Look! Can you see it? That bright streak across the sky, you can see it even in the daylight! Halley’s comet looms large in Lucy Kirkwood’s The Welkin, an emotionally driven and intense journey into womanhood through the lens of twelve women who suddenly find themselves thrust together to decide the fate of one of their own. Director Weyni Mengesha is solidifying her legacy at Soulpepper with this astounding production. Featuring some of the country’s greatest performers and a gripping text, 12 Angry Men has nothing on Kirkland’s The Welkin.

Julie’s Fox’s set design immediately brings but one word to mind: cavernous. The grey walls with seemingly no end, a single window providing muted light, and little else by way of furniture, our initial impression of the space is cold and empty. When it is finally filled with the characters, Michelle Tracey’s stunning costume design gets its chance to shine along with Fox’s set. With such a range of classes and stations in the room, the costumes go a long way to show the audience where these women have come from. All of this, along with Bonnie Beecher’s lighting design, makes you feel like you’re looking at a painting come to life; the colours of the women’s clothing juxtaposes beautifully against the dark tones of the wood and walls, and it all has a sense of depth you don’t often get on stage. Visually The Welkin draws you in, but you’re kept in its grasp by Kirkland’s captivating text.

The year is 1759 and Sally Poppy has been convicted of murder. Seemingly the whole town was there to watch her and her lover’s trial and they’ll be there to watch her hanging just as her lover has. However, during Sally’s defence she says she’s with child, and so a jury of matrons has been summoned to determine the validity of her statement. Twelve women, all of whom at least know of Sally, have been sequestered in an upper room of the courthouse to decide Sally’s fate, including Lizzy Luke, the local midwife. Though their impartiality was never directly asked for by the magistrate, it becomes clear over time that it should have been. Lizzie knows just about every woman in the room; she’s delivered their babies, or tried to help when they can’t conceive, she’s given them medicines for all kinds of ailments, and helped some of them find a good release for their more pent up humours. Despite this, the prejudices and convictions of the other women keep Sally’s future an uncertain one, unconvinced by what little evidence Lizzie and Sally can show them. Sally’s fate lies in their hands, the question is how many of them are willing to get blood on those hands.

Kirkland’s text not only puts women centre stage in a number rarely (if ever) seen, but it does so in a brutally honest way. The room becomes a safe place for these women to openly discuss the struggles they’re currently facing, or ones which still haunt them despite being in the past. There gets to be a sense of familiarity which comes with that level of frankness, both between the characters themselves and with the audience. One of the women makes a quip about how we know more about Halley’s comet and its orbit than we do about the female body, and the response from the audience was immediate: snaps filling the air as the truth of Kirkwood’s text rang through the room. It’s profoundly validating to have women’s experiences and opinions spoken about in such a bold way.

One of my favourite moments of this show, is the soundscape which is made by the women working. It starts off with the thud of a butter churn, and as each woman of the matron’s jury is shown doing their work, the beat grows stronger. They scrub, weave, beat carpets, all to their own rhythm. As they’re called before the magistrate, the cacophony slowly quiets to that initial butter churn heartbeat. The focus on domestic work and the expectations on women of all classes is beautifully embodied in this scene, not just through the soundscape itself, but through the small testimonies the women give as they take their oaths before the judge. Their worth is defined by their ability to bear children and what work they’re willing to do, and it asks us to question how much has truly changed.

Mayko Nguyen helms the cast of The Welkin as Lizzie Luke. Nguyen brings a strength of conviction to Lizzie which that character needs to navigate this situation. She’s matched in this ferocity by Bahia Watson’s Sally; Watson brings her special blend of vulnerability and gusto to Sally and its an honour to get to see her work. Olunike Adeliyi and Kyra Harper are both no-nonsense, funny, and shady ladies as Judith Brewer and Sarah Smith. While Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster and Foina Highet, and Ghazal Azarbad’s Emma Jenkins, Charlotte Cary, and Peg Carter are not going to let anyone forget how prim and proper they are. Nadine Bhabha and Annie Luján bring the much needed comedic relief to the production. Both Raquel Duffy and Hallie Seline have brilliant monologues which bring the house down. Brefny Caribou’s Mary Middleton is sweet and innocent, while Natasha Mumba’s Ann Lavender is quick and witty. Addison Wagman’s Katy and Alice are both darling, and I was delighted to see this fantastic young talent on stage again. These incredible women are joined on stage by Craig Lauzon and Cameron Laurie, who both represent power in their own ways. To say that this cast is stellar somehow feels like an understatement; their immense talent, their cohesion as a cast, and their passion which pours through each of their roles is undeniable.

The Welkin is not just about how things were, it’s about how things are: it is past, present, and future combined. Just as the comet appears to be making magic for the characters, these performers are making magic too, all while asking their audience “how much more will you take?” Look. Can you see it? That bright streak across the sky, or is it a smudge? Focus on that smudge, and it’ll all be over soon.

The Welkin plays in the Baillie Theatre in the Young Centre for the Performing Arts until October 5. For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.soulpepper.ca/performances/thewelkin

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Cover Photo: Pictured (L to R): Fiona Highet, Nadine Bhaba, Raquel Duffy, Hallie Seline, Olunike Adeliyi, Ghazal Azarbad, Natasha Mumba, Mayko Nguyen, Brefny Caribou ; Set Design by Julie Fox, Costume Design by Michelle Tracey, Lighting Design by Bonnie Beecher, Sound Design & Arrangements by Thomas Ryder Payne. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

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