Carlton theatre troupe fixed for haunting, handcrafted production
Committed to an asylum by her husband in 1790 after she became pregnant by another man, Mary Girard is strapped down with leather in a wooden chair. Her mind dances around and impersonates people from her past as her line between dream and reality is blurred while growing into her diagnosis.
This is the focal point of Liane Robertson’s 1996 The Insanity of Mary Girard, an engrossing fictional interpretation of a real event centred around the abuse of the mentally ill and the plight of women in the eighteenth century. It will come to life this March through Carlton Comprehensive High School’s Mad Hatter Theatre Company.
Drama teacher and artistic director David Zulkoskey is handing the reigns over to the students for the production, guiding them on how to craft nearly every aspect of the play from scratch.
“My goal is to inspire students,” Zulkoskey said. “We have an amazingly complex script to interpret here and a wonderful body of students that have initiative.”