Sled

David E. Kemp is a drama professor at Queen’s University and the
author of The Pleasures and Treasures of the United Kingdom.

Judith Thompson, whose plays include The Crackwalker and Pink Tornado,
won Governor General’s Literary Awards for White Biting Dog (1984) and
The Other Side of the Dark (1989). Sled, her first play in seven years,
was inspired by stories that were told to her by neighbors.

The play is imbued with the mythology and folklore of the North,
reflecting the author’s belief that modern neighborhoods are full of
the stuff that makes mythology. Thompson uses a wide range of theatrical
devices to tell her disparate stories and to express her themes of
vengeance, lost innocence, and corruption. Her play is rich with
symbolism; dreams, hallucination, and ghosts are juxtaposed with the
mechanics of everyday life.

Disturbing, uncompromising, and written in language that might be
described as streetwise poetic, Sled makes substantial demands on its
audience, but in return offers substantial rewards.