Maritime fairytale comes to Rosebud

Times Reporter 

 

When one thinks Alberta one doesn’t think about the rolling seas and the high cliff walls of the ocean. But that is exactly what Rosebud School of the Art (RSA) student Amy Burks is hoping people will envision with her final student project ‘The Selkie Wife.’

The tale was written by playwright Mary J. Eden and was inspired by the ancient Irish folklore of the Selkie. The Selkie is a mythical creature that can shape-shift from a seal to a human. 

‘The Selkie Wife’ tells the tale of Driscoll Murphy, an Irish Canadian fisherman and his wife Muirin. 

“I was drawn to the relationship between Driscoll and Muirin. Their love ebbs and flows like a tide, and is ultimately something neither of them can hold on to,” said Burks in a press release.  

Burks felt empathy for Muirin, a woman who is struggling to find meaning in her life and turns to nature for some sort of relief. 

“I think she is a woman who is very real somewhere in all of us.”

Eden wrote the play for a playwright’s course at the Rosebud School of the Arts. RSA alumni, fellow students and a duo of live musicians will help Burks bring her production, and Eden’s words, to life on the Rosebud studio stage. The show will run for one hour beginning with a 7 p.m. show on Nov. 11. The following shows are Nov. 12 at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. and on Nov. 13 at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or in advance by calling 403.677.2015 or emailing seeingblindproductions@gmail.com. 

Due to the strong language of the play and some violent/sexual content, ‘The Selkie Wife’ is not recommended for children under the age of 18.