439,18110,30813],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Copy-of-REVIEW-2025-12-11T135136.534.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-vhd","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120231"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":120239,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120231\/revisions\/120239"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120231"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=120231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}