Wrapping up Geordie’s 40th milestone season is the anticipated world premiere of Virginia Wolf by the accomplished and multifaceted playwright Cole Lewis. Adapted from the Governor-General award-winning children’s story written by Kyo Maclear and illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault, this timely piece opens up a much-needed conversation about mental health among youth.
It is directed by Geordie’s prized Artistic Director Mike Payette (Choir Boy, Centaur; Héritage, Théâtre Jean-Duceppe), featuring the brilliant cast members Jennifer Roberts (Chloe’s Choice, Geordie Theatre) and Alexandra Laferrière (Simone, Half and Half, Black Theatre Workshop; Gas Girls, BTW).
This visual play, rife with creativity, tells the story of Virginia, who is in a “wolfish” mood — growling, howling, and acting very strange. Her sister Vanessa tries everything she can think of to cheer her up, but nothing seems to work. Then Virginia tells her about an imaginary, perfect place called Bloomsberry. Armed with an idea, Vanessa begins to paint the bedroom walls, transforming them into a beautiful garden complete with a ladder and swing. So that what was down could climb up. Before long, Virginia, too, has picked up a brush and undergoes a surprising transformation of her own.
Inspired by the real-life relationship between author Virginia Woolf and her caregiving sister, this heartwarming play is a poetic telling of what it is to deal with unwanted emotions and reminds us of the importance of patience, support, and love.
To ensure the utmost safety of our audiences and artists, our production will be uniquely designed and recorded by Para – Dime Productions to be available in an online format at certain performance times for anyone who wishes to see them.
Geordie is also excited to announce that we will be organizing a special workshop series revolving around Virginia Wolf and mental health in collaboration with DESTA Black Youth network. We will be telling you more about this next week.
PUBLIC PERFORMANCES:
Friday, May 7th, 2021, at 7:00 pm
Saturday, May 8th, 2021, at 1:00 pm
Sunday, May 9th, 2021, at 4:00 pm
Saturday, May 15th, 2021, at 1:00 pm with ASL Interpretation
Friday, May 16th, 2021, at 4:00 pm
Looking forward to seeing you at one of our performances!