The Testament of Mary

Colm Tóibín

Playwright

Colm was born in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford in 1955. He studied at University College Dublin and lived in Barcelona between 1975 and 1978. Out of his experience in Barcelona be produced two books, the novel ‘The South’ (shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award and winner of the Irish Times/ Aer Lingus First Fiction Award) and ‘Homage to Barcelona’, both published in 1990. When he returned to Ireland in 1978 he worked as a journalist for ‘In Dublin’, ‘Hibernia’ and ‘The Sunday Tribune’, becoming features editor of ‘In Dublin’ in 1981 and editor of Magill, Ireland’s current affairs magazine, in 1982. He left Magill in 1985 and travelled in Africa and South America. His journalism from the 1980s was collected in ‘The Trial of the Generals’ (1990). His other work as a journalist and travel writer includes ‘Bad Blood: A Walk Along the Irish Border’ (1987) and ‘The Sign of the Cross: Travels in Catholic Europe’ (1994). His other novels are: ‘The Heather Blazing (1992, winner of the Encore Award); ‘The Story of the Night’ (1996, winner of the Ferro-Grumley Prize); ‘The Blackwater Lightship’ (1999, shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Prize and the Booker Prize and made into a film starring Angela Lansbury); ‘The Master’ (2004, winner of the Dublin IMPAC Prize; the Prix du Meilleur Livre; the LA Times Novel of the Year; and shortlisted for the Booker Prize); ‘Brooklyn’ (2009, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year). His short story collections are ‘Mothers and Sons’ (2006, winner of the Edge Hill Prize) and ‘The Empty Family (2010). His play ‘Beauty in a Broken Place’ was performed at the Peacock Theatre in Dublin in 2004. His other books include: ‘The Modern Library: the 200 Best Novels Since 1950’ (with Carmen Callil); ‘Lady Gregory’s Toothbrush’ (2002); ‘Love in a Dark Time: Gay Lives from Wilde to Almodovar’ (2002) and ‘All a Novelist Needs: Essays on Henry James’ (2010). He has edited ‘The Penguin Book of Irish Fiction’. His work has been translated into more than thirty languages. Three books on his work have been published: ‘Reading Colm Toibin’, edited by Paul Delaney (2008); ‘Mother/Country: Politics of the Personal in the Fiction of Colm Tóibín’ by Kathleen Costello-Sullivan (2012); and Eibhear Walshe’s ‘A Different Story: The Writings of Colm Tóibín’ (2013). He has received honorary doctorates from the University of Ulster, University College Dublin, the University of East Anglia and the Open University. He is a regular contributor to the New York Review of books and a contributing editor at the London Review of Books. Between 2006 and 2013 he was a member of the Irish Arts Council. He has twice been Visiting Stein Writer at Stanford University and has also been a visiting writing at the University of Texas at Austin. He taught at Princeton from 2009 to 2011 and was Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Manchester in 2011. He is currently Mellon Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia and Chancellor of Liverpool University. He is President of Listowel Writers Week and a member of the Board of Druid Theatre.

His second collection of stories ‘The Empty Family’, published in 2010, was shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor Prize. His book of essays on Henry James ‘All a Novelist Needs’, appeared also in 2010.

In 2011, his play ‘Testament’, directed by Garry Hynes, was performed at the Dublin Theatre Festival with Marie Mullen in the lead role. Also in 2011, his memoir, ‘A Guest at the Feast’ was published by Penguin UK as a Kindle original. In 2012, ‘New Ways to Kill Your Mother: Writers & Their Families’ was published, as was his edition for Penguin Classics of ‘De Profundis and Other Writings’ by Oscar Wilde.

Also, in 2012, his novel ‘The Testament of Mary’ was published and short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. In April 2013, ‘The Testament of Mary’ opened on Broadway, with Fiona Shaw, and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. In 2013 it was released as an audiobook with Meryl Streep.

Colm Tóibín’s novel ‘Nora Webster’, published in 2014, won the Hawthornden Prize, and his ‘On Elizabeth Bishop’, published in 2015, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism. His ninth novel ‘House of Names’ appeared in 2017. In May 2017, he co-curated ‘Henry James and American Painting’ at the Morgan Library’.

Trevor Schmidt

Director, Set & Costumes

Trevor is the Artistic Director of Northern Light Theatre as well as a performer, designer of set and costume, a published playwright and a multiple award winner. He has been awarded twice for playwrighting (THE WATERMELON GIRLS, and CHANGE ROOM),for directing the Canadian premieres of Carol Anne Duffy’s THE WORLD’S WIFE and Sean Graney’s THE 4TH GRADERS PRESENT AN UNNAMED LOVE-SUICIDE and the outstanding production award for the Canadian premiere of Elise Forier Edie’s THE PINK UNICORN. For Guys In Disguise, where he is an Artistic Associate, he has also performed the one-man show COFFEE DAD, CHICKEN MOM, AND THE FABULOUS BUDDHA BOI, penned by Nick Green in New York as part of the FRIGID FESTIVAL for which he also received the award for Outstanding Performance, and the Outstanding New Fringe Play (co-written and created with Darrin Hagen) for FLORA & FAWNA’S FIELD TRIP (both at the Sterling Awards), and Outstanding Touring Production at the Critic’s Awards in Calgary. Also for Guys In Disguise, he received an Orlando Fringe award for his performance for Bette Davis in the much-lauded BITCHSLAP.

