"And in seventeen thirty-four a Negro slave set fire to the City of Montreal and was hanged..."

With this bald statement of history as a basis, Lorena Gale constructs a vivid portrait of a time when captive people had no say in the outcome of their lives.

A rich, poetic evocation of a graceful yet cruel time—a time when “civilized” citizens still bought and sold slaves. This is a time when the thoughts and feelings of these captive people had no bearing on the outcome of their lives, unless they were outraged and brave enough to try and shake their bonds. Angélique is the winner of the du Maurier National Playwriting Competition and was nominated Outstanding New Play in Calgary’s Betty Mitchell Awards, 1998.

Lorena Gale
Born in Montreal, Lorena Gale was an award-winning actress, director and writer. Her first play, Angélique, had its American premiere at the Detroit Repertory Theatre, and in New York, Off Broadway at Manhattan Class Company Theatre, where it was nominated for 8 Audelco Awards. Her most memorable stage performances include Normal Jean in The Coloured Museum, and Hecuba in Age of Iron at the Firehall Theatre, for which she received both a Jesse Richardson Nomination and Award.

She was the author of Je me souviens, published by Talonbooks in 2001. Je me souviens was nominated for three Jessie Richardson Awards in 2000: Best Actress, Best Direction and Best Production.

Lorena passed away in 2009.

Lorena Gale's profile page

"...a dynamic and emotionally powerful theatrical experience."

Jason Zinoman, Time Out New York

"Gale has fashioned a spare but powerful tale that thrusts the indignities of slavery and the stupidity of racism out of the murky 18th century and into the here and now."

Martin Morrow, Calgary Herald