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You could think of Joan of Arc as the ultimate teenage rebel.
Leaving home at 17, she persuades the future King of France to take her into battle against the British in 1429. Dressed in a man’s suit of armour — definitely frowned upon — Joan helps assure a series of French victories.
Now, in Fresh Hell — a new time-travelling play by award-winning screenwriter and playwright Conni Massing — the patron saint of France faces another formidable challenge after coming face-to-face with fellow feminist icon, the mid-century New York writer and satirist Dorothy Parker.
“I’ve always loved both of them,” says Massing, by way of explaining how two women born some 500 years apart end up in the same play.
Fresh Hell has its world premiere with Shadow Theatre on Jan. 18, running until Feb. 5 at the Varscona (10329 83 Ave.) Directed by Tracy Carroll, the two-act play features Sydney Williams as Joan and Kate Newby as Parker.
Massing’s lifelong fascination with the storied saint began when she played Joan in a high-school production of Jean Anouilh’s The Lark. But it wasn’t until she studied Parker in university that Massing became intrigued by the parallels between the women.
“As I read more about them and thought more about them, I thought, they have quite a lot in common. They were both women working in a man’s world, and they both battled with language.”
Parker was known for her savage wit. Though Joan was illiterate, she was bright and articulate. When facing charges of blasphemy and heresy in 1431, court transcripts of the trial reveal how cleverly Joan deflected the false accusations. (Regardless, she was ultimately burned at the stake.)
While researching the women, Massing discovered “interesting gaps” in the historical record — times when both were unaccounted for. She imagined what would have happened if, during those gaps, Joan and Parker were thrust together. Fresh Hell sees them engage in a spirited conversation about life, death and the meaning of it all, punctuated with great jokes.
While the play takes a close look at a powerful female friendship, it also explores the concept of legacy — a concern for both characters in Fresh Hell.
“We can’t really control our legacy, or predict it,” says Massing. “All we can do is the best we can in the here and now and trust that it will be enough.”
Taking flight
Northern Light Theatre debuts its second show of the 2022/23 season on Jan. 20 as Enough takes to the stage in the Studio Theatre of the ATB Financial Arts Barns (10330 84 Ave.)
Written by Scottish playwright Stef Smith, the show features Kristin Johnston and Linda Grass as Toni and Jane — two ever-accommodating flight attendants who find their lives unraveling as they soar 30,000 feet above the earth.
The show runs through Feb. 4. Tickets are available for $37 at northernlighttheatre.com. (Preview performances at NLT are pay-what-you-can and free for students.)
Deafy returns
Edmonton actor and writer Chris Dodd brings his one-person show Deafy to the Citadel’s Rice Theatre starting Jan. 21 and running through Feb. 12.
The show, part of the Citadel’s Horizon series and seen at Edmonton’s Fringe Festival in 2021, is a semi-autobiographical tale of what it’s like to be Deaf in a hearing world.
Dodd, the artistic director of Sound Off — Canada’s national theatre festival dedicated to the Deaf performing arts — infuses the opening scenes of the one-act production with the feel of stand-up comedy as the main character, Nathan, shares stories about himself and his friend Len. Later, the play explores more serious themes.
“I want to entertain audiences, make them laugh and also make them think,” says Dodd, a multi-award winning artist, in an email interview. “There are so few plays written from the authentic experience of a Deaf writer which make it to commercial success, so it is my hope that this play will give them a new understanding of just what it is like to be Deaf.”
A major motif of the show is belonging, in all its infinite variety. Nathan finds himself thrust between two, if not three, different worlds (the Deaf community has subcultures.) It can be a lonely experience.
Dodd became hard of hearing after a bout of meningitis as a small child. By the age of 17, he was totally deaf. Dodd has retained the ability to speak aloud, and although American Sign Language also is part of the show, the audience doesn’t need to be fluent in ASL to appreciate Deafy (which also has surtitles).
Directed by Ashley Wright, Deafy reflects a 25-year-collaboration between director and playwright that began with the groundbreaking Silent Words, which was written by Wright and performed by Dodd for more than a decade at theatres across the country.
Edmonton’s Dave Clarke (creator of Songs My Mother Never Sung Me, a 2019 play about being born to Deaf parents) created the sound design for Deafy, which also boasts a strong element of dance choreographed by Ainsley Hillyard. The show is a good fit for the cabaret-style setting (complete with full bar) of the Rice Theatre. Tickets start at $55.
For more details, visit citadeltheatre.com or call the box office at 780-425-1820. The Rice is located on the lower level of the Citadel at 9828 101 A Ave.
Murder musical
Vigilante is an acclaimed 2015 rock musical written, composed and directed by Catalyst Theatre’s Jonathan Christenson. Now, Vigilante in Concert — a stripped-down version of the production that focuses on the music — is coming to the Westbury Theatre (10330 84 Ave.) Jan. 27-28. The concert also streams on Jan. 28.
Based on the true story of the 1880 murder of five members of the Donnelly family in Ontario, Vigilante in Concert features six of the original cast members and a live band. Tickets start at $28 and are available at fringetheatre.ca.
Source: EdmontonJournal
