Working as a single parent in an economic crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and attempting to navigate her child’s gender journey, Beth is forced to move into her mother’s basement and is frequently challenged by the idea of what a “good mom” looks like.
This is the plotline for the Great Canadian Theatre Company’s (GCTC) upcoming performance, Why It’s imPossible, performing from Jan. 21-Feb. 2.
Zoe Sweet in Why It’s imPossible. Photo provided.
“It’s a one-person show, told from the perspective of this single mother navigating not only her child’s journey with identity, but also her own identity as a parent, and her relationship with her own mother,” says director Evalyn Parry.
The production premiered this past fall at the Grand Theatre in Kingston. During the pandemic lockdown, playwright Sophia Fabiilli, performer Zoë Sweet, and current GCTC artistic director Sarah Kitz came up with the original idea.
Since Kitz began her role at GCTC, Parry has stepped in to continue work on the project. When Parry joined the team, the performance had a different title.
“The title changed a few times as we were nearing the end of the creative process and beginning to understand the script more fulsomely,” says Parry. “The crossing out of the ‘im’ was like that sensation of hope and possibility that we hope the show transmits in some way.”
Zoe Sweet in Why It’s imPossible. Photo provided.
While the story surrounds a mom’s journey with a transgender child, robust consultation with the trans community took place to reflect the authenticity and vulnerability of the script.
“[Sweet and Fabiilli] did a lot of community consultation in Kingston—they worked closely with this organization called TransFamily Kingston,” says Parry. “I think it became clear that although the story is written from the perspective of a parent, it is vital to give dignity and agency to the child in the story.”
As the play touches on various themes that reflect many present-day topics, Parry says it’s been exciting to direct a piece of theatre with an evolving topic.
“What I’ve been very impressed with on the part of the whole creative team has been peoples’ commitment to curiosity and openness and to change, and to really looking beyond first assumptions,” says Parry. “That’s one of the things that I think theatre at its best can do really well, because it’s not something that’s fixed in time—we have liveness on our side and that ability to keep refining the words and choices that we’re making as artists.”
Zoe Sweet in Why It’s imPossible. Photo provided.
Parry says this show is about a journey–that of a transgender child, of a single parent–as well as the notion of precarity and identity. However, she hopes the show sparks important conversations.
“I hope the show provides people with a new perspective, or perhaps a more nuanced understanding, if this is an area they haven’t thought a lot about,” she says. “It’s a really valuable perspective to bring to the stage, one that’s salient to the moment we are living in”
You can catch Why It’s imPossible at the GCTC from Jan. 21-Feb. 2, Tuesday-Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, and Sunday at 2pm. You can book tickets online, and check pricing on their website here. For more information about GCTC, visit them online.
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