The Bluffs follows Eleanor as she revisits her creaky bluff-side cottage, months after her wife’s horrific death in the lake below. The cottage is not as she remembers it, forcing Eleanor to contend with her reasons for leaving and the dark presence that now calls it home. A blend of gothic drama and classic horror, The Bluffs uses the beloved cabin-in-the-woods formula to remind audiences that ghosts don’t just appear, they are grown in our own homes.

Inspiration Note from Sarini Kumarasinghe (Playwright):

The play was inspired by my interest in examining the complex, contradicting layers of grief that come from mourning the death of a cruel partner. “How can I both miss them and be relieved by their absence?” The play follows three different people with varying relationships to the deceased, all of whom have had to put on a particular public mask to hide the truth of their complex grief. Stuck together in a Lake Muskoka cottage, they are all finally getting the chance to speak out and be heard by the only people that might understand them.

The play also is a criticism of societal views of strength in women. A lot of ‘powerful women’ in media are depicted as intense and headstrong - traditionally masculine traits of power. I want to challenge that characterization. In my own relationship with my mother, I have always been the iron fist to her open palm. It took most of my life before I stopped seeing her traditionally feminine kindness and empathy as weakness, and recognize that beneath it lay awe-inspiring resilience. It’s a different kind of power, twice as strong and half as respected. The play’s protagonist and her deceased partner represent two ends of this spectrum of masculine and feminine power, and I am using the play to critique both ends, encouraging the characters (and the audience) to recognize the importance of balance between them.

We are about to begin production for the show! If you are interested in being involved, please check out our instagram/facebook and send us a message - thank you!

HISTORY & OBJECTIVE of MIDTWENTIES THEATRE
The main objective of Midtwenties Theatre is to create theatrical plays that authentically embody the voices of midtwenties artists today who find themselves marginalised between classifications, and emerging-established identities. Whether that be through race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, or politics - Midtwenties aims to provide a space for these complex voices that do not fit in anywhere to speak truthfully, proudly, and without compromise through diverse forms of artistic expression that push the boundaries of what is otherwise familiar to the mainstream. The collective sharing and accessibility provided by theatre invites the audience to undergo transformation (whether that be in mindset or practise about one’s own relationship, family, or sense of self), which is catalysed through the sharing of uncompromising stories, authentically through collaboration.

In relation to The Bluffs, we expect the play to serve as a fresh approach to the dramatic theatre we tend to associate with for both narrative dramas on stage and fringe festival theatre shows. Through an integration of horror and light, we expect to bring about a freshness to how one feels and processes emotions of love and grief and introduce a fresh perspective on the gothic play. Through The Bluffs, Midtwenties also hopes to further develop itself as a safe space for quality theatre stories to be conjured and that provides artists with living wages and spaces to develop their special voices.

MANDATE

To create and showcase works that address contemporary stories and issues prevalent in the lives of contemporary youth through independent production of contemporary works created by young and aspiring artists of the millennial-era.

To explore themes that range from economic hardship and technological alienation, to mental illness and philosophical dilemmas and highlight the connection of these themes to real life.

To bring contemporary characters into the spatial realm of theatre, film, and performance.

To provide another opportunity to bring people together in an increasingly segregated world.

To one day be able to provide outreach, network, and volunteer programs that cater towards offering theatre and acting experiences to art-aspiring adolescents that struggle to find such opportunities. 

Midtwenties Theatre is very excited to be back with a new gothic-horror play for the ages - get ready for the THE BLUFFS by Sarini Kumarasinghe, which will be premiering at the 2024 Toronto Fringe Festival this summer!