Frances Koncan
Author of Women of the Fur Trade
Works by Frances Koncan
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- Works
- 1
- Members
- 6
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- #1,227,255
- Rating
- 5.0
- Reviews
- 1
- ISBNs
- 2
Review of the Playwrights Canada Press paperback edition (February 2022) of the original script as premiered at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (February 2020)
I saw the thrilling final performance of Women of the Fur Trade at its 2023 Stratford Festival production in July in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. The audience was especially raucous and made for an extra entertaining theatrical experience. There were several elements which made me curious to know to what extent they existed in the written script and/or whether they were created or improvised during the production. So I just had to read the printed playscript as well.
See photo at https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F3p9U8zWMAEaAt8?format=jpg&name=large
The stage set of the 2023 Stratford Festival production of "Women of the Fur Trade." Several dozen portraits hang from the ceiling in addition to the ones later projected or used on stage.
Women of the Fur Trade is a historical fantasy which mostly takes place in a room within a fort during the Red River Resistance (1869-1870) and later. The 3 principles are an Indigenous woman, a Metis woman and a Scots settler woman. There is no escape from the room with walls which are covered in paintings of men. The women obsess over Louis Riel and Thomas Scott (1842-1870) and letters to and from them keep appearing. In other scenes, Riel and Scott themselves interact until their friendship breaks down, leading to Scott's execution at the hands of Riel and eventually Riel's own execution at the hands of the Canadian government. I stress the "fantasy" element as it all takes place with 21st century vernacular and cultural references, and major elements are not true (especially a friendship between Riel and Scott). The spirit of it is "true" regardless, and it is quite a unique way to communicate Canadian history as you'll be compelled to research the real-life story.
See photo at https://pbs.twimg.com/media/F3p9YFYXcAAHiNi?format=jpg&name=large
The cast of the 2024 Stratford Festival production acknowledging the lighting and sound booth technicians at the conclusion of “Women of the Fur Trade”.
It is difficult to separate my feelings about the live production from that on the printed page. Although not all the specifics are detailed, the script allows for the cast and production to extend and express themselves. Thus a stage direction such as "RIEL and SCOTT get in a stick gun-fight. It starts out silly but grows increasingly serious. There's lots of ad-libbing." became an extended fight sequence that went from wooden sticks to an imagined Star Wars light-saber duel to a Matrix-like "bullet-time" slow-mo pantomime. A stage direction such as "Marie-Angelique... continues ripping portraits off the wall... after a few moments Eugenia joins" became a fierce knockout attack on the surrounding patriarchy portraits, including one action possibly in tribute to Sinead O'Connor, who had passed only a few days previously (that might have been a one-off for this Finale performance).
Entertaining and provocative on the page, but especially so if you can see it live!
Trivia and Links
Women of the Fur Trade will have its next performances January 17-27, 2024 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Canada. For more information see here.
The 2023 Stratford Festival production of Women of the Fur Trade was filmed and will likely be a Pay-Per-View stream sometime in 2024. Watch for updates and or notices at the Stratford Festival and its YouTube channel.… (more)