The 2024 Collective is back for another round. The Collective is Mani Soleymanlou’s signature initiative to give recently graduated performers the spotlight in a work co-produced by the NAC’s French Theatre and the Théâtre du Rideau Vert. Led by the renowned Claude Poissant, these fiery twenty-somethings take unabashed joy in challenging our well-meaning values with their twisted morality and uncomfortable dialogue. Will environmentalists devolve into bloody competition? Would people kill a cheater for the sake of sportsmanship? What does French-kissing look like in the age of consent? When the world is on fire, people’s individual attempts to turn the tide can sometimes resemble nothing more than a worrying parade of ego. Are virtue signallers true saviours or just peacocks beautifully strutting their stuff one last time atop the flames?