The Penelopiad (2012)
Information | Synopsis | Reviews | Fan reports | Photos

»   INFORMATION

Dates:
Location:
Number of performances:

Written by:
Directed by:
On stage as:

Full cast:

Penelope
Laertes/Maid
Icaruis/Maid
Antinous/Maid
Anticleia/Maid
Oracle/Maid
Odysseus/Maid
Melantho/Maid
Eurycleia/Maid
Naiad/Maid
Helen/Maid
Menelaus/Maid
Telemachus/Maid



Website:


January 10 - 29, 2012
Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Toronto
24

Margaret Atwood
Kelly Thornton
Penelope



. . .   Megan Follows
. . .   Maev Beaty
. . .   Christine Brubaker
. . .   Raven Dauda
. . .   Sarah Dodd
. . .   Monica Dottor
. . .   Kelli Fox
. . .   Cara Gee
. . .   Patricia Hamilton
. . .   Tara Rosling
. . .   Pamela Sinha
. . .   Sophia Walker
. . .   Bahia Watson



Nightwood Theatre







»   SYNOPSIS

(from nightwoodtheatre.net) "Now that I'm dead, I know everything." So begins The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood's daring response to Homer's The Odyssey. Destined to spend eternity in Hades, Penelope recounts her life's story and the murder of her twelve handmaidens by her vengeful husband Odysseus. Atwood's acerbic wit brings one of history's most powerful myths to the contemporary imagination. A provocative new look at a woman's longing, lust and culpability.




»   REVIEWS

"It's down to Megan Follows to set the tone as Penelope, and she sets and maintains it in a performance of exemplary grace and intelligence... Follows' technical achievement alone is remarkable; in a packed witty text, not a line or a point gets past her."

– Robert Cushman, The National Post



"And the praise for this cast can't be overdone. Megan Follows captures countless shades of regret and longing as Penelope [...]"

– Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star



"In Kelly Thornton's mostly magical production of The Penelopiad, she arrives on stage in the formidable form of Megan Follows in a flood of light and sound and floating upon a carpet of white smoke... with a cast with this concentration of talent, this premiere of Atwood's play in her hometown still feels like a theatrical event not to be missed."

– J. Kelly Nestruck, The Globe & Mail



"... a production that is, by and large, a triumph, not merely in its determination to bring history to life, but in its success at redrawing and humanizing it as well."

– John Coulbourn, Toronto Sun (QMI Agency)



"The Penelopiad can be praised for many things – the maturity and subtlety of Megan Follows' performance as Penelope, the wit of the script, the clever staging, the whimsical costumes – but nothing is more exquisite than the gender ambiguity achieved during female-to-male role shifts and vice versa."

– Brian Bantugan, fab Magazine



"Megan Follows is a perfect fit as a near perfect wife in what could be her best Toronto stage work to date."

– Steven Berketo, TorontoStage.com




FULL REVIEWS  « 





»   FAN REPORTS


—  Bob:   "I have seen Megan on stage in 10 (really!) different productions, and this was possibly her best performance of all. Actually, the entire ensemble was top notch. Highest recs if you're near TO." (Jan. 11, 2012 performance)


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»   PHOTOS