New Stages is pleased to present a staged reading of Frances Koncan’s acclaimed satirical comedy, WOMEN OF THE FUR TRADE.

Strong language. Suitable for ages 14+.

Set in “18 hundred and something-something,” this playfully inventive story revolves around the lives of three women, Ojibwe, Métis, and British, all of whom speak in a 21st-century slang.

This is a sharp-witted, irreverent comedy that flips the script on the male-centric history of the Canadian fur trade. The playwright, Frances Koncan, found that every historical account of the fur trade was written by men, so she satirizes this erasure by featuring the perspective of unheard-from voices—three women during the time of the fur trade and the Red River Resistance.

WOMEN OF THE FUR TRADE is a must-see play that was a hit at the Stratford Festival in 2023 and has been featured at theatres across the country ever since, to rave reviews.

Directed by Patti Shaughnessy, WOMEN OF THE FUR TRADE boasts an all-star cast including Michelle Bardach (seen recently in Rez Gas in Port Hope), award-winning film actor Sera-Lys McArthur, and local legend Megan Murphy, featuring Mac Fyfe as historical figure Thomas Scott, and Chris Mejaki as the Métis leader, Louis Riel. The play is stage managed by Sarah Lazzarino.