Stage Notes: The Maids, Shadow Theatre premiere, Northern Light’s latest

A dark drama exploring class and power hits the stage on Oct. 24 when The Maids debuts in Edmonton, running till Nov. 3 in the basement of the Pendennis Building (9660 Jasper Ave.).

Written by French playwright Jean Genet and translated by Martin Crimp, The Maids is a passion project for its stars, Hannah Wigglesworth and Julia van Dam. The two have worked for the past several years to bring the 1947 play to life.

“It’s such an interesting piece, absurdist and mysterious and I think every person who comes to see it will have something different to take away,” says Wigglesworth, who also produces the play.

The story is loosely based on the true tale of the Papin sisters, who infamously murdered their employer and her daughter in France in 1933. Wigglesworth and van Dam play sisters Solange and Claire, who are servants in the wealthy household of Mistress (Alexandra Dawkins).

The two lead actors studied the play while pursuing their Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Alberta. The 2021 graduates “fell in love” with The Maids and spent a lot of time after the pandemic applying for grants to finance its production. A $20,000 infusion from the Canada Council for the Arts got the ball rolling for The Maids, which is directed by University of Alberta drama professor, David Kennedy.

Tickets are $20 through showpass.com/themaids. There are Pay What You Can performances on preview night (Thursday, Oct. 24) and on Tuesday, Oct. 29.

Francis Pegahmagabow may be the most famous Canadian you have never heard of. The Ojibway soldier and sniper is credited with 378 deaths — the most kills of any soldier, anywhere — during the First World War.

“It’s a number that just astounds me,” says local director, television writer, comic actor and playwright Neil Grahn, who penned the opening show of the Shadow Theatre season in the soldier’s memory. “That alone, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, who is this amazing hunter of men?’”

Directed by John Hudson, The Two Battles of Francis Pegahmagabow (running Nov. 6 to 24 at the Varscona) is a world premiere. Grahn uncovered the compelling tale while researching another of his war plays, The Comedy Company, which premiered at Shadow in 2018.

“I know more about World War One than I would wager 99 per cent of people, and I didn’t know who Francis Pegahmagabow was and it really took me aback. I looked into it and thought ‘What a story, what an amazing man.’ That was the seed.”

As the title points out, Pegahmagabow’s life was marked by more than one conflict. When he returned to Canada after the war ended, he wasn’t able to get the same loan for a farm purchase granted to other Canadian veterans, says Grahn.

“The vets who were white received a far better deal than the First Nations vets,” says Grahn, a member of the Metis Nation of Alberta.

“He comes back from being an absolute peer within the Canadian army and he is not even able to vote.”

Digging through the national archives, Grahn discovered correspondence between Pegahmagabow and members of Parliament, whom he lobbied in his fight for Indigenous rights. He tried to engage the King of England in his campaign and was threatened with charges of sedition. Pegahmagabow went on to become the chief of his community (located near Parry Sound and today known as Wasaukasing First Nation) and a leader in the early First Nations political movement.

It’s hard to fathom why Pegahmagabow has such a low profile.

“Number one, in Canada, we don’t tend to celebrate our heroes,” says Grahn. “Number two, he was First Nations and so while he was awarded numerous medals, he never received a medal such as the Victoria Cross, which would have catapulted him into fame.”

Pegahmagabow’s achievements, however, are there, finally, for all to see in Grahn’s play.

“What he accomplished was the beginning. He was one of the key people who said, ‘Hey, we can organize.’ His accomplishment was the foundation (of the Indigenous rights movement).”

Tickets start at $25 and are available by calling 780-434-5564 or at shadowtheatre.org 10329 83 Ave.

After an ambitious surgeon — the first female ever admitted to the Upper Harrington School of Medicine — is dismissed from her position in disgrace, she is offered a rare opportunity to conduct an unorthodox and chilling anatomical experiment.

So opens the first show of Northern Light Theatre’s 2024-25 season as writer/director Trevor Schmidt debuts his latest work, Monstress (running Nov. 7 to 23).

“I wanted to write about the God complex that doctors have, the pride,” says Schmidt of this world premiere. “I think this play is meant to be a cautionary tale.”

Starring Julia van Dam as the dead daughter of a wealthy doctor brought back to life, and Sydney Williams as the talented doctor — the story deals with the tricky question of what it means to resurrect the past.

“I’m into horror movies and gothic romance — that’s my comfort zone,” says Schmidt, whose recent gothic thrillers include We Had a Girl Before You and Baroness Bianka’s Blood Songs.

“So I’m exploring these tropes again, with a slightly contemporary spin on things without being too anachronistic about it.”

Monstress plays in the Studio Theatre of Fringe Theatre Adventures, located at 10330 84 Ave. Tickets from $25 are available at northernlighttheatre.com or by calling 780-471-1586.

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.