A RARE Experience; Welcome to the Underworld

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

“He took my hand and placed it on his genitals. I was shocked and removed my hands immediately. The rest of the night (while acting like I was drunk), I told everyone that would listen how inappropriate my professor had been. He came up to me and told me to stop telling everyone, and my response, “You will never silence my voice.” Judith Thompson

Judith Thompson has been renowned as one of Canada’s most prolific playwrights since her play The Crackwalker rocked the theatre scene in the 1980s. Since then, her plays have been turned into feature films, television movies, and radio dramas. She has made such an impact in the world of Canadian theatre, that she was presented with the Governor General’s Award for Drama and also appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada. What has truly set Judith apart is her dedication to recognizing disabled performers and marginalized communities. Having lived with epilepsy all her life, Judith understands the fear, vulnerability, and isolation that can come living with a disability, and it is this understanding that has allowed her to deliver such powerful and meaningful work that can be appreciated by the larger audiences.

With her latest production Welcome To My Underworld, Judith presents a drama with a twist; she captivates her audience with the work of several playwrights, each playwright sharing a unique and interesting perspective that not only captivated but invited the audience into their world. Judith sees it as her responsibility to share the genius of others in a poetic fashion, and she did this by linking nine short stories exploring the lives of transgendered individuals, individuals struggling with their mental health, those living with physical disabilities, and individuals who have experienced sexual trauma.

I appreciated that at the beginning of the play, acknowledgment was given to the original caretakers and storytellers of the chosen land – the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Handenosaunee, the Anishinaabe, and the Huron-Wyndat First Nations. This was done to honor and celebrate their past, present, and future, and to explain that there was a time when it was illegal for the original people of Canada to tell their stories. Times have changed, and storytelling has now become the best way to share lessons on love, forgiveness, pain, and redemption.

From beginning to end, the playwrights kept the audience captivated with their authentic dialogue and eye-opening portrayals of people living their lives the best way they could. From the little girl who created an alter ego, to an elderly woman who underwent a traumatic reaction to medication, the audience was invited into the lives of the performers. We witnessed the lived experience of a transgendered individual and cringed alongside a young woman who was violated by her uncle in a car as her mother, and aunt sat there.

The main focus of the set was a painted white tree that stretched its branches up and outwards. Journalists Interpretation – The artistic and creative team was symbolized and represented by the tree with Judith being the base, and the performers, and the production team being the branches and roots. A tree provides healing, which is what is given when a person can speak their authentic truth.

The healing team included:

Bilal Baig (Performer & Playwright), Maddie Bautista (Performer & Playwright), Samson Brown (Performer & Playwright), Simone Dalton (Playwright), Nikoletta Erdelyi (Performer & Playwright), Carolyn Hetherington (Performer & Playwright), Radha S. Menon (Performer & Playwright), Ellen Ringler (Playwright), Olivia Shortt (Musician, Composer & Sound Designer), Grace Thompson (Performer & Playwright), Brett Haynes (Set Designer), Sharmylae Taffe-Fletcher (Lighting Designer), Monica Dotter (Choreographer), Jenna Borsato (Stage Manager), Greg Poulin (Production Manager), and Lauren Dowell (House Technician).

With a full house and a successful second night behind them, the team joyfully mingled with the audience which gave me an opportunity to speak with two members of the healing team: Sharmylae Taffe-Fletcher, and Simone Dalton. In our short conversations, Sharmylae shared the difficulties of turning a concept into a finished product and ensuring the lighting uniquely enhanced each performer. “It’s really a play about love and humanity,” Simone shared and elucidated on how different it was writing a stage script, and the necessity of retraining your brain in order to produce great work.

The Toronto Caribbean Newspaper would like to thank Judith Thompson and the artists and staff of Soulpepper and the Young Centre for the Performing Arts for allowing us to be a part of the Underworld Experience. For those interested in taking a trip into the Underworld, the play runs from May 9^th to May 25^th at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts located at 50 Tank House Lane (Distillery District). You can also visit their website at www.soulpepper.ca.