Imago Theatre Presents the World Premiere of

The Flood

by Leah-Simone Bowen
Directed by Yvette Nolan
at the Centaur Theatre

In the basement prison below Toronto’s St. Lawrence Market at the end of the 19th century, two women named Mary, one a shunned, pregnant Irish immigrant, the other a vilified Mississauga woman, become an unlikely pair as they form a friendship. Their bond threatens fellow inmate Sophia who calls herself the first Black woman in Canada and the leader of the prisoners’ plots to use the women to gain better treatment for herself.

“Try, listen to the rain, let it clear everything out so
you can get back to the beginning. Now . . . what do you know?”
— Leah-Simone Bowen

Beautiful and brutal, The Flood gives voice to the little known stories of women prisoners in Canada, while examining our systemically racist justice system.

“When Yvette Nolan gifted me a copy of The Flood to read after a breakfast together in Saskatoon, I immediately wanted her to bring this exquisite story to life at Imago. The women who inhabit this play wrestle with a world that marginalizes and erases them. It exposes the struggles and inequities women still face and ends with awe-inspiring beauty and hope. The circle Yvette has created with the team in this process has been full of care and love and I can’t wait to extend that circle to our Imago audience.” – Krista Jackson, Imago’s Artistic Director

Schedule
Talkback guests for each show…

Thursday, February 15 – 7:30pm (Opening Night)
Dr. Jane McGaughey, Concordia University – Irish Studies

Friday, February 16 – 7:30pm
Laura Aguiar, Native Women’s Shelter Montreal

Saturday, February 17 – 2pm* & 7:30pm
Sheri Pranteau, First Peoples Justice Centre of Montreal (2pm)
Felice Yuen, Concordia University – Applied Human Sciences (7:30pm)

Sunday, February 18 – 2pm
Nora Demnati, Montreal-based prison lawyer, McGill – Faculty of Law

Wednesday, February 21 – 7:30pm
Marlihan Lopez, Simone de Beauvoir Institute, Cofounder of Harambec

Thursday, February 22 – 7:30pm
Johanne Wendy Bariteau, Advocate

Friday, February 23 – 7:30pm
Dr. Sarah Riley Case, McGill University Faculty of Law

Saturday, February 24 – 2pm** & 7:30pm
Janis Qavavauq-Bibeau, Activist and Podcaster (2pm)
Emer O’Toole, Concordia University – Irish Studies (7:30pm)

Sunday, February 25 – 2pm
Lisa Guenther, Queens University – Critical Prison Studies

*Mask-mandatory performance
**Relaxed performance, click here for more information.
All performances are presented with French surtitles

To purchase your tickets visit: www.centaurtheatre.com

Centaur Theatre
453 Saint Francois Xavier, Montreal
Metro Station: Place d’Armes