Windsor Feminist Theatre presents: Letters to Grace

Windsor Feminist Theatre is setting the stage for a new play later this month.

On March 24, the play Letters to Grace is set to open at the Water’s Edge Event Centre at 2879 Riverside Dr. E. It is an adaptation of the book Amazing Grace by Marty Gervais. Gervais was the City of Windsor’s first poet laureate and
currently holds the title of Poet Laureate Emeritus.

The show is a series of monologues based on letters from nurses to Grace Hospital during World War II. The monologues are pieced together through the character of Captain Gladys Barker, played by actress Kianna Porter, reading and receiving each piece.

Grace Hospital was Windsor’s second general hospital. Originally established in 1918, the hospital closed Feb. 1, 2004.

Porter said this show is a great insight into the world of nurses during the war.

“This one is a wonderful story,” said Porter. “And because it’s a true story, I feel like it’s a little more heartfelt because you get to see what these nurses went through.”

According to actress and stage manager Alex Hagen, the cast rehearsed primarily over Zoom.

“So as of right now, it’s all been over Zoom,” said Hagen. “Every read through has been through Zoom, which is just the normal for this pandemic.”

Hagen said the cast met for their first rehearsal on Sunday, touring the venue before practicing outside in the parking lot.

Windsor Feminist Theatre raised $6515 on Kickstarter for the production and plans to use most of those funds to pay their artists.