Eighteen-year-old Connor, an aspiring novelist whose fantastic stories foretell his growing struggle with depression, can't wait to leave home for university. Six weeks into the semester, he has dropped out and is back home with his concerned mother, Sharon. Dan is a young police constable absorbed by a sense of duty that takes him away from his newborn son and his wife, Janie. At home, she copes with the challenges of recovery in the midst of postpartum depression. A dramatic incident brings the two families together. Connor's increasingly erratic behaviour culminates in an incident at a subway station that requires police intervention. Dan responds to the call, and Connor's jaw is broken during the arrest. The encounter illuminates Connor's pain while leaving both families searching for answers. Inspired by an event in British Columbia that shattered the public's confidence in the police - the 2007 Tasering death of Robert Dziekanski during his arrest at the Vancouver airport - The Valley dramatizes the volatile relationship between law enforcement and people in the grip of mental illness. In addressing this fraught relationship, award-winning playwright Joan MacLeod empathizes with both parties, each of whom is guided by good intentions but equally challenged by their own cultural biases and flawed humanity.

A play.