Peek into Emily Carr’s younger years in a Fringe play headed for the Charlie White Theatre.
“It introduces an Emily Carr nobody ever thinks of, when she was young,” said Tony Cashman who wrote the one-person show. “Everyone thinks about her as the bag lady with a monkey on her shoulder … when she was younger she was a conventional citizen of Victoria.”
The audience meets Carr at age 37 in October 1908, as she prepares to meet a friend for tea at the newly opened Empress Hotel.
“They grew up together, that’s the premise of the play,” Cashman said.
He wrote the script from Carr’s own words from books like her little known A Little Town and a Little Girl.
The play was put before audiences in August 2011 during the Edmonton International Theatre Fringe Festival.
“We had it at the Fringe and the reviewers didn’t like it … but the Emily Carr fans, they loved it,” Cashman said.
After the show, the audience can interact with the famous Victoria artist.
“After each show the guests are going to be invited to meet the artist and see some of her ‘current’ works,” said local producer Carolyn Stout of North Saanich. “Victoria Art Gallery is supportive of this and is providing reproductions of her works from the period.”
Emily Carr and Victoria, Growing up Together plays April 14 at 7:30 p.m. and April 15 at 2 p.m. in the Charlie White Theatre. Tickets are $15; available online at www.marywinspear.ca.