Dr. Taylor Marie Graham: the Post Alice Play
Post Alice has taken Dr. Taylor Marie Graham on a remarkable journey. In many ways, it has been the most collaborative play she has ever written. She first worked with her cultural consultant, Terre Chartrand, an Indigequeer Omámi Ininiwak (Algonquin), French, and Welsh artist, in 2021 when Here For Now Theatre in Stratford presented the play’s first iteration. More recently, she collaborated with Andrea Skinner, Alice Munro’s daughter, whose insights helped shape this new version being produced by Matchstick Theatre and Lunasea Theatre in Halifax. Both collaborators were instrumental in revealing and deepening the play’s layers and complexities.
Dr. Graham began writing Post Alice out of her experience growing up in what is often referred to as “Alice Munro Country,” or Huron County. She found herself reflecting on her own understanding of the region alongside Munro’s portrayal of it. Interested in interrogating the settler origin story of the area, she sought to work with Indigenous community members to complicate and challenge this colonial perspective. At the same time, she wanted to celebrate the hilarious, resilient, and deeply complex rural women she knew growing up, imagining a gathering around a Huron County fire where they could confront the ghost stories of their own pasts.
When Dr. Graham read about Andrea Skinner’s revelations in the Toronto Star in 2024, she was both surprised and unsurprised by what Munro and Fremlin had left in their wake. The stories Skinner shared resonated with experiences Dr. Graham had witnessed while growing up in Southwestern Ontario, and Post Alice already engaged directly with the difficult subject of child abuse. In the immediate aftermath of reading Skinner’s article, she questioned whether the play should ever be staged again.
Because harm reduction is a principle that Dr. Graham considers deeply important, she asked Matchstick Theatre and Lunasea Theatre for time to reconsider the play and determine what it should become in light of Skinner’s truth. She reached out to Andrea Skinner and was surprised by her immediate willingness to engage in conversation. The two worked together throughout the revision process, with Skinner offering feedback as Dr. Graham edited the script. For Dr. Graham, it felt important not to retreat from the subject out of fear, but rather to engage directly with the difficult conversations it demanded. Skinner’s generosity, insight, and openness provided a source of hope and light throughout the writing process. Dr. Graham also credits the artistic team currently exploring this new version in Halifax as an extraordinary group of creators. The depth and complexity they continue to uncover and bring to the surface are, in her view, truly remarkable. She remains inspired by their artistry and profoundly grateful for the opportunity to be part of the process.
Listen to her radio interview on CBC.
Website: Post Alice – TAYLOR MARIE GRAHAM
Joannie St-Germain B.Sc. ’16, M.Sc. (she/her/elle)
Research Officer
Office of Research and Graduate Studies
819-822-9600 ext. 2242
