True to its mission statement of bringing plays that are innovative and of social significance to the stage, Persephone pushes the envelope once more by presenting new Canadian work based on a true story, bringing to light the mystery of this strange man's life and the legend that surrounded him.
Jerome of Sandy Cove is a play about Canadian history, but also about community. Each character that comes into Jerome's life tries to help him but also attempts to define him. They fill in the blank of his past and identity. But as history has shown, how we define others is deeply rooted in how we define ourselves.
To accompany Jerome's journey will be original songs by Sarah Segal-Lazar, adding a soft folk soundtrack to this maritime-based story.
The mystery surrounds a man found near dead on a beach in Nova Scotia in 1863. Both his legs were amputated at the knee, and he could not speak. The only words anyone could discern sounded like the name "Jerome". For the rest of his life, the man callEd Jerome would move from home to home among the people of Nova Scotia. To this day we do not truly know where he came from or who he was.
The play explores not only Jerome's life after being saved, but also several fantasy theories on the kind of person he might have been before. The addition of original songs written and performed by Montreal favourite, Sarah Segal-Lazar makes this a kind of folk musical.
Persephone, dedicated to giving work opportunities to emerging artists, boasts a big cast for this production with graduates from several theatre programs in Montreal. Each cast member plays several roles in the piece, except for Zachary Creatchman (from Persephone's productions of Spring Awakening: The Musical and The Walnut Tree), who plays the titular character of Jerome.
Persephone welcomes Dawson College graduateDominique Nöel as well as Rahul Gandhi, AdrIan MacDonald, Kelly O'Toole, Ross Jay and Ilana Zackon from John Abbot College.Concordia grad, Natasha Perry-Fagant joins Persephone for the first time, hot off her Fringe Festival production of A David Lynch Wet Dream. Stage veteran Alex Goldrich(Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Harry the King) joins the cast with the final two members: Rob Brown and Angelo Vernucci who are also newcomers to Persephone.
On the production side, Rachel Germinario provides the costume design with Francis Lefort designing lighting and Isabelle Tremblay heading the team as stage manager. Persephone's own Artistic Director Christopher Moore is both playwright and director, with Sarah Segal-Lazar composing new songs that she will herself perform.
Persephone Productions is a Montreal based non-for-profit company providing work opportunities for emerging theatre artists. The company is committed to presenting plays that are innovative and of literary merit and social significance. In the past, they have presented a wide array of theatre genres, ranging from classic tales such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (META nominated for best ensemble) and Moby Dick to Broadway hits with Spring Awakening: The Musical (Wildside Festival, Centaur Theatre). Persephone Productions provides exposure and challenging, interesting work for talented emerging actors and other young theatre professionals in related fields such as set design, costume design, stage management, sound, lighting and music. For more, visit www.persephoneproductions.org.
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