Megan Follows (photo credit: Robert Popkin)
...and a conversion...
by Alexandra Lelli
The word ‘contemporary’ gets thrown around a lot when describing Margaret Atwood’s ability to spin a yarn. In The Penelopiad – a revisionist account of Homer’s The Odyssey from the perspective of his virtuous wife, Penelope – Atwood’s cunning wit and relevant analysis of class, gender and privilege leaps off the page.
I am reluctant to admit I wasn’t a fan of Atwood’s novella (published in 2005) – reluctant because it makes me feel anti-Canadian. I felt like something was missing. Fortunately, Nightwood Theatre’s all-female cast brought Atwood’s contemporary epic to life. Under the direction of Kelly Thornton, who also acts as Artistic Director of Nightwood Theatre, my foray into the alluring shroud of “classical tragedy, Victorian melodrama, campy burlesque and rollicking song” had begun. I found my missing ingredient: this story was meant for the stage.
