With spring’s arrival, another Crow’s Theatre commission makes its World Premiere at the East-end theatre, resurrecting voices from out of the past to reconnect us with the spirit of collective revolutionary action. MARY, MARY, MARY, MARY, written by Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Erin Shields, directed by acclaimed UK director Ellen McDougall, and with set and costume design by the internationally celebrated artist Moi Tran, is on stage April 7th to May 3rd in the Guloien Theatre.

A visceral and lyrical reimagining of the gospels’ most enduring female icons, MARY, MARY, MARY, MARY interrogates what happens when four women who bore witness to miracles are finally allowed to speak.

Brought to life by the powerhouse ensemble of Sabryn Rock (Shaniqua in Abstraction - director), Michelle Monteith (Bad Roads),Nancy Palk (Prodigal), Belinda Corpuz (Narnia) and Amaka Umeh (Narnia, The Wolves), in the play, four women emerge from the desert, each bearing the same name: Mary, Mary, Mary and Mary. As history folds in on itself, they raise their voices in a story of faith, sacrifice and rebellion. Blending ancient scripture with her trademark incisive, contemporary wit, Erin Shields (Here We Are, Paradise Lost, If We Were Birds) reclaims the stories of four women who stood at the gates of revolution—only to be sidelined by history– Mary, Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary, Mother of John Salome, and Mary the Sister of Lazarus – and gives them the opportunity to tell their side of the story.

“The spark for this play was the peculiar fact that nearly every woman in the New Testament is named Mary,” says playwright Erin Shields. “History has a habit of tidying women up when they get too interesting, and in the Gospels a group of bold, influential, revolutionaries are gently filed under the same name. Mary. Mary. Mary. And Mary. These were women who were the backbone of a movement, witnessed executions, defied authority, and stayed when others fled. I found myself wanting to know who they were before they were consolidated into a single name. What does it mean to believe so fiercely in something larger than yourself that you risk everything, and then have your individuality quietly absorbed into the footnotes.”

“Erin has made a habit of slipping into the western canon, rearranging the furniture, and giving the microphone to the people history left in the margins,” says Crow’s Artistic Director Chris Abraham. “Her work is fearless, funny and razor sharp. She is one of the most distinctive playwrights in this country, and here she brings that incisive intelligence to one of the most foundational texts in human history.

He adds, “Just as exciting is the team around her. Ellen McDougall is a visionary, formally adventurous UK director and the brilliant designer Moi Tran comes with her from London. They are joined by some of the country’s brightest lights to fill out the creative team and cast. We do not often see this kind of international collaboration centred on a new Canadian play. I cannot wait to see what this trio creates together.”

A prolific playwright, actor, and educator, Erin Shields is best known for her radical adaptations of classical works which bring neglected female characters centre stage and a distinctly lyrical and wryly poetic writing style. In addition to the recent Ransacking Troy, her additional text for Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing at The Stratford Festival gave voice to silenced Hero at the climax of the play. Queen Goneril, which premiered at Soulpepper Theatre in rep with King Lear, centres Lear’s stifled daughters as they contend for power in a world that insists they remain powerless. Shields’ illuminating and hilarious adaptation of Paradise Lost (Stratford Festival), won the Quebec Writers Federation Prize for Playwriting and was a shortlisted finalist for the 2018 Governor General’s Awards. And her harrowing tragedy about sexual violence, If We Were Birds – a re-imagining of Ovid’s myth Philomela, Procne and Tereus–won the 2011 Governor General’s Award for playwriting.

Ellen McDougall is a British theatre director and maker who shares Shields' interest in reimaging classical texts and has been recognized for her vivid theatrical imagination, strong grasp of form, and strikingly modern aesthetic. Recent productions include As You Like It at Shakespeare’s’ Globe and Watch on the Rhine at the Donmar Warehouse. She has adapted Valeria Luiselli’s novel Faces in the Crowd and Jose Saramago’s The Tale of the Unknown Island for the stage. McDougall was Artistic Director of The Gate Theatre 2017-2022. Prior to that, she was part of the Secret Theatre Company at the Lyric Hammersmith, an Associate at Actors Touring Company and the Gate, and Director in Residence at the National Theatre Studio. She trained as an assistant director to Katie Mitchell, Bijan Sheibani and Marianne Elliott.

Moi Tran is an award-winning UK-based Vietnamese/Chinese Multi-Disciplinary Artist. Her practice extends across Fine Art and Live Performance working nationally and internationally. As Set and Costume designer she works in Theatre, Film, Dance, Opera. She has previously collaborated with Ellen McDougall on projects including The Letters Project, In the Blood and Dear Elizabeth.

Joining McDougall, Tran, and Shields on the creative team for this production are choreographer Esie Mensah, lighting designer Christian Horoszczak, sound designer Olivia Wheeler, and assistant director Chantelle Han.

MARY, MARY, MARY, MARY runs April 7th to May 3rd in the Streetcar Crowsnest Guloien Theatre with performances Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Saturday and Sundays at 1:30pm. For tickets and additional information visit www.crowstheatre.com.

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MARY, MARY, MARY, MARY (World Premiere)

A Crow's Theatre production on stage April 7th to May 3rd in the Guloien Theatre

A Crow's Theatre Commissiom

Written by Erin Shields

Directed by Ellen McDougall

Featuring:

Michelle Monteith as Mary 1

Sabryn Rock as Mary 2

Nancy Palk as Mary 3

Belinda Corpuz as Mary 4

Amaka Umeh as Salome

Photo: Sabryn Rock as a Mary. © 2026 Dahlia Katz.