Stitch
Music Juliet Palmer
Text Anna Chatterton
Direction Ruth Madoc-Jones
Set and Costume Sarah Armstrong
Lighting Kimberly Purtell
Movement Marie-Josée Chartier
Special Effects Design Jim Ruxton
Production Stage Manager Shauna Japp
Stitch is an urbanvessel production with text by Anna Chatterton “droll and outrageous” (The Globe and Mail), music by Juliet Palmer “ideas and methods to the left of normal” (Los Angeles Times) and direction by Ruth Madoc-Jones “draws powerful performances from the cast” (NOW magazine).
From the abuse of the sweatshop to the fantasy of costume and the empowerment of sewing-it-yourself, the sewing machine has been a force for liberation and exploitation since its invention in the 19th century. Anchored in the sounds and rhythms of sewing, Stitch uncovers the emotional layers of the relationship between woman and barely-tamed machine.
Hemmed in by the language of sewing and the inexorable rhythm of the machine, three women fight to find space for imagination and individuality. From the sweet 3-part stylings of “Cowl-neck Blues” to the fierce interlocked minimalism of “Chain stitch, Lock stitch, Whip stitch”, Stitch gives voice to the unseen women who clothe us.
Stitch features the vocal talents of:
Christine Duncan “…smooth as honey throughout her five-octave range”
(The Globe and Mail)
Patricia O’Callaghan “the most promising cabaret performer of her generation”
(Billboard Magazine)
Neema Bickersteth “amazing control of her vocal palette…warm and sensual”
(Opera Canada)
in partnership with Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage March 12-16, 2008 at Lennox Contemporary, 12 Ossington Avenue, Toronto.
Stay tuned for upcoming performances...
Many thanks to our funders: The Toronto Arts Council, The Ontario Arts Council, The Canada Council for the Arts, The Ontario Arts Council Theatre Creator's Reserve and supporters: Bruce Barton, Franco Boni, Cathy Gordon, Aysha Hassan, Christie Pearson, Imali Perera, John Petcoff and Lennox Contemporary, James Rolfe, Jennifer Tarver, and Xin Wang.
