Persistence Theatre
  • Home
  • The Armine Nutting Gosling Statue in Bannerman Park
  • About Us
    • About
    • Staff & Governance >
      • Board Bios
    • In The News
  • Donate
    • Join the Ceiling Breakers Circle
    • Donate to PerSIStence
    • Persistence Supporters
  • Past Projects
    • 2017-2018 >
      • Isle of Demons (Sept 2017)
      • Pink Tie Gala (2017)
      • Offensive to Some (Dec 2017)
      • Women Playing Hamlet (Feb 2018)
      • Isle of Demons (April 2018)
      • Play Workshops
    • 2018-2019 >
      • Pink Tie Gala (2018)
      • Original (Nov 2018)
      • Offensive to Some (Jan 2019)
    • 2019-2020 >
      • The Abortion Monologues (2019)
      • Pink Tie Gala (2019)
      • The Haunting of Margaret Duley >
        • Teacher's Guide
        • Workshops with Edward Daranyi
      • Working with Respect Conference
    • 2020-2021 >
      • Original (2021) >
        • Programme
      • Offensive to Some (2021) >
        • Programme
      • What Hangs in the Balance (2021)
      • I AM A GENIUS DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW ME? (2021)
    • 2021-2022 >
      • Votes for Women 100
      • Pink Tie Gala (2021)
    • 2022-2023 >
      • The Abortion Monologues (2022)
      • 2022 Pink Tie Gala
    • 2023-2024 >
      • Stolen Sisters
      • Rainbow Tie Gala
      • Precariously Placed: Pandemic Monologues from the Edge
    • 2024-2025 >
      • Today I...
      • Year of the Arts Women's Play Festival >
        • Reviews & Recaps
        • Opening Night
        • Night Two
        • Night Three
        • Night Four
        • Night Five
        • Night Six
        • Night Seven
        • Night Eight
        • Night Nine
        • Night Ten
        • Night Eleven
        • Closing Night
      • Goodbye Glass Ceiling - An Election Night Celebration
      • 8th Annual Pink Tie Gala >
        • Pink Tie Gala Programme
    • 2025-2026 >
      • Raise Her Up - The Gosling Statue >
        • Raise Her Up: June 18
        • Project Newsletter Apr 2024
        • Armine Nutting Gosling Statue project updates
        • Donate to #RaiseHerUp
        • Purchase Statue Miniature
  • Blog
  • Contact & Location

Isle of Demons played September 27-30, 2017 at the Barbara Barrett Theatre

Picture
The story of Marguerite de Roberval – marooned for daring to love by a man motivated by greed. Abandoned in 1542 on an island off of Newfoundland, her lover, her maid and her newborn all succumb to the harsh conditions. Nevertheless, she persisted…
​
Isle of Demons was originally commissioned by Theatre Newfoundland Labrador and premiered at their Gros Morne Theatre Festival in 2004. It was performed by arrangement with Ian Arnold, Catalyst TCM Inc. 
Cast & Crew
  • Damienne  - Marie Jones
  • Eugene - Evan Mercer
  • Marguerite - Allison Kelly
 
  • Director - Jenn Deon
  • Stage Manager - Alix Reynolds
  • Production Manager - Mara Bredovskis
  • Costume Design - Melanie Ozon
  • Sound Design - George Robertson
  • Lighting Design - Mara Bredovskis
  • Set Consultant - Flora Planchat
  • Set Builder/Painter - Emily Austin
  • Assistant Stage Manager - El Patey
  • Stage Combat Consultant - Dave Walsh
Picture
​Emily Austin - Set Builder / Painter

Emily is originally from CBS, NL and has a BFA in Technical Theatre Production from Grenfell Campus, Memorial University. She specializes in scenic carpentry and painting with her recent work including Colony of Unrequited Dreams (2017 national tour) for Artist Fraud; Sound of Music and Dead Man Walking for Opera On The Avalon; Mamma Mia for Theatre St. John’s; and Dedication for the Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company.

