For the annual celebration of International Women’s Week, Sarasvàti Productions is once again showcasing local Winnipeg talent in the always-engaging Cabaret of Monologues.

Running from March 2 to 8, the cabaret will be touring Manitoba with two Winnipeg shows on March 7.

The cabaret’s tour co-ordinator, Brooklyn Kilfoyle, is excited for audiences to see the variety of talent and performances at this year’s iteration.

“Don’t expect to be bored,” Kilfoyle said.

“We have some [monologues] that are comedic, some that are very serious. Even the ones that are dealing with more serious topics even have a little bit of comedy in them just so you can kind of relate. And so many of these topics are things that, women especially, have to deal with on their day-to-day.”

This year’s cabaret consists of eight monologues — plus a bonus piece by drag artist Petty Davis for the two Winnipeg shows — with each performance by different female-identifying performers ranging from five to 10 minutes. The performances themselves are completely diverse.

“We have […] a deaf performer who is doing mime, a stand-up comedian, a spoken word poetry [performance] and musical performer,” Kilfoyle said.

“Every piece is different and unique in their own way and each one is good. You’re not going to go into it thinking that it’s all one tone. Everyone can relate to one monologue or the other in some way.”

Better yet, all the talent is local, featuring Winnipeg performers and entertainers Renée Hill, Saira Rahman, Lizzie Knowles, Taesia Scratch, Wanda Wilson, Joanna Hawkins, Kristen Einarson and Sadie-Phoenix Lavoie.

“This year half [of the cabaret] is traditional monologues and half is performers who have written and are performing their own pieces,” Kilfoyle said.

Moreover, even the monologues that haven’t been written by local talent are written by Canadian playwrights, making the performances truly of the Canadian female experience.

As for the theme, this year’s cabaret is all about “changes” — from climate change to changes in society that affect women, to personal changes within women.

“We have a monologue about pro-choice and the right to terminate pregnancy, which is obviously very topical right now,” Kilfoyle said.

“There’s a monologue about a woman who just had a baby and she’s having postpartum depression, so that’s her own personal change.”

Though these are stories centred on the female experience, Kilfoyle emphasized that the topics covered in the cabaret are relatable across all genders and lifestyles.

“It is a Cabaret of Monologues for International Women’s Week, but anyone can come — men, non-binary folks — it’s not just exclusive to female-identifying people,” she said.

“The stories are still interchangeable to any gender, to any person that comes to see it, any age range. You will find something that you relate to and you will enjoy it. […] It’s not just for women.”

 

For more information about the Cabaret of Monologues, go to sarasvati.ca.