“That Elasticity of Mind”: Mrs. Smith and Nurse Rooke in Persuasion | Katherine Koller

“That Elasticity of Mind”: Mrs. Smith and Nurse Rooke in Persuasion

Featuring a scene from a new adaptation of Persuasion by Katherine Koller, directed by Caroline Howarth and read by Erika Holba, Lori Mohacsy and Lauren Tanke, with videography by Kalli Elder

Playwright Katherine Koller talks about the process of adapting Persuasion for the stage and why she chose to include Mrs. Smith and Nurse Rooke in her play. In a close reading of the text, Anne’s friend and friend-of-a-friend test Anne’s loyalty, not only in love, but in friendship, and illuminate Anne’s rosy glasses, her “dear self," and inherent awareness of rank. In the reader’s theatre clip presented, Anne gets a reality check that confirms her constancy to Frederick Wentworth, provides a chosen sisterhood, and prepares her for a life-changing debate with an audience of one.

Katherine Koller’s first plays, Cowboy Boots and a Corsage and Magpie, aired on CBC…