The only building to house Canada’s federally sentenced women was known to inmates and correctional officers simply as “P4W”. From 1934 to 2000, the Prison for Women received public scrutiny from repeated investigations, and finally a federal inquiry that led to the closure of the then notorious institution. But the issues that led to its shutting down are far from resolved for the cases of federally sentenced women in Canada.

Life on the inside of Canada’s Prison for Women.

Now, ten years later, playwright and director Julia Ainsworth brings a thoughtful and unprecedented play to the lives and daily struggles for these women. In January 2010, Zeitgeist Theatre Collective, in association with Mischief Theatre, will bring audiences beyond the walls of P4W and into the hearts and minds of the women who lived there.

Inspired by actual events and interviews with incarcerated women, this workshop production of P4W: Invisible Stories from Canada’s Prison for Women is a site-specific piece performed in a promenade setting. Audience will journey through the cells and ranges of the prison, encounter inmates and correctional officers, and come in contact with a world that is seldom examined and rarely spoken about.

With performances and contributions by Montreal’s most engaged and emerging talent: Carolyn-Fe Trinidad (Altera Vitae Productions), Catherine Lemieux (Tableau D’Hote Theatre), Janice Wu
(Terminal), Ari Cohen (CBC, BRAVO), Manuel Sinor (Three Musketeers), and Koby Rogers Hall (The Wrecking Ball series).

P4W dares to examine, expose and imagine the realities of the Canadian Justice System by trespassing beyond the red tape and bureaucracy that have buried the voices and stories of Canada’s
incarcerated women.

P4W: Invisible Stories from Canada’s Prison for Women (workshop production)
Preview: Tuesday, January 26th 2010, 8pm (PWYC)
January 27th, 28th, 29th, 30th, 8pm.
Matinees January 30th and 31st, 2pm.
St. James United Church, 1440 St-Alexandre
Tickets: $15 Regular/$12 Students and Seniors. *No latecomers admitted.
Available through CShow box office: 514-848-9696, and online at www.cshow.ca.

Olivia: a Folk Opera/une eulogie musicale on Nov. 25-26-28, 8:00pm

On December 1st, 2007, Maria Olivia Ramirez Rabiela died alone in her apartment. She was found by her landlord 5 weeks later. Olivia, who had spent the past 30 years in Montreal without family contact, was trying to return to her native Mexico. In preparation, she entrusted an envelope of documents to her friend Katherine Peacock. These documents inspired Ms Peacock, who writes and performs under the name of Mussaver, to compose the music and script for Olivia, a folk opera. Taking place during the final hours of Olivia’s life as she comes to terms with her imminent death, it touches on themes of alienation, isolation, & community.

Olivia will be performed by the Coal Choir, a group of 25 musicians and features accordions, strings, percussion, various found objects and full choral arrangements. Sarah Tracy, a member of the Coal Choir, will be featured in the role of Olivia. The show will run for a limited engagement at St. James United Church, November 25th, 26th, and 28th.

All profits from Olivia will be donated to the Montreal City Mission and the Immigrant Worker’s Centre of Montreal.

• Tickets available at Phonopolis (5403A Ave du Parc) and Librairie Drawn & Quarterly (211 Bernard Ouest) or online at Pop Montreal.
• Website: http://www.oliviasoundings.com
• Email: info@oliviasoundings.com

Haunted: October 21 to October 31, 8 pm in St. James’s Dawson Hall. The story of a young woman whose simple and unassuming life spirals headlong into a macabre nightmare. Based on the most-investigated poltergeist appearance in Canada. Written and directed by Paul Van Dyck. Tickets $20. Tuesday’s two-for-one. Enter by 1440 St-Alexandre. Telephone 514-303-7646