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A lively historical satire of survival and cultural inheritance

Kathleen MacLean, Elizabeth Whitbread, Kelsey Kanatan Wavey; Directed by Audrey Dwyer; Lighting by Hugh Conacher; Sound by Daniel Roy; Set and Costume by Linda Beech; Dramaturgy by Lindsay Lachance; Photo by Dylan Hewlett (Royal Manitoba Theatre Company)
Women of the Fur Trade

Women of the Fur Trade

By Frances Koncan

In eighteen hundred and something something, somewhere upon the banks of a Reddish River in Treaty One Territory, three very different women with a preference for twenty-first century slang sit in a fort sharing their views on life, love, and the hot nerd Louis Riel. Marie-Angelique, a Metis Taurus, is determined to woo Louis (a Metis Libra)—who will be arriving soon—by sending him boldly flirtatious letters. Eugenia, an Ojibwe Sagittarius, brings news of rebellion back to the fort after trading, but isn’t impressed from personally knowing Louis’s true mediocre nature. And Cecilia, a pregnant British Virgo, is anxiously waiting on her husband’s return from an expedition, but can’t resist pining over the heartthrob Thomas Scott (Irish Capricorn), who is actually the one secretly responding to Marie-Angelique’s letters. This will all go smoothly, right?

This lively historical satire of survival and cultural inheritance shifts perspectives from the male gaze onto women’s power in the past and present through the lens of the rapidly changing world of the Canadian Fur Trade.

Production History

Women of the Fur Trade premiered at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Tom Hendry Theatre in Winnipeg, Manitoba in February 2020 directed by Audrey Dwyer.

Subsequent productions include: Stratford Festival (2023) in Stratford, Ontario directed by Yvette Nolan; National Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre/Native Earth Performing Arts/Great Canadian Theatre Company (2024) directed by Renae Morriseau; Globe Theatre (2024) in Regina, Saskatchewan directed by Yvette Nolan; Magnus Theatre (2024) in Thunder Bay, Ontario directed by Richard Comeau and Amy Sellors; Firehall Arts Centre (2024) in Vancouver, British Columbia directed by Donna Spencer. 

 

Awards

  • Winner - Toronto Fringe Best New Play Contest, 2018

  • Nominated - Indigenous Voices Award for Published Prose in English 2023

  • Nominated - Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding New Play 2024

     
     

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