The Red Horse is Leaving by Erika Badorf March 22, 2007

Erika Batdorf presents her newest one-woman show, The Red Horse is Leaving at the Theatre Centre opening March 22nd until April 8th. Based on the journals of Thaya Whitten, a Nova Scotian painter, performance artist and musician, The Red Horse is Leaving travels through the dangerous territory of creative inspiration, sacrifice and clinical madness in the pursuit of artistic excellence and beauty.

Directed by Todd Hammond with dramaturgy by Iris Turcott, and charged by Erika Batdorf's poignant physicality, quirky dialogue and disarming humour, this production gives the audience an intimate view of someone who is plagued (or blessed) by visions and struggles to distinguish inspiration from delusion. Along this journey we watch an intensely painful and joyful battle with prescription drugs, addiction, isolation, and manic-depression in the pursuit of something truly beautiful.

Thaya Whitten herself was a abstract painter who incorporated her own musical notation directly into her paintings. Referred to as a “controversialist”, she toured university campuses doing performance art before the form was widely understood. Thaya Whitten was also Erika Batdorf's mother.

Erika Batdorf is a theatre artist who has been creating, performing, directing and choreographing original theatre internationally since 1983. Her last solo performance Poetic License, garnered three Dora nominations and was the only performance from the America’s at the 7th Women Playwrights International Conference in Jakarta in November 2006. This past year Erika also performed the workshop version of The Red Horse is Leaving for Rhubarb! at Buddies in Bad Times, and in Michigan, Mexico and CanStage, where she is currently an associate playwright. Recently she co-created and directed the hit production Gorey Story.

DATES: March 22 - April 8th
TIMES: Thursday - Saturday 8:00pm Sunday 2:00pm
TICKET PRICES: Regular $20, Students, Seniors $15, Groups $10 Sundays PWYC
VENUE: The Theatre Centre (1087 Queen Street West, At Dovercourt)

Ticket can be purchased at T.O. Tix by phone at1-888-222-6608, on the web www.totix.ca, in person at the T.O. Tix booth at Yonge and Dundas Square or at door.

For more information on The Red Horse is Leaving or Erika Batdorf visit www.batdorf.org.

Official Website: http://www.batdorf.org