SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2027 @ 7:30pm

PURCHASE SUBSCRIPTIONS & INDIVIDUAL TICKETS HERE.

A Brief History of Smoking Cigarettes wafts into Deep River in February. The play follows writer/actor Deanna Jones‘ personal history with cigarettes in a touching and hilarious one-woman show that uses puppets, live music, and video to share true stories, wide-reaching musings and playful audience interaction. This multi-dimensional comedy shines a light on how one of the biggest and ugliest industries changed the world and influenced Deanna’s life.

A Brief History of Smoking Cigarettes is a Coproduction with Suitcase in Point.

Warning: “While this show may contain smoke and haze, no tobacco products will be set ablaze.” Recommended for adult audiences. Minimum age recommendation: 16+.

“It is so funny and moving. A rare combination of personal and universal. It’s a brilliant exploration of this ‘wicked habit’ that has touched us all. Dee is such a compelling performer and we always feel like we are in great (and kind) hands. The clever combination of video, music and puppets puts this important show over the top.”

 – Bruce McCulloch, Kids in the Hall

A Brief History of Smoking Cigarettes follows Deanna Jones’ personal history with cigarettes, and, quite impossibly, THE ENTIRE GLOBAL HISTORY of cigarettes, in a touching and hilarious one-woman show that uses puppets, live music, and video to convey how SPECTACULAR the play will be when it eventually gets funded by “Big Tobacco.” Sharing true stories, wide-reaching musings and playful audience interaction, this multi-dimensional show shines a light on how one of the biggest and ugliest industries changed the world and influenced Deanna’s life. Through the polarizing puff\pull of a cigarette, this play explores themes of colonization, capitalism, and the commodification of a sacred natural resource.

“The human side of the whole fiasco (of smoking) is portrayed so incredibly well. It goes beyond pure activism yet is such an important lense through which to get the point across.”

– Dahlia Steinburg, Audience Member

More about the show, in Deanna’s Words:

A Brief History of Smoking Cigarettes is a personal, satirical, and unexpectedly heartfelt deep dive into one of the most universally reviled, and weirdly relatable, habits on the planet. Yes, sure it’s about cigarettes, but really, it’s about everything beneath the smoke: addiction, identity, class, grief, shame, and the systems that shape how we cope. And while the show spirals through personal history, it also takes aim at colonization, capitalism, and the way sacred practices have been commodified beyond recognition.

It’s part love letter, part protest, part confessional and part magical meltdown!

I play DeeDee, a self proclaimed “last smoker on Earth,” who is hiding from the RCMP in a top-secret bunker and recording a dramatic video will and testament. Meanwhile, “Deanna the Artist” tries to convey just how incredible and “BIG TIME”  this show will be once it gets fully funded… by Big Tobacco, of course.

The show blends storytelling, satire, live-feed video, clown, original music, and a chorus of puppet cigarettes who sing catchy, slightly disturbing educational tunes.

The show is a strange and familiar swirl of absurdity and tenderness. It tries to do too much, and I think that’s what makes it so much fun to watch. It’s a personal history stitched to the global one, a confessional comedy taped together with duct tape, denial, and cigarette butts.

I think my story about smoking is really a ridiculous and evocative lens for the human need to cope, connect, and come clean.

Artist Biography:

Deanna Jones is an award-winning Niagara-born artist, writer, actor, director, and producer with a love for honest, comedic storytelling. She’s co-founder and Artistic Director of Suitcase in Point, has created and toured handfuls of shows around Canada (and the world) including her Dora-nominated Keith Richards One Woman Show. Deanna draws humour and heart from the mundanity and wonder of working-class life and thrives on collaboration, curiosity, and bringing creative sparks to life in unexpected places.

Creative Team:

Creator / Performer: Deanna Jones

Director: Karen Hines

Lighting Design: Andre du Toit

Stage Manager: Laura Maieron

Artistic Collaborators: Cole Lewis, Lisa Marie Diliberto, Dienye Waboso Amajor, Natasha Pedros, Charles Ketchabaw, Annie Wilson

You can watch the trailer for A Brief History of Smoking Cigarettes HERE.

And you can read more about the show here: suitcaseinpoint.com.