About the Play:

Gracie is a full-length dramatic monologue by Joan MacLeod. A young girl is born into a world full of faith and family, and as she grows from a child to a teenager, she faces increasing pressure to conform. But what if that 15-year-old is born into a tightly controlled fundamentalist polygamous community – will she dare to take a leap and step into an outside world she's never known?

Gracie is a one-woman show telling the story of a girl raised in a fundamentalist community that transports child brides between polygamist communities in both Canada and the United States. Gracie loves her family, and her strong faith is a source of comfort to her. Although the play examines practices that are abhorrent, it does so without judgment (as critics have noted). The play is a work of fiction but is inspired by the history of polygamist communities in both Canada and the U.S. A gripping and life-affirming story about growing up in a religious cult, presented with deep empathy and compassion by Governor General Award-winning playwright Joan MacLeod. Gracie is window into a complex and secretive world. While it takes place in a sheltered community, it also resonates with issues at the fore right now: fundamentalism, basic human and religious rights.

Gracie premiered in 2017 at Belfry Theatre in Victoria, and then subsequent productions at Alberta Theatre Projects in Calgary and Prairie Theatre Exchange in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The European premiere was in 2018 at the Finborough Theatre in the West Brompton area of London. The play is a terrific vehicle for a young actor, and the script is an engaging read that has broad appeal to readers young and old.

Cast: 1 woman

What people say:

"A nuanced coming-of-age within a polygamous community." — The Globe & Mail

"Gracie, both the character and the play, are so accessible that we feel haunted by what we glimpse in these 90 minutes together." — Calgary Herald

"Through Gracie's monologues and conversations she recounts with friends and family, we get a powerful and sympathetic portrait of this young girl as she painfully transitions to womanhood....." — Winnipeg Free Press

About the Playwright:

Joan MacLeod is an internationally celebrated Canadian playwright. She grew up in North Vancouver, lived for eight years in Toronto as playwright-in-residence at Tarragon Theatre, before settling on Bowen Island just outside Vancouver. Since 2004, she has taught at the department of writing at University of Victoria. Her plays have been extensively produced around the world, and she has won multiple theatre awards, including the recipient the Governor General's Award, two Chalmers Canadian Play Awards and the 2011 Siminovitch Prize in Theatre, Canada's largest theatre award.