“A craftily woven supernatural thriller of a story with suspenseful intrigue.”

Dedicated to telling a Canadian tale with intrigue and suspense that kept my interest piqued, co-artistic GFT director (and director of the play) Tyler Seguin has craftily woven a story of suspense with his committed trio of actors in this Toronto premiere of ‘Isle of Demons.’ The play closes out the 2024 summer season at Scarborough’s Guild Park and Gardens.

Written by Governor General Award-winning playwright Robert Chafe, ‘Isle of Demons' tells the incredible yet true tale of Marguerite de la Roque (Kiera Publicover). She accompanies her unseen guardian, the Sieur de Roberval, on his new appointment as the first Lieutenant Governor of New France.

Through timely exposition, we learn that Roberval discovers Marguerite’s passionate affair with a young officer, Eugene (Josh Johnston). During their affair, a furious Roberval abandons them, along with Marguerite’s nurse, Damienne (Helen Juvonen), on a remote island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 1542, known as the Isle of Demons.

This gripping and fascinating tale involves the hardships and dangers that the three face in the barren area of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Chafe’s script also imbues the text with shades of a supernatural thriller, which worked exceptionally well on this opening night. I hope it will continue to do so for the rest of the run.
For it to work well, the weather and theatre gods joined forces on this opening night regarding a literary term we all learned from our high school English class.

Whenever I see an outdoor production at Scarborough’s Guild Park and Gardens, I wonder if the weather will possibly add some dramatic tension. On this opening night, the weather and theatre gods did just that—they underscored the pathetic fallacy ever so subtly to heighten tension. This device also heightens the ghost story in the text.

Who remembers that term from their high school English classes? The literary/dramatic term pathetic fallacy involves the external weather conditions mirroring the characters' internal experiences.

How reasonable that the weather cooperated. The rustling leaves from the movement of the fading summer wind and impending dusk create an idyllic atmosphere for a gripping story with a hint of a ghostly tale intermixed. In his Programme Note, Director Seguin writes that Chafe’s gripping text is a testament to human endurance’s limitless potential. That it is, but there’s more, and Seguin has sharply carved out the play’s potential of grief and hope.

I always marvel at how the Guild Festival Theatre stages its outdoor productions. Each production I’ve seen creatively considers how to bring faraway places to local audiences. It’s all designed imaginatively, and the ‘Isle of Demons’ design team continues to live up to that standard.

Kalina Popova utilizes the elongated Guild Park Gardens and Amphitheatre stage to its full potential. Her set suggests the island's craggy, rocky terrain. Ashley Naomi Skye’s sound design is timely executed at specific points to heighten the suspense. As dusk approaches, Adam Walters’ lighting hues continue to elevate the characters' probable impending doom. Popova’s costume selections are appropriate sixteenth-century re-creations. The dark, earth-tone colours of Eugene and Damienne’s clothing juxtapose neatly with the whiteness of Marguerite’s dress that will soon absorb those same earth tones of dirt, grime, and filth.

Hardy performances keep the play’s pacing moving along and maintain interest.

As the young and impressionable heroine, Kiera Publicover’s Marguerite never ventures into histrionics in her ever-changing emotional state of grief and hope. There are several moments when the audience sees a fully fleshed woman who yearns for intimacy, and they are believably shown in her brief, sexually suggestive encounters with Eugene. A strong acknowledgment goes to Intimacy Director Leslie McBay for her work in staging these scenes.

As the handsome love interest, Eugene, Josh Johnston’s attraction to Publicover’s Marguerite becomes palpably believable and realistic. Without revealing too much, Johnston’s performance shines as the supernatural thriller element emerges before an unsuspecting Marguerite.

Helen Juvonen’s Damienne seems enigmatic at first. At the beginning of the play, she shares a great deal of exposition to establish any previous story context regarding Marguerite so that the plot can move forward. Juvonen smartly moves Damienne from becoming a mere conduit of information to an individual far more valuable to Marguerite.

Juvonen never ventures over the top in her dizzying emotional upheaval. She is upset because she feels abandoned on the island with Marguerite and Eugene. Damienne has far more to contend with regarding the two lovers. For one, she warns her young charge about the dangers of falling in love too quickly with the young man. Damienne then has to decide where the safest place to live on the island is.

A Final Thought: In his Director’s Note, Seguin again comments on Chafe’s script. While based on real events, one can only guess the truth of Marguerite’s experience on the Isle of Demons.

When an imaginative and creative director solidly understands how taking license can work to his advantage in storytelling, it makes for good theatre. Combining that with a dedicated production crew and focused actors intent on telling a good story also makes good theatre.

Guild Festival Theatre (GFT) continues hitting its mark in doing just that.

Go see “Isle of Demons.”

Running time: approximately one hour and 25 minutes with no interval/intermission.

‘Isle of Demons’ runs until August 25 at the Greek Amphitheatre at Guild Park and Gardens, 201 Guildwood Parkway, Scarborough. For tickets: email boxoffice@guildfestivaltheatre.ca or call 647-250-7438.

GUILD FESTIVAL THEATRE presents the Toronto premiere of
ISLE OF DEMONS by Robert Chafe

Directed by Tyler J. Seguin

Production Design by Kalina Popova

Lighting Design by Adam Walters

Sound Design by Ashley Naomi Skye

Leslie McBay - Intimacy Director

Kiera Doerksen Smith - Stage Manager

Performers: Kiera Publicover, Josh Johnston, Helen Juvonen.