A Théâtre français de Toronto Production
Karine Ricard and Meilie Ng
This translation was made possible by a commission and a development workshop by New Translation Canada | Nouvelle Traduction Canada’s Prix Sminovitch Prize Playwright Translation Project and the support of Canada Council for the Arts. The translation received a further 2022 development workshop with the support of Theatre Action.
Author Karen Hines explores the dark side of real estate in Crawlspace, a Kafkaesque comedy, translated from English by Mishka Lavigne, which takes a deplorable look at Toronto’s cruel and wacky real estate industry. Crawlspace is a study of the human condition. It’s also a play that highlights the importance of twig orbs that decorate the tables and nooks of houses for sale.
Directed by Miriam Cusson, this award-winning play makes its French-language debut.
Whether you’re a tenant or a homeowner, everyone has their real estate horror stories! Nowadays, regardless of where we live, the housing crisis and the deterioration of the real estate market are well-known realities. Gen X (of which I am a part) and some Millennials grew up under the comforting roofs of Baby Boomers. No wonder homeownership has always been seen as an essential rite of passage into adulthood. We grew up with the hope and illusion that success came to those who worked hard; that human value was insidiously linked to financial success; a success largely defined by the acquisition of material possessions. A promise that turned out to be a lie. But what about our general well-being? Have we collectively forgotten what is essential? And what happens to this ‘ideal’ now unattainable for most young adults? This story is for those who experienced these same challenges, and also for young people who are still able to redefine their priorities and ideals.
Karine Ricard
This autobiographical work, rooted in dark humour, is a surreal account of a forty-something actress turned author seeking financial freedom and independence. One cannot help but draw a parallel with Virginia Woolf: “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction” and one cannot help but think of her tragic end.
Amazingly topical in a world where urban property ownership is becoming increasingly difficult - if not impossible - Crawlspace is a real estate horror story. The purchase of this cute little lemon-coloured house will compromise the financial autonomy and psychological health of this free-spirited, single, mid-career artist.
Vacillating between the truth and the censored truth - since she will never again be completely safe from the consequences of her actions - the lead actress, under the rigid benevolence of her legal counsel, shares her horror story as a cautionary tale. All this in uncomfortable proximity to a captive audience.
The work seeks to question our conception of success, our obsession with the notion of happiness and our habits as consumers overly dependent on the functionalities of a failed economic market. Both incisive and charming, Crawlspace questions our definition of home.
Miriam Cusson is a director, actress, playwright, artistic consultant, and designer.
Miriam’s work explores the poetry behind the violence and cruelty of contemporary society while questioning the foundations of our community. Her approach embraces the clash between vulnerability and strength, creation and destruction, and seeks to provoke reflection on the expectations, conventions and preconceived notions we adhere to.
Her creative projects include Tranquillité (2005), Le parcours littéraire (2006-2007), Stuff ou les aventures en catalogue (2007), Fara Lifa : Fred et Crudo do Iceland (2010), Nowhere du Nord (2013), Parmi les éclats- Shattered (2018), Nibi. Eau. Water. (2022).
Miriam is the recipient of the JOHN HIRSCH Award in Directing from the OAC (2017) and the Prix Célébration des arts du Grand Sudbury (2018) and the Excellence in Teaching Award from a certain university (2019) where she was a lecturer in the Theatre program from 2004 to 2021.
Since August 2021, Miriam is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Ottawa.
Originally from Montreal, Karine has been living in Toronto for over 18 years and is well established in the Franco-Ontarian and Toronto artistic communities. An accomplished actress, she performs in both theatre and television. Karine has also been very involved with TfT, before assuming its artistic direction in 2021, not only as an actor (Le Misanthrope; La Seconde surprise de l’amour; Ici, les arbres s’enracinent dans l’eau; Voies.x ouvertes: Convictions) but also as a dramaturgical advisor for the writing competition Les Zinspiré.e.s, as well as an author, producer and director. Karine directed eight episodes of the web series Les Liaisons dangereuses : correspondances inédites in 2022, directed the orginal new play by Sébastien Bertrand, Les Filles du roi, in 2023, and is now back performing in Crawlspace by Karen Hines, a production originally mounted in 2023 in Toronto and which is now touring Canada this year.
Meilie Ng is an actress who graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada. She has appeared in television series in both English and French, including Rabbit Hole (Prime), Sex/Life (Netflix), Indéfendable (TVA), Makinium (Radio-Canada), dont Splendeur et Influence (Radio-Canada), Entrelacés (TéléQuébec), The Revenge of the Black Bestfriend (CBC Gem), Umbrella Academy (Netflix), Covert Affaires (Prime), OddSquad Mobile Unit (PBS Kids), Zik (TFO) and Les Rescapés (Radio-Canada). She has also been a host for the live shows Flip TFO and La Mission Flip. She lent her voice to Kim Thuy’s novel RU, winner of the 2015 CBC Canada Reads contest, to the animated short Requiem Pour Une Romance, and to the character of Mireille in the audio play Lucky Lady by J.M. Dalpé. She has been part of four theatre casts nominated for Best Ensemble for Young Audiences at the Dora Awards: Les Zinspirés 11 (TFT) Les Zinspirés 6 (TFT), In This World (Roseneath Theatre) and Les Zinspirés 1 (TfT). Other theatre credits include: 1.2.3. (National Arts Centre), Bonnes Bonnes (Théâtres aux Écuries). Les Fourberies de Scapin (TfT), Nisei Blue (Alberta Theatre Projects), The Winter’s Tale (Canadian Stage), Pinocchio (Geordie Productions), Amandine & Rosalie (DMC), Richard III (Metachroma Theatre). To come: Romeo & Juliet (Canadian Stage). Meilie is honoured to be touring with Crawlspace!
