Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Crow’s Theatre is thrilled to present the Toronto premiere of a 2b theatre company production of Trillium Award-winner Hannah Moscovitch’s acclaimed and prescient What a Young Wife Ought to Know, on stage March 20 – April 7 at Streetcar Crowsnest. (Media night: March 22)
An unflinching look at love, sex, and fertility, inspired by real stories of young mothers during the Canadian birth control movement of the early 20th century, What a Young Wife Ought to Know tells the story of Sophie, a young working-class wife who has a lot to learn about love, sex, and birth control. An examination of the destructive shame enacted upon women in western society for centuries via the withholding of knowledge, What a Young Wife Ought to Know is also a sensual, sometimes funny, love story. Sophie's journey through womanhood and motherhood is sometimes tragic, sometimes ridiculous, and always recognizable.
Directed by 2b Theatre Artistic co-Director Christian Barry, the production stars Gemini Award-winning actor Liisa Repo-Martell (The Boy in the Moon) as Sophie, with David Patrick Flemming (Orphans) and Rebecca Parent (Anne and Gilbert).
One of Canada’s most celebrated theatre makers, Moscovitch was inspired to write the play following the discovery – at a garage sale - of a rare book of letters written by women to a Dr. Marie Stopes, who was an advocate of birth control in the 1920s. Following that, Moscovitch’s mother gave her a similar book of letters written to another early women’s rights champion. Moscovitch was struck by how openly the women wrote about love, sex and pregnancy.
“I was really shocked by the frankness of these letters,” comments Moscovitch. “They go into a lot of detail about the experience of these women’s sex lives, what contraceptive devices were available, what they thought about love, their husbands, their miscarriages, childbirth.
“There was a similarity to the letters as well, they all came from a place of despair and loneliness. For so many of these women, getting pregnant again could mean putting their own lives in peril and yet no one was willing to talk to them about it. I gave voice to this desperation in the character of Sophie and in the context of a love story. I believe women are responding to the play and to this character, because the loneliness women experienced 100 years ago surrounding the complexities of their sexuality and reproductive health is still very much felt by women today.”
Moscovitch first began writing What a Young Woman Ought to Know in 2009 and it first premiered in Halifax in 2015 - long before the Trump administration, #MeToo, and #TimesUp began to dominate news cycles.
“Changes to reproductive rights in the U.S. and the current dialogue being had around the world about women’s rights and sexual experiences have made this play even more relevant than when it was written. Hannah Moscovitch’s characteristically powerful writing fully exposes the profound pain of being asked to choose between your health - possibly your life - and your desire.” says Crow’s Theatre Artistic Director, Chris Abraham.
“We are extremely proud to present the work of 2b theatre at Crow’s and to give this piece a Toronto premiere, at a time when the company is being recognized the world over, most recently for Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, which was one of the most acclaimed shows coming out of the Edinburgh Festival of 2017 and is now headed to New York.”
Winter and spring of 2018 mark a busy period for Moscovitch. What a Young Wife Ought to Know just wrapped up a run in Ottawa - Moscovitch’s hometown – with the Great Canadian Theatre Company, and in late February Moscovitch’s Bunny has its Toronto premiere at the Tarragon Theatre, just prior to What a Young Wife Ought to Know making its Toronto debut at Streetcar Crowsnest.
Moscovitch and director Barry are joined backstage by set and prop designer Andrew Cull, costume designer Leesa Hamilton, and lighting designer Leigh Ann Vardy.
What a Young Wife Ought to know will run March 20 – April 7 (Media night: March 22) at the Streetcar Crowsnest (345 Carlaw Avenue) in the Guloien Theatre. Shows are scheduled Monday through Saturday at 8:00 p.m. with Saturday matinees at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets are now available for Crow’s 2017-2018 season with regular tickets starting at $20 and Frequent Flyer Passes starting at $120. Get online information and make ticket purchases at crowstheatre.com.
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What a Young Wife Ought to Know
March 20 – April 7, 2018 (Media night: March 22)
A Crow’s Theatre presentation of a 2b theatre company production
By Hannah Moscovitch
Directed by Christian Barry
Lighting Design Leigh Ann Vardy
Costume Design Leesa Hamilton
Set Design Andrew Cull
Stage Manager Fiona Jones
Production Manager Daniel Oulton
Director of Production Louisa Adamson
Fight Director Casey Hudecki
Cast
Liisa Repo-Martell Sophie
Rebecca Parent Alma
David Patrick Flemming Johnny
Photo: Liisa Repo-Martel and David Patrick Flemming.
2018-02-07
Toronto: "What a Young Wife Ought to Know" is at the Streetcar Crowsnest March 20-April 7