Kirjahaku

She's more than just a wicked old witch. Baba Yaga is a legend, usually known as that elderly woman who lives alone in the woods and grinds the bones of the wicked. But what if she was actually a sexy, smart, modern woman operating off of morally ambiguous motives? A detective finds himself in a small, isolated town asking, what does the disappearance of a young heir to a yogurt empire have to do with some random lore about an old witch? Matched by an apprehensive local sheriff, a university professor with a taste for younger men, and a whole cast of curious characters, the Slavic myth of Baba Yaga twists into a new labyrinth of secret lives, ancient magic, and multiple suspects. This genre-bending comedic fairy tale meets thrilling whodunit gives voice to an antihero of epic proportions while interrogating how her story has historically been told by men. From now on, you'll remember the name Baba Yaga for the right reasons.

In these two entwined, fast-paced plays, the hilarious goings-on behind the scenes of a controversial election chaotically unfold first at the fundraiser that will decide the party's nominee and then months later at a debate the night before the election. The top candidates for the Left are Bill Biszy, a gay Black man who's also the star of the Sharkman film franchise, and Heather Straughan, the tough woman who's still hampered by the public knowledge that her husband cheated on her many years ago. Both are the guests of honour at Butch Buchanan's fundraiser--whomever he decides to donate to will get the party's nomination, and will run against his brother, the leader of the Right. But so many things stand in Bill and Heather's way before the night ends. Many months later, when the final debate ends in the need for extreme damage control, it's clearly the worst time for everyone's secrets to be revealed, but what fun would it be without some election-day drama? With a large cast of frenzied characters and piercing dialogue, The Party and The Candidate will make sure you never look at politics the same way again.

As the young newlywed of King Henry II of France, Catherine de Medici thought her life at court would be a fascinating forum of political discourse. Instead, the palace is a cruel and disturbing place where her singular function is to be a baby-making machine for male heirs. Even the other women at her side, a scheming lady-in-waiting and the king's power-hungry mistress, seem to mostly fend for themselves. The only kinship she finds is with the paperback-romance hot, head-to-toe hairy wildman kept in the dungeon as one of the king's collection of caged oddities. His friendly and feral presence gradually awakens Catherine's own wild side, and once she unleashes it, no one is safe from her vengeful wrath. Based on the shocking true story that inspired Beauty and the Beast, Kat Sandler brings her trademark rapid-fire wit to this salacious saga of an infamous bad girl who could not be tamed. A viciously funny and sexy thrill ride, WILDWOMAN is about what happens when we let the monster out. Being bad never felt so good.

Duncan has always been a pretty boring guy, leading a simple life while working at a bread factory. Then he stumbles upon Brenda, a sad young woman who's about to end her life. Convinced he's fallen in love, Duncan strikes up a desperate deal: if he can get her to laugh, she'll give life another shot, but if she doesn't even giggle, he'll help her go through with her plan. There's just one catch: Duncan isn't funny. At all. So he borrows Pat, his second-favourite comedian, to help him come up with the perfect routine. But Pat is having a hard time mustering his sense of humour after a bad break-up, and the last thing he wants to do is teach a lonely loser the difference between knock-knock jokes and schadenfreude while chained to a typewriter. A tragicomedy of three misfits, Punch Up navigates a hostage situation and a life-or-death comedy lesson to show just how far we'll go for a laugh.