Stage Door News
Stage Door News
The Grand Theatre is thrilled to present on the McManus Stage WHAT A YOUNG WIFE OUGHT TO KNOW, by one of Canada’s most celebrated playwrights, Hannah Moscovitch. The production offers a stark but humorous look at love, sex, and fertility of young mothers inspired by letters from the Canadian birth control movement of the early 20th century.
“A few years ago, at a garage sale, I picked up a copy of Dear Dr. Stopes: Sex in the 1920’s, a compilation of the letters sent to the famous British birth control advocate. The voices of the men and women in these letters were distinct from anything I had read before. To me, the letters felt like a voyeuristic glimpse into what life was like before birth control,” said Moscovitch. “WHAT A YOUNG WIFE OUGHT TO KNOW is loosely based on these letters, as well as another book of similar letters published in 1915, titled Maternity: Letters From Working Women and edited by Margaret Llewelyn Davis, another reformer of the day.”
Produced by 2b theatre company from Halifax, Nova Scotia, WHAT A YOUNG WIFE OUGHT TO KNOW has performed to critical acclaim across Canada since its premiere in 2015 at Neptune Theatre.
Set in a working-class 1920s Irish neighbourhood in Ottawa, WHAT A YOUNG WIFE OUGHT TO KNOW tells the story of Sophie, a young wife who is repressed by the lack of sexual education and craves liberation. An exploration of society’s tradition of withholding knowledge from women, the play follows Sophie's journey through womanhood and motherhood which is at once tragic, funny, and always familiar.
Making their debuts at the Grand are Liisa Repo-Martell as Sophie, Rebecca Parent as Alma, and David Patrick Flemming as Johnny. Lighting design is by Leigh Ann Vardy, costume design is by Leesa Hamilton, and set design is by Andrew Cull.
Hannah Moscovitch’s writing for the stage includes Bunny, Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, East of Berlin, The Russian Play, Little One, This is War, and Infinity. Her plays are widely produced across Canada, the United States, Britain, Ireland, Greece, Austria, Germany, Japan, and Australia.
WHAT A YOUNG WIFE OUGHT TO KNOW is on stage at the Grand Theatre for a limited-time engagement from February 6 to 10, 2018. Some performances are sold out. Tickets are $40 (includes HST and CIF – prices subject to change) and are available at www.grandtheatre.com, by phone at 519-672-8800, or at the Box Office, 471 Richmond Street.
The Grand Theatre gratefully acknowledges the support of the 2017/18 Season Sponsor BMO Financial Group.
About the Grand Theatre:
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Dennis Garnhum and Executive Director Deb Harvey, the Grand is a leading cultural hub proudly located in the heart of downtown London, Ontario. The Grand offers diverse, relevant, and original stories from around the globe through collaborations with national and international performing arts organizations and is committed to developing, producing, and premiering original homegrown stories through COMPASS, a New Play Development Program. The Grand supports educational programming and youth mentorship such as The High School Project, the only program of its kind in North America, and 100 Schools, a new community initiative that brings professional theatre to London-area schools in 2018 at no cost.
A not-for-profit regional theatre, the Grand produces and presents professional theatre on two stages: the Spriet Stage (839 seats) and the McManus Stage (144 seats). The Grand’s season runs from September to May.
Cast & production team
Sophie LIISA REPO-MARTELL
Alma REBECCA PARENT
Johnny DAVID PATRICK FLEMMING
Lighting Designer LEIGH ANN VARDY
Costume Designer LEESA HAMILTON
Set Designer ANDREW CULL
Stage Manager FIONA JONES
Production Manager DANIEL OULTON
Director of Production LOUISA ADAMSON
Fight Director CASEY HUDECKI
Photo: Liisa Repo-Martell and David Patrick Flemming. ©2017 Timothy Richard.
2018-02-01
London: The Grand Theatre presents "What a Young Wife Ought to Know" February 6-10