Karen Hines’s lush satires have traveled the globe: from Toronto to Kuala Lumpur, her plays and ‘little films’ have won critical acclaim, charmed and horrified her audiences, and cemented her reputation as “one of the most original artists in the city” (Toronto Life), and "one of the gems of Canadian theatre" (Toronto Star). Raised by scientists, Hines’ keen musings on modern life combine such disparate elements as magical realism, pink-brand feminism, real estate and climate change. She is the author of seven award-winning plays, all published by Coach House Books, and she has twice been finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award, for her Drama: Pilot Episode and for her trilogy of Pochsy Plays. Hines has collaborated on the development of many new productions by other artists, and she is the long-time director of internationally beloved adult horror clowns Mump & Smoot. Recent projects include her micro-theatrical solo Crawlspace, and All the Little Animals I Have Eaten, which was to have had its Toronto premiere just as the pandemic came. Currently, she is creating new plays, including the fourth in the Pochsy series. Her singular style, informed by an alchemy of clown and bouffon, has won her a reputation as an auteur and a conduit of biting, hilarious, provocative entertainment.
Mishka is a playwright, screenwriter and literary translator. Her texts have been created and developed in Canada, France, Switzerland, Germany, the United States, Australia, Mexico and Haiti. She wrote Cinéma, co-produced by Théâtre Catapulte and Théâtre Belvédère in 2015 and Vigile, produced by Théâtre Rouge Écarlate. She also wrote Havre, which premiered at the Troupe du Jour in September 2018. The play won the Governor General’s Award in 2019. Her play Copeaux, produced by Théâtre de Dehors in March 2020, also won the Governor General’s Literary Award 2021 and the Prix littéraire Jacques-Poirier 2021, and was a finalist for the Prix Marcel-Dubé 2021. Mishka also writes in English. Her play Albumen premiered at TACTICS in Ottawa in March 2019 and in Australia in July 2019 as part of the No Intermission Festival in Sydney. The play was awarded the QWF Playwriting Prize in November 2020. Her play Shorelines will premiere in Ottawa in spring 2023.
As a translator, Mishka has translated nearly twenty plays, prose, and poetry into both French and English.
Mishka is a member of CEAD and the Playwrights’ Guild of Canada. She is also an associate artist at Théâtre Rouge Écarlate since 2022.
Glenn Davidson is happy to return to TfT. He designed the set and lighting for the 2015 and 2018 editions of Les Zinspirés and other TfT productions such as Soirée Tchekhov, Lettres d’amour, Coeur de Chien, À toi pour toujours, Ta Marie-Lou, Albertine en cinq temps, and La Cantatrice chauve among others. Other projects include Undercover (Tarragon Theatre), Bombers (4th Line Theatre), Freud’s Last Session (Harold Green Jewish Theatre), and Tale of Two Cities (Tafelmusik). His worked has earned him two Dora Mavor Moore Awards, and he is a Pauline McGibbon Award recipient.
Duncan Appleton has been in the professional theatre world for over twenty-five years. As a designer, stage manager, and technician, he has worked in many cities across the country as well as onboard Celebrity Cruise’s ships. Since settling in Toronto in 1999, Duncan has been the Technical Coordinator of York University’s Theatre Glendon. He also teaches in Glendon’s Drama and Creative Arts Program. He has already collaborated with TfT, designing the set and projections for Les Zinspirés Cinq sur Cinq, and lighting for Les Zinspiré.e.s : Infiniment éveillé.e.s and Flush. Duncan has also collaborated extensively with Claude Guilmain and Théâtre la Tangente since 2011 on their multi award-winning productions of Comment on dit ça ‘t’es mort’ en anglais?, L’Implorante, Americandream.ca, and Entre deux mondes.
Benjamin Gibson is a multi-instrumentalist/composer/producer based in Hamilton, Canada. He works with acoustic and electronic textures in various genres, including dance, hip-hop, experimental classical and ambient music. After composing scores and sound design as a film student at Ryerson University, Ben moved to Europe to work on music, doing stints in Amsterdam and Paris. His band, Marienbad, was a live electronic duo that composed and performed disco and house music. He has performed at numerous venues in Toronto, including Mod Club, Lee’s Palace and Sneaky Dee’s. In recent years, Ben has turned to composing and sound design for live theatre. Ben’s musical influences include John Coltrane, Erik Satie, Madonna, Sonic Youth, M.I.A., DJ Screw, Brian Eno, and Aphex Twin.
With a degree in social studies and educational sciences, Mathieu’s first professional life revolved around his work as a specialized educator, while simultaneously pursuing a career as a musician.
After shifting his interest toward administration, he left France in 2020 to live in Toronto. Life being made up of encounters and the sharing of experiences, he was hired at the end of 2021 as Assistant to TfT’s Executive Director. This allowed him to return to the world of culture and entertainment. He discovered the incredible richness of the French-speaking community and now wants to become an active player in the preservation, growth and development of this beautiful family. Thanks to his commitment and motivation, he was trained by Théâtre Action to become TfT’s new production manager.
Patrick Lynn is a production manager and stage manager who grew up in Fredericton, New Brunswick. In 2017, they moved to Toronto to complete their Bachelor of Fine Arts at TMU in “Performance: Production and Design”. Previous projects include: Rehearsal Stage Manager, Cacao | A Venezuelan Lament, Victoria Mata Productions (2022); Production Manager, Sweeney Todd, Talk is Free Theatre (2022); Stage Manager, A Grimm Night, Transcen | Dance (2022); Production Manager, The House of Bernarda Alba, Aluna Theatre & Modern Times Stage Company (2022).