Beth and her husband Jake are expecting a baby. While Beth is having an ultrasound, her very expensive hand-sewn Italian-made coat disappears from the hospital waiting room. Beth is furious–the coat which was a honeymoon gift from Jake has become a symbol of the couple’s destiny together and it’s loss now takes on inordinate significance. The next time they see the coat, it’s being worn by Doreen, a homeless woman who is mentally unstable. Beth is near-hysterical about the theft, feeling that her private life has been violated. She becomes paranoid that Doreen is stalking her and begins to fear for her unborn baby. In effect, Beth wants Doreen to disappear from the face of the earth. As the characters’ lives become more closely entwined, the line between reality and fiction blurs. We step into a shadowy world where fantasies erupt: people morph into other selves. They steal babies, prescribe hysterectomies, and kill one another. Each of them will have to confront the shadow side of themselves before being able to hear the song of the morning bird.
About the Author
Colleen Wagner studied visual arts at OCAD and literature at U of T and moves between the two art forms. Her plays include The Monument, which won a Governor General’s Literary award, The Morning Bird, Down from Heaven, which was nominated for a MECCA award for best new play, Sand, and Eclipsed. Her latest play, The Living, was inspired by travel to Africa. She’s written a number of screenplays including an adaptation of The Monument. Colleen teaches at York University and divides her time between a riverside farm in rural N.B. and Toronto.
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