Geneviève Steele as Delilah Bennett. Photo by Stoo Metz
The Eastern Front Theatre production of Katerina Bakolias’ play The Ghost of Violet Shaw is playing until May 24th at Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Theatre directed by Kat McCormack, and it is a hilariously zany star turn for Geneviève Steele.
Set in a queer pastiche of the Victorian Era that simultaneously feels like the past and the future we are introduced to grieving widow Deliah Bennett, a legendary diva of the stage who is adamant that her spooky manor is being haunted by the ghost of her late wife, fellow performer Violet Shaw. She also believes that her maternal line has been cursed, and she won’t allow her daughter, Rose, who is in medical school, to wed before the curse is broken. The stakes are higher than she imagines because Rose has a secret lover, Vic, who wants to marry her. When Violet’s nephew Edward arrives at the house under nefarious circumstances pandemonium erupts with ghostly apparitions and threats of murder.
Brenda Duran’s scenic design and Diego Cavedon Dias’ costume design are both spectacular, especially the set of such magnitude and incredible detail engulfing the small stage in the Studio Theatre. Duran and Cavedon Dias work so beautifully together to really root the audience in this very specific world, as well as the ambiance of a gothic farce. There is an ongoing theme of an excess of plushness in this world too. The sofa is hilariously crammed with throw pillows to the point that there is much fun had in watching the characters trying to jam their bodies amongst them for a tiny bit of space. Katerina Bakolias’ Rose and James Arthur MacLean’s Vic are both dressed in especially colourful detailed costumes that capture both an ostentatious wealth and a deep creative flair inherent to both of their theatrical lives. Geneviève Steele’s dress reminds me of an even more outlandish version of Cloris Leachman’s costume for the Witches’ Gathering in Double Double Toil and Trouble (1993), one of my favourite Halloween movies from my childhood. The set is full of magical elements that bring the ghostly aspects to life, and it works so well as both the haunted house and the typical farce set, with many doors, windows, a large staircase, and surprise exits to keep the actors running, hiding, and slamming doors.
Katerina Bakolias has created a very fun premise in this play, with twists and turns that are original and unexpected, and characters who are very likeable in their wackiness. I particularly loved the seance scene where Rose, Edward, and Vic work together to try to convince Delilah that the “family curse” has been broken and things go deliciously awry. There’s a bit of room to raise the stakes a little bit. I wanted Edward to have a bit more malevolence to him (even if it came more from desperation than wickedness), and for the comedy of errors to not be at the expense of Edward and Rose’s intelligence. Rose especially seems too smart and practical to be easily misled, and I wondered if there were ways to further complicate how she is able to process all the various shenanigans going on in her house while still keeping the comedy in tact.
Nathan D. Simmons is Edward, the scheming and hapless nephew, and despite his outwardly congenial demeanour we do get a great sense of urgency from him in terms of the danger that is hot on his heels that sets the action of the play into motion. Jeff Schwager plays the villain of the play, Baxter, and he really captures the sinister nature of the street tough, and brings so much hilarious physical comedy and prowess to the role. His impeccable timing and nuanced control over the ways his body can move brings a Looney Tunes sensibility to his scenes where Baxter is akin to a thwarted Sylvester. James Arthur MacLean plays Vic, another actor with a gargantuan personality, who idolizes Delilah, but I really enjoyed the more grounded nuanced moments that Vic had with Rose where we see that their feelings for her are genuine, and we are given a clearer sense of what might have attracted Rose, who is often frustrated by her mother’s flamboyance, to fall in love with someone who can be just as outrageous. MacLean is exceptional in the seance scene, and his costume is one of the most hysterical visual effects I have seen onstage in a really long time.
Katerina Bakolias is extremely likeable as Rose, an ambitious medical student grieving the loss of her stepmother and still feeling the heavy earlier loss of her father. She has much excitement ahead of her in both her work and with Vic, but is also worried about her mother being consumed to the point of perhaps paranoia in grief. Bakolias’ ability to be straight amid the rest of the characters’ chaos is the source of much of the play’s comedy.
The star of the play is the hilarious and luminous Geneviève Steele as Delilah, a grieving Grand Dame of the stage. In some ways Delilah reminds me of Elise Elliot in The First Wives Club who says, “You think that because I’m a movie star I don’t have feelings. Well you’re wrong. I’m an actress. I’ve got all of them!” As with Elise, Delilah is someone who is so illustrious in her career that her self absorption and eccentricities are pandered to by those around her. We get the sense that perhaps her wife, Violet Shaw, might have been a grounding force for her, and that now that role has fallen to Rose. In her grief Delilah is even more unmoored. Steele has the ability to create a character who oscillates between excessive theatrics and moments of poignancy seamlessly. At her heart Delilah misses Violet, and she is filled with guilt and a longing for her life to return to what it once was. Steele’s ability to deftly maneuver between a gradient of subtleties in Delilah’s character really allows the audience to buy in to the absurd farcical nature of the plot.
Kat McCormack directs the play using all the talents of her actors to mine every opportunity for silliness, while still being mindful of keeping the rollicking pace needed for the plot. I found the use of Jess Lewis’ lightning design and Jackson Fairfax-Perry’s sound design to be an especially effective marriage in creating a horror ambiance in farcical timing.
The Ghost of Violet Shaw is a bit like a cross between The Importance of Being Earnest and Practical Magic (1998) as directed by Tim Burton. If that doesn’t sell you on the play, I don’t know what will.
Eastern Front Theatre’s production of The Ghost of Violet Shaw directed by Kat McCormack plays at Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Studio Theatre (1589 Argyle Street, Halifax) until May 24, 2026. Performances run Wednesdays to Saturdays at 7:30pm with 2:00pm matinee performances on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets range in price from $25.00 to $55.00 based on seating, and they are available online here, by calling the Box Office at 902.429.7070, or visiting in person at 1593 Argyle Street.
Talkback
Thursday, May 14 – 7:30pm
Masked Performance
Sunday, May 10 – 2:00pm
Relaxed Performance
Saturday, May 16 – 2:00pm
Neptune Theatre has a range of Accessibility Options for folks (Both Fountain Hall and the Scotiabank Stage are accessible for wheelchairs). Patrons can now purchase wheelchair seats for individual shows online with the promo code WHEELCHAIR. For more information, please contact the Box Office.). Click here for more thorough information.
