About the Play:

Wreckage is a full-length drama by Sally Stubbs. Why do some people simply choose to vanish given the opportunity? In 1924 there was a train crash. Rose was on the train but she was never seen again. Twenty-five years later her suitcase turns up at her daughter's home. This mystery thriller tells of a daughter's search to unravel the mystery of her mother and the shocking truth she uncovers about her family as she probes into the past.

Rose, who fancies herself the next Lillian Gish, is running away from her Kamloops reality toward her Hollywood starlet dreams when she boards the ill-fated Red Dragon. Her naivete deposits her on the wrong side of the tracks. Drawn into the Vancouver underworld, she encounters thugs, prostitution, sadomasochism and opium addiction. Indeed, this play's not for children. Twenty-four years later a "railway dick" or detective turns up and hands Rose's red suitcase to her daughter, Violet. Violet sets out to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a mother she never knew.

Wreckage is set in the seedier side of Vancouver in the 1920s and 1940s. A tantalizing period tale of intrigue surrounding the disappearance of Rose, who boards a train in Kamloops in 1924 but vanishes without a trace after the train crashes at the bottom of the Fraser Canyon. Twenty-five years later her red suitcase arrives, anonymously and mysteriously, triggering her daughter Violet's search for the truth. She sets out to solve the mystery of the disappearance of a mother she never knew, unlocking a bizarre chain of events. She encounters an intriguing set of larger-than-life characters, including a haunted railway detective, gourmet gangster-chefs, a Puccini-singing ghost, and a host of Dickensian-type characters that populate Vancouver's underbelly. Wreckage is a stylish 'gangster' play with a dark and wicked sense of humour and the theatrical punch of a speeding train.

Wreckage was first produced in 2005 by New West Theatre Company at Sterndale Bennett Theatre in Lethbridge, Alberta. The Western Canada premiere was in 2007 Western Canada premiere at Vancouver's Playwrights Theatre Centre. Since then the play has been mounted by colleges and community theatres.

Cast: 3 female, 3 male

What people say:

"This intriguing play play holds our interest throughout…clever, humourous script." — reviewVancouver

"…a twisting, twisted train of intrigue. … All is not what it appears to be in Wreckage. That makes for compelling drama, especially for mystery lovers, but it also reminds audiences of how tragedy unfolds. A tragic train ride, yes, but once you're on board you'll want to hang on until the bitter end." — Kamloops Daily News

"This isn't your grandmother's theatre. ...this is a play that is rewriting the rules … and inviting a younger audience to experience the thrill of the stage." — The Martlet (Victoria)

About the Playwright:

Sally Stubbs is a Canadian playwright and educator who also directs, performs and produces. She holds graduate degrees in Writing and History in Art, and has been a playwright-in-residence at the Firehall Arts Centre, Touchstone Theatre, the Playwrights Theatre Centre Colony, and the University of Lethbridge. An instructor of post-secondary writing and theatre education, she is a recipient of a Prime Minister's Award for her instructional work with young people, theatre, and film.