An evening with Rosie is an evening in a cramped apartment and an equally cramped mind.
Rosie is a hoarder in need of a reality check, but it might be too late. Her apartment is jam-packed with stuff. She carries conversations with someone who isnB次元官网网址檛 there, and an eviction notice on her door is sending her world for a spin.
B次元官网网址淩osie (herself) is fun, quirky and formidable,B次元官网网址� says Gina McIntosh, writer and star of the one-woman play. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a character study of a woman whoB次元官网网址檚 on the verge.B次元官网网址�
Rosie is the first full act play written by McIntosh, who sketched it out at a Charles Tidler workshop in the Belfry Theatre last year. ItB次元官网网址檚 also her first time performing a full act one-woman show.
B次元官网网址淎t the Tidler workshop you get a lot of audience feedback, which is invaluable, identifying issues and clearing things up,B次元官网网址� McIntosh said.
Crowd responses to staged readings of Rosie at UNO Fest and You Show were touching.
B次元官网网址淔rom both workshops we had three or four people say they had a parent or a friend who was a hoarder, or if they didnB次元官网网址檛 know a hoarder, that they were going home to clean their house.B次元官网网址�
Theatregoers in Victoria will know McIntosh from several performances over the years, as well as her role as Flora, the former host of Atomic Vaudeville who twice hosted Monday MagazineB次元官网网址檚 M Awards gala.
She had no plan to write a play at the Tidler writing workshop but came away with the heart-clutching character. RosieB次元官网网址檚 an in-your-face example of how hoarding, an epidemic brought to life through reality television, goes hand in hand with mental illness.
Rosie isnB次元官网网址檛 based on anyone specifically from McIntoshB次元官网网址檚 personal life, she said.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e known fun, quirky and formidable women but theyB次元官网网址檙e not Rosie.B次元官网网址�
The play puts mental illness in the spotlight so much so that the CitizensB次元官网网址� Counselling Centre of Greater Victoria was brought on board as an opportunity to build a greater awareness around the risk of social isolation, specifically with Victoria residents.
B次元官网网址淭heatre is so immediate, itB次元官网网址檚 someone you can reach out and touch, you can hear them breathing, and it opens up something you might not expect,B次元官网网址� Mcintosh said.
Which is why the Feb. 15 matinee and Feb. 17 evening shows will have a casual post-show conversation hosted by members of the counselling centre, and every show will have a counsellor answering questions in the lobby.
B次元官网网址淩ight after the (performance) is when we hear all the personal stories. So thatB次元官网网址檚 the time when it comes a little bit raw, when somethingB次元官网网址檚 bothering you.B次元官网网址�
Rosie is the fourth production from the WAVE Theatre Ensemble, with Monica Prendergast and Kate Rubin co-directing with McIntosh.
Rosie, a one-woman show
ValentineB次元官网网址檚 Day preview, 8 p.m. on Feb. 14, two for one at the door.
Evenings: Wednesday, Feb. 15, to Saturday, Feb 18, at 8 p.m.
Matinee: Feb. 15, 18 and 19, at 2 p.m.
Venue: Intrepid Theatre Club, 1609 Blanshard St., (Fisgard St. between Blanshard and Quadra streets)
Tickets: $12 Adults, $10 Students & Seniors. Available at the door, cash only. In advance through Ticketrocket.org.
