Jessica B. Hill’s magnetic performance as the modern Greek goddess makes this solo work a master class in acting. See it before it closes.
Jessica B. Hill is another of our country’s gifted theatre artists. Get tickets to see her captivate an audience in memorable storytelling that resonates long after the curtain call.
Until November 16, 2025, at Stratford’s Here for Now Theatre, Hill plays a modern Pandora in a clever and astute telling of the Greek tale. While Pandora’s curiosity gets the better of her, she opens the box. Calamity then ensues. Pandora returns to tell the audience how deeply sorry she is for opening the box of troubles she calls ‘weasels’ and unleashing all the ailments in the world.
While aiming to shed light on the dark world we currently inhabit, Hill’s Pandora seeks to make sense of living in it but finds it challenging. Ultimately, her explanation of the true nature of the universe, as quantum physics collides, becomes captivating to watch and absorb. By the end of the one-hour runtime, Hill’s Pandora unites each of us in the audience to begin connecting across space and time. That connection becomes ever more vital as we each continue to move forward in an uncertain world.
If we remember our Greek stories, along with the troubles Pandora unleashed, we also remember that she let HOPE into the world.
HOPE becomes that connection each of us has to each other in the audience.
Designer jaymez’s stunning hybrid cinematic and theatrical vision takes my breath away. One must see the colours, lighting designs, and energy in person. Writing about it can’t fully capture the jaw-dropping experience. A tilted frame structure sits centre stage, with the triangular roof pointing towards the audience and the bottom pointing upstage. Two angled scrims frame Hill as she stands centre stage and tells Pandora’s story. The framed structure appears slightly tilted to the right, which only enhances the visual dramatic impact.
Under Rodrigo Beilfuss’s sensitive and intelligent direction, Hill moves with clear purpose, specific intent, and thoughtful reasoning. She never lets the monologue’s pace slow down or become sluggish. Rest assured, one does not need any background in quantum physics to fully enjoy this theatrical masterclass in acting.
Hill is personable and witty on stage. There are comical moments where she kibbitzes with audience members. There was one gentleman in the front row who thoroughly enjoyed the momentary banter.
What remains striking about this Ontario premiere opening night is how Hill conducts her performance like an intriguing TED Talk that audiences have clamoured to see. When she speaks and needs something to be projected, Hill skillfully and gracefully moves her hands towards the angled scrims, much like a magician, and the item appears. At one point, the item didn’t appear, but Hill didn’t allow that moment to faze her. Instead, she jokingly attributed it to the weasel, which caused that brief lapse. Complete delight and approval from the audience. It didn’t faze those sitting around me either.
Final Thought: When Pandora opened in Winnipeg, Hill had written in her playwright’s program note that the idea for this story stemmed from her time (and all the world’s) in deep lockdown. She reflected on the meaning of theatre and tried to name the intangible cost of what had been lost in the process.
What did Jessica realize?
An act of theatre needs an audience to exist. A play is different every time it is performed and every time an audience sees it. Until then, it’s just the possibility of performance in an empty space. Hill discovered these statements also applied to quantum physics. The similarities between art and science fascinate Hill. They give drastically different yet complementary lenses on what we call reality and how we see the world.
Thus, imaginations grow from these lenses and the reason why Pandora now exists.
On the car ride home, my guest said she wished she had instructors like Jessica B. Hill leading lectures and discussions. One may not get everything at first sitting, but if we had charismatic artists like Jessica B. Hill in the classroom, then learning would be far more attractive.
The classroom as theatre. Teachers have known this forever. Great learning can take place in any classroom setting just as theatre can take place in any setting.
This Pandora is terrific theatre. Please see it.
Running time: approximately one hour with no interval/intermission.
Pandora runs until November 16, 2025, at 24 St. Andrew Street, Stratford. For tickets: herefornowtheatre.com or (519) 272-4368.
HERE FOR NOW THEATRE presents
Pandora, written and performed by Jessica B. Hill
Directed by Rodrigo Beilfuss
Designer: jaymez
Stage Manager: Elizabeth McDermott
