Image description: On an orange background with points shooting out there is a square image of a barren western landscape, large white fluffy clouds on the horizon with an orange moon. In the foreground, a human figure with a wolf face in a blue medical gown and cowboy hat takes a wide-legged stance. In the background is another medical-gowned figure in a cowboy hat. A surgical lamp hangs over the scene.
The Supine Cobbler
A contemporary clinical abortion in the spirit of a Western
by Jill Connell
directed by Emily Pearlman
The subtitle for this play is: a contemporary clinical abortion in the spirit of a Western. Playwright Jill Connell harnesses the macho Western genre and populates it with a gang of female outcasts and misfits. Like any good Western, there is an unsentimental treatment of life and death, surrounded by swagger, tall tales, one up-man-ship and wilderness. Jill puts an abortion at the center of the story without commenting on it – it’s not gruesome or tragic – it’s just an ordinary occurrence in this woman’s life one day, and then her day goes on. What’s extraordinary are the relationships onstage. It’s populated by the intimacy of female friendship, as these women have long overdue conversations. The show is playful, funny, delicate and surprising.
Audio Flyer
Content Note
This play harnesses the traditionally male genre of the Western and playfully turns that world on its head, populating it with a cast of outlaw and renegade women. In the Western, life and death are unsentimental. Wilderness is interior and exterior, survival and one-upmanship are supreme, and friendships are everything…
For the rest of the content note click here.
Sep 26 - Oct 8, 2023
Tuesday—Friday: 8pm
Saturday: 2pm & 8pm
Sunday: 2pm
ASL Promo Video
ASL Promo Video for The Supine Cobbler View the transcript for the ASL promo video here.
Calendar and Show Types
For details on Show Types click here.
Cast & Creative Team
Jill Connell | Playwright
Emily Pearlman | Director
Cast:
Maryse Fernandes | The Cobbler
Tara J Paterson | The Dancer
Deena Aziz | The Doctor
Ellie Ellwand | The Kid
Kelsey Rideout | The Lover
Creative Team:
Sage Reynolds | Sound Design/Musician
Vanessa Imeson | Costume Design
Emilio Sebastiao | Lighting Design
Julia Kim | Set/Props Design
Jackie McCormick | Stage Manager
Kristina Watt Villegas | Artistic Associate
Nathan McConnell | Assistant Stage Manager
Media
Previews:
The Supine Cobbler is an abortion play that ‘negotiates integrity in a lawless world’ at GCTC
by Eve Beauchamp for Intermission Magazine
Great Canadian Theatre Company's season opener is a Western filled with rich relationships
by Peter Hum for The Ottawa Citizen
The Great Canadian Theatre Company opens its season with an all-female play
Ottawa Morning with Robyn Bresnahan
The Supine Cobbler: The contemporary feminist western you didn’t know you needed
by Cristina Paolozzi for Apt613
Reviews:
The Supine Cobbler is a hilarious, deeply intimate trip to the abortion clinic at GCTC
by Amira Benjamin for Intermission Magazine
Review: THE SUPINE COBBLER at Great Canadian Theatre Company
by Courtney Castelino for BroadwayWorld
OTTAWA EVENT REVIEW: THE SUPINE COBBLER BY GCTC
by Covert Ottawa Guy