Picture
Mara Bredovskis - Production Manager / Lighting Design
​

Originally from Hamilton, ON, Mara now calls St. John’s home. Credits include: Mamma Mia and The Little Mermaid (Theatre St. John's); Dead Man Walking, Sound of Music, and Ours (Opera on the Avalon); Between Breaths (Artistic Fraud); Circus Glorious and Bolt Out of the Blue (Wonderbolt Circus); Hunger (White Rooster Theatre); PROUD (Double-Sure Theatre Co-op); Spamalot (Atlantic Light Theatre), Give Me Back (skc originals); the Spring 2016 season as an assistant technical director at the Canadian Opera Company; and four seasons at the Grand Bank Regional Theatre.

Picture
Robert Chafe - Playwright
​

Robert has worked in theatre, dance, opera, radio, fiction and film. His stage plays have been seen in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and in the US, and include Oil and Water, Tempting Providence, Afterimage, Under Wraps, and The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (adapted from the novel by Wayne Johnston.) He has been shortlisted twice for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama, and he won the award in 2010. 2016 saw the premiere of his first opera, Ours (with composer John Estacio), and the release of his first book of fiction Two-Man Tent (Breakwater Books). He is the playwright and Artistic Director of Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland.

Picture
Jenn Deon - Director

​Jenn is a freelance theatre artist who has worked in St. John’s since the early 90’s. As artistic director with the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival from 1995-2015, she directed many of its productions over the years, including a female-driven production of The Taming of the Shrew (2014) and an all-female production of Much Ado About Nothing (2008).  In 2013 was honoured to be a recipient of a Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for her community involvement. She is a founder of and the producing artistic director with PerSIStence Theatre. More at jenndeon.ca.

Picture
Marie Jones - Damienne

​Hailing from Lac Ste. Anne County, AB, Marie's work in theatre has carried her across Canada and the US. At home in NL since 2012, she’s appeared with Artistic Fraud (Under Wraps), New Curtain Theatre (Leave of Absence), Rising Tide Theatre (Trinity Pageant, Dinner Theatre, West Moon, No Man’s Land, Harry Hibbs Returns), Double Sure Theatre Co-op (Proud, Village Wooing) Stephenville Theatre Festival (Director – Lig & Bittle, Island in the Sky) and the Women’s Work Festival (Curved). Marie holds a BA (Hons.) in Drama from the University of Alberta and is a graduate of George Brown Theatre School in Toronto.

Picture
 Allison Kelly - Marguerite

Allison is an actor from Gander, NL. She holds a BFA in Theatre from Memorial University, and a MFA in Acting from York University. Credits include: As You Like It, Our Country’s Good (Grenfell); Our Eliza, Macbeth, Taming Of The Shrew (Perchance Theatre); 1949, Neddy Norris Night (Gros Morne Theatre Festival); Henry 6 pts 1 & 2, Anitigone (Theatre at York); Pains of Youth, Love You Forever (c2c); The Drowning Girls (Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre); Saltwater Moon, No Man’s Land, Play Me Home, The Eyes of the Gull (Rising Tide Theatre); Tibb’s Eve (Mindless Theatrics). Allison has spent two semesters teaching acting at Memorial University, Grenfell Campus. Upcoming Allison will be performing in RCAT's production of Dedication.

Picture
Evan Mercer - Eugene

Evan Mercer is delighted to be a part of PerSIStence Theatre's inaugural production. An Actor from Shearstown Newfoundland Evan has been fortunate to have worked with many great theatre companies in the province such as Poverty Cove Theatre, Perchance Theatre, Rising Tide, and Theatre Newfoundland among others. Recently he appeared on his debut feature film Riverhead for which he was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award in the category of best actor in a supporting role. Evan would like to dedicate this performance to his mother and all the strong women in his life. 

Picture
Melanie Ozon - Costume Design

Melanie is a graduate of the CNA Textile Studies Program at the Anna Templeton Centre in St. John's. In addition to costuming, she is also working on a collection of tales based on life in a vibrant little city on the edge of the world. After much adventure and some living away, for the moment she lives in her native St. John's with her family.

