Indigenous cast shifts perspective from the male focus in fur trade to women’s power

 By Sam Laskaris  Local Journalism Initiative Reporter   A play with a comedic look at the Canadian fur trade of yesteryear has come full circle. Playwright Frances Koncan, a member of Couchiching First Nation in northern Ontario, wrote Women of the Fur Trade and initially mounted a production of it at the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival. It won the festival’s Best New Play contest. Since then the play has had successful runs in Winnipeg (2020), Stratford, Ont. (2023) and Ottawa earlier this year. Women of the Fur Trade is now gearing up for a run at Toronto’s Aki Studio from April 9 to April 21. “It’s really exciting,” said Koncan. “I think of Toronto as the biggest theatre city in Canada. It’s really nerve-wracking but exciting.” The Toronto production will feature…

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