The Philosopher's Wife

To escape the religious massacres raging in the South of this unknown Empire, Tereza and Thomas, a dog trainer and an opium eater, flee deep into the North to find an infamous Philosopher who is offering a hefty sum to anyone who can tame the violent wildness that has overtaken his home (and marriage). What begins as an experiment in ‘canine obedience’ quickly mutates into a darkly comedic expose of our society’s obsession with power - wildly subverting our notions of cilvilization, sex, class, freedom, and submission. In the wake of #metoo Susanna Fournier’s The Philosopher’s Wife, unleashes our most primal urges in a contentious reckoning with the animal within.

Starring Susanna Fournier as The Philosopher; Chala Hunter as The Wife; Aviva Armour-Ostroff as Tereza and Danny Ghantous as Thomas; directed by Leora Morris; Set Design by Triga Creative’s Shannon Lea Doyle; Costume Design by Triga Creative’s Alexandra Lord; Lighting Design by Kaitlin Hickey; Sound Design by Christopher Ross-Ewart - Paradigm Productions at Aki Studio Theatre, 2018.

“Director Leora Morris and her design team (set by Shannon Lea Doyle, costumes by Alexandra Lord, lighting by Kaitlin Hickey and sound by Christopher Ross-Ewart) work in tandem to create an uncannily familiar setting, a bare bones stage with threatening accents: a large hanging hook, austere shadows and an in-the-round setup that leaves the space surrounded by darkness on all sides.” - Carly Maga, The Toronto Star, Dec 10 2018

“There’s a foreboding image of Hunter’s Wife standing centre stage on a chair, with a hook … hanging directly above her head (Triga Creative’s set and costume design, as with the other design aspects … is truly impressive).” - Steve Fisher, My Entertainment World, Dec 13, 2018