Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, ON… Nightwood Theatre will revive its 2012 smash hit production of The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. Theplay, directed by Kelly Thornton, will open January 10 and run until February 10, 2013 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.
The Penelopiad is Atwood’s uncompromising response to Homer’s The Odyssey following Penelope (Megan Follows) through the 20-year absence of her husband Odysseus who is fighting in the Trojan War. Left to raise an unruly son, fend off hundreds of opportunistic suitors and maintain composure amidst scandalous rumours, Penelope enlists her maids in a ruse to protect her good name. Butwhen Odysseus returns and massacres the suitors and brutally hangs the 12 maids, all eyes look to Penelope in her culpability. “Now that I’m dead I know everything” are the first lines uttered as she returns from the underworld, Hades, to set the record straight. But in Atwood’s clever hands, Penelope is haunted by the twelve handmaidens who’ve fallen victim in her deceptive ploy. Laced with wit and wisdom, Nightwood’s production of Atwood’s The Penelopiad is pure theatre: a bold theatrical spectacle, matching gorgeous design, stage invention, potent storytelling, song, dance and powerful performances.
The Penelopiad
Written by Margaret Atwood
Directed by Kelly Thornton
Starring Megan Follows
with Maev Beaty, Neema Bickersteth, Fiona Byrne, Sarah Dodd, Monica Dottor, Audrey Dwyer, Nicole Joy-Fraser, Kelli Fox, Cara Gee, Patricia Hamilton, Pamela Sinha and SophiaWalker
Set and Costume Design by Denyse Karn, Lighting Design by Kimberly Purtell, Choreography by Monica Dottor, Original Composition and Sound Design by Suba Sankaran, Stage Manager Melissa Rood
January 10 to February 10, 2013 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Produced by Nightwood Theatre
Nightwood’s 2012 production played to sold out houses and garnered critical acclaim:
4 out of 4 stars “The Penelopiad is stunning theatre”
- The Toronto Star
3.5 out of 4 stars “…an absolute triumph”
- The Globe and Mail
3.5 out of 4 stars “Kelli Fox is…simply extraordinary as Odysseus, barrel-chested and bursting with confidence”
- The Globe and Mail
4 out of 4 stars “The Penelopiad makes history” - Toronto Sun
4 N’s “This is a superb show – smart, beautiful and superbly executed” - Now Magazine
“Follows’ technical achievement alone is remarkable; in a packed witty text, not a line or a point gets past her”
2012 Dora Award winner for Outstanding Performance in an Ensemble
2012 Dora Award Nominations: Outstanding Performance in an Ensemble; Outstanding Production; Outstanding Direction of a Play, Kelly Thornton; Outstanding Set Design, Denyse Karn; Outstanding Costume Design, Denyse Karn; Outstanding Choreography, Monica Dottor
Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Play, Kelli Fox in The Penelopiad
Photo: Kelli Fox (on ship) and Megan Follows (far right). @2011 Nightwood Theatre.
2012-11-21
Toronto: Megan Follows and Kelli Fox return in Nightwood’s revival of Margaret Atwood’s “Penelopiad”