On the Edge
(Written with Leila Lustig)
(Cast: 11)
With few words and many images, this piece plays on the edge of time, on the edge of expectations and on the edge of sanity. The action of the play is watched by Tiamut, the Babylonian goddess who created the world out of chaos but can now only influence us indirectly unless we acknowledge her. Tiamut watches over Effy, an imaginative young architect, afraid of the night when the real danger is at home, and over Mona and Roy for whom Effy designs a house and a garden with a pond. The frogs who live in the pond get out of control and almost destroy Mona and Roy’s relationship. Shirley’s contribution to On the Edge included scenes from Mythstakes, a play created with Theatre Beyond Words that explores how myths inform and misinform our lives. Effy’s journey through life is parallelled by the story of the creator goddess defeated by male gods but now re-emerging.
Co-produced by Theatre Beyond Words and the Drama Department of Brock University in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre, November, 1997. Directors: Glenys Fuentes-McQueen and Robin Patterson.
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