Holly Turner

Mary

Holly trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse and performed in New York and regional theatres before moving to Edmonton. After a career in law, Holly has performed with Northern Light Theatre, the Freewill Shakespeare Festival, L’Uni Théâtre, the Citadel, and Wishbone Theatre. Her Fringe performances in The Year of Magical Thinking and Love Letters were particularly well received. She received a Sterling nomination for her performance in the NLT production of Testament of Mary. Thanks to Don for his unfailing support.

Adam Tsuyoshi Turnbull

Lighting Design & Production Manager

Adam is a multi-talented technician and theatre designer who works in set and lighting design and construction. He is sought-after as an artistic collaborator and his work has been seen on the stages for Northern Light Theatre, Shadow Theatre, Teatro la Quindicina, Fringe Theatre Adventures, L’UniThéâtre, Theatre Yes, multiple high school and performing arts groups, as well as trade shows and conventions. He has served as Production Manager and Site Technical Director for North America’s largest Fringe Festival, currently serves at the Technical Director and Production Manager at Northern Light Theatre. He is a multiple nominee for Sterling Awards.

Jenn Best

Stage Manager

Jenn has recently relocated to Red Deer so she could spend more time on Highway 2 and share a mortgage with her husband. She is thrilled that Northern Light Theatre gave her an opportunity to visit her friends in Edmonton. Her other Stage Management credits include:  THE TESTAMENT OF MARY, SISTER SISTER, and WISH (Northern Light Theatre), SOLICITING TEMPTATION, FLIGHT OF THE VISCOUNT, JACK GOES BOATING, FOOL FOR LOVE, LITTLE ELEPHANTS, and GRACE (Shadow Theatre), BURNING BLUEBEARD (Edmonton Actors’ Theatre), 10 OUT OF 12 and THE REALISTIC JONESES (Wild Side Productions, IN THE NEXT ROOM, THE CLEAN HOUSE, DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES, and 4:48 PSYCHOSIS (Trunk Theatre).

She has lived out of her suitcase for several seasons, touring the gay hip-hopera BASH’d, running up and down hills for the Canadian Badlands Passion Play, and snake wrangling for the good people at the Rosebud Centre for the Arts.

Jake Tkaczyk

Assistant Director

Jake is an Edmonton-based theatre artist with a passion for creating new and engaging work collaboratively. He graduated from the BFA Acting program at the University of Alberta and is currently in the midst of his PhD in Creative Practice from the Transart Institute and Liverpool John Moores’ University. Also a graduate of Red Deer College’s Theatre Performance and Creation program, Jake has worked as an actor, director, creator, and educator in central Alberta. Jake had the extreme pleasure of working as an Artist Intern at Northern Light Theatre for a few years and he Assistant Directed NLT’s production of THE TESTAMENT OF MARY. His selected acting credits include: FLORA AND FAUNA HAVE BEAVER FEVER (and so does Fleurette!) (Lunchbox Theatre), MR BURNS, a post-electric play (Blarney Productions/You are Here), 10 FUNERALS, LUNGS (Shadow Theatre), THAT’S DANGER! (Alberta Workers’ Health Centre), CRACK IN THE MIRROR, WITH BELLS ON, DON’T FROWN AT THE GOWN (Guys in Disguise), URINETOWN (Grindstone Theatre), YOU’RE A GOOD MAN CHARLIE BROWN! (Opera Nuova). Directing and creating credits include: WHITE GUY ON STAGE TALKING, BEDEUTUNG KRANKENWAGEN, POST, LIKE, SHARE – BEWARE!, THE BIG FAT SURPRISE, ALL PROCEEDS GO TO:, and PRIDE AND PRE-JEU-DICE (Innocent Operations), THE LAND THAT ART FORGOT, and DEVOUR CONTENT HERE: OF LOVE AND WHEAT (Kristine Nutting). Jake has taught workshops for The Citadel Theatre’s Foote Theatre School and Grindstone Theatre, as well as guest instructing at Augustana University. Jake was previously employed as Theatre Alberta’s Program Coordinator and the Program Manager at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity. Jake recently received the AFA Young Artist Prize and is the current General Manager at Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre.

Everett Sokol

Assistant Director

Everett has had the passion to be a director from the time he was in grade 8. After training as an actor, Everett made the transition to production, to become a producer, writer, director. Currently in his final year of the Red Deer College Degree program, Everett is practicing his talents as a film director and writer. He has written and directed projects such as, The Dancer, Pack Your Bags, and Yardwork. Simultaneous to being in school, Everett is in development for his first feature film. Recognizing the under representation of aboriginal creatives in the film community, Everett aims to better balance the demographic of indigenous creatives in the world of film.