El Patey - Assistant Stage Manager

El Patey is a 17-year old aspiring stage manager. They have worked on major school productions before, and this is their first professional theatre job. They’re incredibly grateful to PerSIStence Theatre to have this opportunity to work with such talented industry professionals in the crew and cast. El is in their last year at Holy Heart of Mary high school where they have been completing the Performing Arts Certificate, and will be studying theatre production next year at an as-yet-mysterious university. A massive thanks to their family and their school theatre director for encouraging their love for theatre.
Picture
Alix Reynolds - Stage Manager

Alix is a director, stage manager and producer hailing from St. John’s but currently residing in Edmonton, AB. A recent graduate of the University of Victoria’s MFA Theatre Directing program, Alix is thrilled to be back home to work with PerSIStence Theatre. Recent credits include: co-stage manager and costume designer Brazil Square: A Musical Play by Berni Stapleton; director Bend in the Road at The Edmonton Fringe Festival 2017; and director Gut Girls by Sarah Daniels (MFA Thesis) UVic’s Phoenix Theatre. Alix will be returning to PerSIStence Theatre in 2018 to direct their production of Women Playing Hamlet in February.

Picture
George Robertson - Sound Design

George has worked as an actor, musician, and sound designer (often simultaneously in two or three of these capacities) with many theatre companies in Newfoundland and Labrador, including Perchance Theatre, RCA Theatre Company, c2c theatre, Rising Tide Theatre Company, New Curtain Theatre, Open Theatre Company, Kanutu Theatre, Poverty Cove Theatre Company, Shakespeare By The Sea, Beothuck Street Players, Nothing On Productions, and others, as well as appearing in several locally produced film and television projects. He is thrilled to be joining a superb cast and crew for PerSIStence Theatre’s inaugural production.


Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

St. John’s is home to a rich, diverse, and vibrant urban Indigenous community. Located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Beothuk, the lands and waters in and around the City have traditionally served as a gathering place for the Mi’kmaq. The broader region of Newfoundland and Labrador continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. We honour and pay respect to the past, present, and future caretakers of these territories.

We also must acknowledge the labour theft extracted from people of African descent, used to build European wealth and economies globally, and in the Canadian nation state, including Newfoundland and Labrador’s shipbuilding and cod fishery industries, through the violence of trans-Atlantic enslavement.

We thank both First Light and the office of the Vice-Provost of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism at Memorial University for crafting and sharing these words that provide us with important perspectives.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Picture
  • Home
  • The Armine Nutting Gosling Statue in Bannerman Park
  • About Us
    • About
    • Staff & Governance >
      • Board Bios
    • In The News
  • Donate
    • Join the Ceiling Breakers Circle
    • Donate to PerSIStence
    • Persistence Supporters
  • Past Projects
    • 2017-2018 >
      • Isle of Demons (Sept 2017)
      • Pink Tie Gala (2017)
      • Offensive to Some (Dec 2017)
      • Women Playing Hamlet (Feb 2018)
      • Isle of Demons (April 2018)
      • Play Workshops
    • 2018-2019 >
      • Pink Tie Gala (2018)
      • Original (Nov 2018)
      • Offensive to Some (Jan 2019)
    • 2019-2020 >
      • The Abortion Monologues (2019)
      • Pink Tie Gala (2019)
      • The Haunting of Margaret Duley >
        • Teacher's Guide
        • Workshops with Edward Daranyi
      • Working with Respect Conference
    • 2020-2021 >
      • Original (2021) >
        • Programme
      • Offensive to Some (2021) >
        • Programme
      • What Hangs in the Balance (2021)
      • I AM A GENIUS DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW ME? (2021)
    • 2021-2022 >
      • Votes for Women 100
      • Pink Tie Gala (2021)
    • 2022-2023 >
      • The Abortion Monologues (2022)
      • 2022 Pink Tie Gala
    • 2023-2024 >
      • Stolen Sisters
      • Rainbow Tie Gala
      • Precariously Placed: Pandemic Monologues from the Edge
    • 2024-2025 >
      • Today I...
      • Year of the Arts Women's Play Festival >
        • Reviews & Recaps
        • Opening Night
        • Night Two
        • Night Three
        • Night Four
        • Night Five
        • Night Six
        • Night Seven
        • Night Eight
        • Night Nine
        • Night Ten
        • Night Eleven
        • Closing Night
      • Goodbye Glass Ceiling - An Election Night Celebration
      • 8th Annual Pink Tie Gala >
        • Pink Tie Gala Programme
    • 2025-2026 >
      • Raise Her Up - The Gosling Statue >
        • Raise Her Up: June 18
        • Project Newsletter Apr 2024
        • Armine Nutting Gosling Statue project updates
        • Donate to #RaiseHerUp
        • Purchase Statue Miniature
  • Blog
  • Contact & Location