Theatre Off the Grid presents: Dustbowl Joan

I’d love to know if Two Planks and a Passion created “campfire theatre”, because if they did, they deserve an award. There is something so purely magical and so deeply satisfying about sharing a fire and a story underneath the starry skies. Part of the magic is in the fact that the story literally unfolds around the fire, with characters seated in the audience, and voices coming from the darkness. Dustbowl Joan is the story of Joan of Arc as told by a group of 1930’s itinerant workers, and the unconventional stylistic mash-up works beautifully. Jamie Konchak is luminous as the unwaveringly faithful Joan, and her singing voice seems tailor-made for Woody Guthrie’s folk harmonies. There is plenty of humour in the telling of this tale, but there is no escaping Joan’s tragic end which is portrayed in a beautifully poetic way. The night sky gives this production infinite stars. —Kate Watson