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Madness Lies

written and directed by Chloë Whitehorn

After the death of their father, Lettie and Leah find themselves stuck in a mental wellness centre working through their grief and loss. Struggling to grasp control in a realm where women are often medicated or institutionalized rather than listened to, finding their own voice will help them determine who they want to be (or not to be) in this Hamlet meets Girl, Interrupted journey into madness.

Starring:
Shannon Donnelly (Lettie)
Jennifer Verardi (Leah)
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At the TK Fringe Festival
Venue #1 Baby Grand Theatre

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Friday August 8, 5:40 pm

Saturday August 9, 8:40 pm

Sunday August 10, 12:00 pm

Monday August 11, 7:00 pm

Thursday August 14, 5:40 pm

Friday August 15, 7:00 pm

Saturday August 16, 8:40 pm

Sunday August 17, 5:00 pm

Note from the playwright

"Fraility thy name is woman" (Hamlet Act I scene ii) 

 Women have historically been diagnosed with mental health disorders and medicated or institutionalized for reasons ranging from genuine need to the more misunderstood and vague "hysteria", or behaviors that society merely found unacceptable in it's "weaker sex", often at the whim of men. And often their "condition" and behavior are what is treated rather than examining the circumstances that might have led them there to begin with. For Madness Lies I drew inspiration from Shakespeare's famously "mad" characters Hamlet and Ophelia, Susanna Kaysen's memoire Girl, Interrupted, and my own outrage over what has happened and is still happening to women all over the world (the "Free Britney" movement of recent years and women losing agency over their own healthcare options in North America today clearly point to this as not just a dusty old issue from the past but a current one).  Madness Lies is a layered play that takes the audience on a journey through the mind of women struggling with grief and trauma, and just like Alice in Wonderland you might get a little lost along the way, but I'll make the adventure worth it. I am not attempting to tackle the entire mental health industry of the past and today or subvert society's gender expectations but rather journey through the realms of one story and open a different branch of the discussion.


content warnings: mental health, reference to SA

Shannon Donnelly (Lettie)

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Shannon Donnelly is an award winning actor who has performed on stages across Ontario. She fell in love with acting at six and has pursued that passion ever since. As an alumnus of the University of Ottawa in Theatre and graduate with honours of the St. Lawrence College's Musical Theatre program, Shannon has experience with many aspects of the craft including costuming, makeup, film, theatre and voice acting.  

 

Some of her favourite roles include Aunt Eller (Oklahoma!) Baroness Schroeder (Sound of Music) and Jane (Babe Ruth Comes to Pickle River). Recent roles include Sarah (Company), Diane (Blood River), Witch Hazel (The Witch and the Glitch), Tania (The Fall After Midsummer), Pauline (Jekyll & Hyde) and Nicole (Parents Night).

 

Shannon is excited to be working alongside talented playwright, Chloë Whitehorn on another thrilling premiere, and honoured to be sharing the stage with the incomparable Jennifer Verardi. Off stage she lives happily as a makeup artist/instructor and mum to her two amazing daughters.

Jennifer Verardi (Leah)

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Jennifer is excited and honoured to be working with MadRiver Theatre alongside these incredibly talented women. She has been acting in the Kingston area for the past 17 years with her most recent performances including Dressing Amelia by Chloe with Bottle Tree Productions (2024), and Constance in Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) with King's Town Players (2019). For the past four years, she has been focused on songwriting and poetry, and is thrilled to return to the Theatre Kingston Fringe Festival stage. Jennifer is grateful for the opportunity to share this story. She remains ever in love with storytelling — whether through song, verse, or asking, “Is this a dagger I see before me?”

Chloë Whitehorn (Playwright/Director)

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Described as "Dorothy Parker meets Neil Labute meets M. Night Shyamalan",  Chloë Whitehorn is an award winning playwright, actor, and wearer of black dresses. A graduate of Queen's University's theatre program, Chloë’s work often examines taboo moralities, tragic love, and the broken bits of ourselves we all try to hide.

 

Born in California, Chloë's hippie-artist mother raised her in a world of circus artists, puppeteers and activists until moving to Canada where she spent her days figure skating, writing short stories, and developing a love of theatre. Her plays include: The Fall After Midsummer (TK Fringe 2024), Blood River (Theatre Kingston 2023), Dressing Amelia (Bottletree 2024), The Pigeon (TK Fringe 2018 & Top Ten Shows in Toronto of 2018), Love, Virtually (Best of Fringe Toronto 2011), Mourning After the Night Before, Divine Wrecks, and How to Not Die Horribly in a Fire. Productions of her plays have been performed across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.​ 

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Chloë is so grateful to have had two phenomenal actors agree to work on this play before it was even written. Thank you Shannon and Jen for being the muses in my mind.

 

Find more on her website: www.chloewhitehorn.com

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