The Cull

A group of longtime friends gathers for an intimate 25th anniversary dinner celebration as a forest fire rages out of control in the nearby mountains of southeastern BC. When an unexpected gift transforms a discussion about the local wolf cull into a heated argument over economic inequality, conflicting values within the tight-knit group are revealed. The Cull contrasts the dynamics of human self-interest with the instinctive communal behaviour of wolves… turning this particular dinner party into a night of “eat or be eaten.”

Michele Riml is a critically acclaimed playwright from Vancouver, British Columbia. Michele’s first play Souvenirs won the BC Young Playwrights Search. Some of her plays include Under the Influence, Poster Boys, RAGE (winner 2005 Sydney Risk Award), On the Edge, and The Amaryllis, which was produced by The Search Party and premiered at the Fire Hall Theatre in Vancouver in the fall of 2020. The Cull, co-written with Michael St. John Smith, premiered at the Arts Club Theatre in 2023. Michele’s play Sexy Laundry has been translated into more than fifteen languages, with ongoing productions in Canada, the United States and Europe, along with its sequel Henry and Alice: Into the Wild. Michele’s plays for young audiences include The Skinny Lie, The Invisible Girl and Tree Boy, published by National Geographic and most recently produced in Athens, Greece. Her most recent play, She Shoots, She Scores!, an adaptation of hockey legend Cammi Granato’s book I Can Play, Too!, will premiere in 2026 with Green Thumb Theatre. Michele is an FPA graduate from Simon Fraser University. In 2008, she was nominated for the Siminovitch prize.

Michael St. John Smith is a writer, film actor, and screenwriting instructor. Michael has authored four stage plays, including the Jessie-nominated Slaying Dragons, The Biz and The Bridge (co-written with Michele Riml for Pi Theatre and produced as a CBC podcast). His fourth play, The Cull (co-written with Michele Riml), premiered at the Arts Club in January 2023. Michael has also written several commissioned screenplays. These include an adaptation of the Ivan Coyote novel, Bow Grip, with Telefilm Canada, The Pen and the Sword, an animated TV pilot for Devine Entertainment, and most recently, Archangel, an original sci-fi feature co-written with New York Times best-selling author, William Gibson, with support from the Harold Greenberg Fund. Archangel was adapted as a graphic novel and is currently being developed as a TV series with Copperheart Entertainment. Michael graduated from Harvard University with honours in English Literature.