The Bush Ladies at Artword Theatre

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The Bush-Ladies
In Artword Theatre main theatre, from January 15, 2002
Beggarly Productions presents
The Bush-Ladies
. . . a story of survival, filled with humour and rich humanity.
view The Bush Ladies flyer (PDF format)

Based on the writings of: Susanna Moodie, Catharine Parr Traill, Anne Langton and Anna Jameson
Adapted and directed by: Molly Thom
Starring: Mary Ann McDonald as Susanna Moodie, Wendy Springate as Catharine Parr Traill,
Elva Mai Hoover as Anne Langton and Meg Hogarth as Anna Jameson

Produced by: Beggarly Productions
Associate Producer: Margaret Edgar
Set design by: Mary Spyrakis
Lighting design by: Alex Gazalé
Costume design by: Margaret Spence
Sound design by: Lawrence Beckwith
Stage manager: Jennifer Jansen

Preview: Tuesday, January 15, 2002
Opens: Wednesday January 16 and runs to Feb 3
Show Times and Prices:
Preview Jan 15 at 8 pm $15
Tues. Wed. and Thurs. at 8 pm, and Sat. matinee at 2:30 pm: Reg. $22, students/seniors $18
Friday and Saturday at 8 pm: $26
Sundays at 2:30 pm: PWYC at the door ($15 advance booking)
Tickets: Advance ticket reservations through the St. Lawrence Centre Ticket Line, 416-366-7723,
Artword Theatre opens for ticket sales and pickup ONE HOUR BEFORE A SHOW only
Group Rates: For groups of 10 or more, please call 416-481-4775 or e-mail madgar@sympatico.ca .

They survived harsh winters, mosquito-infested summers, loneliness, poverty and a host of other obstacles in the backwoods of 1830s Ontario. More than a century-and-a-half later, their spirited writings are the basis for a theatrical production that conquered Toronto and Ottawa audiences and critics, became one of the hits of the 1999 season, and went on to tour communities all over Ontario.
The demand for a return visit has been ongoing. The Bush-Ladies begins a three-week run at Artword Theatre January 16, 2002 with the original superb cast: Mary Ann McDonald as Susanna Moodie, Wendy Springate as Catharine Parr Traill, Elva Mai Hoover as Anne Langton, and Meg Hogarth as Anna Brownell Jameson.
Conceived, adapted and directed by Molly Thom, The Bush-Ladies tells the story of our first Canadian women authors: Susanna Moodie, Catharine Parr Traill, Anne Langton and Anna Jameson. These cultivated English gentlewomen, schooled in sketching, music, needlework and the writing of fine prose, are totally unprepared for what they find in the New World: reeking smoke-filled shanties, impassable roads, plagues of blackfly, cholera, ague, deprivation and the endless labour of clearing the land.
Sharing their stories of survival and their penetrating observations about the "stern realities of emigrant life," these Bush-Ladies emerge as women of invincible character and rare wit. They meet the terrors of the backwoods with practicality and determination, and conquer the heartsickness of disappointed hopes with courage. They discover new pleasures and new reserves of strength and humour, and a surprising affection for their adopted home.

		In Artword Theatre main theatre, from January 15, 2002 Beggarly Productions presents *The Bush-Ladies* *. . .* a story of survival, filled with humour and rich humanity. view The Bush Ladies flyer (PDF format)
	Based on the writings of: Susanna Moodie, Catharine Parr Traill, Anne Langton and Anna Jameson Adapted and directed by: Molly Thom Starring: Mary Ann McDonald as Susanna Moodie, Wendy Springate as Catharine Parr Traill, Elva Mai Hoover as Anne Langton and Meg Hogarth as Anna Jameson Produced by: Beggarly Productions Associate Producer: Margaret Edgar Set design by: Mary Spyrakis Lighting design by: Alex Gazalé Costume design by: Margaret Spence Sound design by: Lawrence Beckwith Stage manager: Jennifer Jansen
	Preview: Tuesday, January 15, 2002 Opens: Wednesday January 16 and runs to Feb 3 Show Times and Prices: Preview Jan 15 at 8 pm $15 Tues. Wed. and Thurs. at 8 pm, and Sat. matinee at 2:30 pm: Reg. $22, students/seniors $18 Friday and Saturday at 8 pm: $26 Sundays at 2:30 pm: PWYC at the door ($15 advance booking) Tickets: Advance ticket reservations through the St. Lawrence Centre Ticket Line, 416-366-7723, Artword Theatre opens for ticket sales and pickup ONE HOUR BEFORE A SHOW only Group Rates: For groups of 10 or more, please call 416-481-4775 or e-mail madgar@sympatico.ca .

	They survived harsh winters, mosquito-infested summers, loneliness, poverty and a host of other obstacles in the backwoods of 1830s Ontario. More than a century-and-a-half later, their spirited writings are the basis for a theatrical production that conquered Toronto and Ottawa audiences and critics, became one of the hits of the 1999 season, and went on to tour communities all over Ontario. The demand for a return visit has been ongoing. *The Bush-Ladies* begins a three-week run at Artword Theatre January 16, 2002 with the original superb cast: Mary Ann McDonald as Susanna Moodie, Wendy Springate as Catharine Parr Traill, Elva Mai Hoover as Anne Langton, and Meg Hogarth as Anna Brownell Jameson. Conceived, adapted and directed by Molly Thom, *The Bush-Ladies* tells the story of our first Canadian women authors: Susanna Moodie, Catharine Parr Traill, Anne Langton and Anna Jameson. These cultivated English gentlewomen, schooled in sketching, music, needlework and the writing of fine prose, are totally unprepared for what they find in the New World: reeking smoke-filled shanties, impassable roads, plagues of blackfly, cholera, ague, deprivation and the endless labour of clearing the land. Sharing their stories of survival and their penetrating observations about the "stern realities of emigrant life," these Bush-Ladies emerge as women of invincible character and rare wit. They meet the terrors of the backwoods with practicality and determination, and conquer the heartsickness of disappointed hopes with courage. They discover new pleasures and new reserves of strength and humour, and a surprising affection for their adopted home.