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During our run at the SummerWorks Festival, Seams garnered a lot of positive attention from the press! See what people said about this production... 

 

 

NNNN - "Seams is one of the most rewarding shows at the SummerWorks Festival" 

 

"Polly Phokeev’s richly textured play about life in a Moscow theatre costume shop in 1939 looks at friendship, politics, love, lies, competition, informants and desire."

 

"In the hands of director Mikaela Davies and a talented cast, we come to know the idiosyncrasies and secrets of each character and care about them all, especially when the narrative’s various relationships go sour..."

 

Read Jon Kaplan's Review in Now Magazine Here

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"Seams features moving, nuanced performances from the entire cast. Coulter is haunting as the gruffly matter of fact, wry-witted Old Frosya. As Frosya’s younger self, Caitlin Robson brings a bright warmth and generosity to the brisk and efficient costume room den mother. Ewa Wolniczek brings a strong, stubborn sense of drive and idealism to the passionate young activist Marina.

 

There’s great chemistry between Krystina Bojanowski (the positive, open-hearted and hopeful Ira) and Jesse La Vercombe (the quiet, pleasant and troubled Anton) – who share some adorably awkward moments as both fumble around their attraction for each other. And there’s an equally lovely dynamic between Sochi Fried’s dark, introspective and mysterious Radya and Elizabeth Stuart-Morris’s irreverent, daring and carefree Shura – their moments together full of aching longing and electric eroticism..."

 

"Seams is a beautiful, bittersweet memory play – equal parts charming and heartbreaking – featuring outstanding, powerful performances."

 

Read the rest of the review from Life with more Cowbell here!

 

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"Laced with nostalgia and bittersweet moments, Phokeev’s story captures the humanity and resilience of the Russian people, as well the eventual paranoia and distrust fostered by the communist regime that permeates and corrupts their lives..." 

 

"The youthful cast (Krystina Bojanowski, Clare Coulter, Sochi Fried, Jesse LaVercombe, Caitlin Robson, Elizabeth Stuart-Morris, and Ewa Wolniczek), under the artful direction of Mikaela Davies, deliver charming and heartfelt performances. A rich and vintage design from Shannon Lea Doyle makes the world of the piece that much more tangible.."

 

Read the rest of the review on the ArtsVox website here!

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"There is careful attention to detail, and there is such haunting poetry in [Mikaela's] use of movement and stillness. The final moment is a fluttery, hypnotic, then suddenly quiet and chilling bit of visual storytelling..."

 

"Add to this already-potent blend Shannon Lea Doyle’s detailed set and costume design. The production fetishizes clothing, initially immersing you in drab, utilitarian working outfits. You don’t even realize how oppressive it is until the appearance of bright, exhilarating colour. Between the sensuality of luxurious evening dress or the suggested violence of a rebellious hand-painted sign (that looks like blood), there is such exhilaration in these flashes of red..."

 

"In terms of the plot, most memorable to me were the moments of furtive eroticism. There are sly, stolen touches—brief, tense gestures of affection that these characters could never explicitly acknowledge due to the paranoia that underlies their every action..."

 

Read the rest of the review written by Istvan Dugalin of Mooney on Theatre here

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"I was curious about the faces no one remembers. What were their stories, even if their lives were ordinary? You don't often hear women's stories, even those who fought in the Second World War. Added to that is my fascination with the Soviet Union, its tumultuous, complicated politics and how some of what's going on now echoes the events that took place under Stalin 70 years ago."

 

Playwright Polly Phokeev speaks to Jon Kaplan of NOW Magazine about the inspiration behind the show and its development. To read the article, click here.

 

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"The play draws parallels between the Russia of 1939 and Russia in 2015. Polly shares a quote, that has become somewhat of a mantra for the collective, from Sergei Dovlatov: “We endlessly condemn comrade Stalin, and, it appears, with reason. Yet still I’d like to ask-who is it that wrote four million reports?” Mikaela emphasizes how this quote demands that the individual face the consequences of their silence."

 

On August 5th, playwright Polly Phokeev, director Mikaela Davies and producer/cast member Elizabeth Stuart-Morris sat down with Bailey Green from In The Green Room to talk about the show! Read the interview here.

 

 

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