Interview: Odyssey Theatre's Laurie Steven Talks About THE GIRL WITH NO HANDS

Odyssey Theatre’s Theatre Under the Stars premieres its new play, The Girl With No Hands, this weekend at Strathcona Park. I was lucky enough to sit down with Laurie Steven, the show’s writer and director, to get a deeper understanding of the story, its inspiration and some of the design elements and characters that bring it to life.

I understand that The Girl With No Hands is based on a Brothers Grimm folktale. Can you tell me a little bit about the story and what inspired you to do this adaptation?

I read the story years ago. Most folktales have a male hero, so I  was delighted to see that The Handless Maiden had a female heroine. In the original story, the girl with no hands has an unpleasant father and a deal is made with the devil who takes her hands. The story deals mostly with trauma and a pathway to redemption. The story was quite popular in the 1980s and, now looking back on it, I can see how wonderful the handless maiden is as a representation for what women have to conquer in society in order to get ahead. Despite this, the original story still has an underlying message that kind men will give her what she needs; first, the king who married her, and then after she escapes with her baby into the forest, a woodsman takes her in and grows her hands back. I asked myself; how do I see a feminine path to healing and empowerment? I started with a heroine who is mad, instead of a kindly girl who just accepts things. My maiden doesn’t want to get married and have kids. I also found it interesting that, in the original story, the devil just disappears whereas, in real life, our demons don’t disappear; we have to deal with them.

In what other ways does The Girl With No Hands differ from the Grimm fairy tale?

My girl starts out no hands and is traumatised by the experience. She goes into an imaginary world, where her demons follow her and she has to confront them. When she comes back, she still with no hands, but she has a different outlook and is now ready to face the future.

When you start writing you are supposed to ask yourself, what are the strengths of your heroine? I said, I’ll bet if she has no hands, she has channelled her energy into her imagination, and her stories have kept her afloat. Now she goes into a real, but imaginative world where she has to face unexpected challenges and that might be a way to empower her. But the imaginative world she goes into won’t be a fairy tale world. I tried to think of the type of world that might represent her life. I thought she might go into a post apocalyptic world and when she gets there, she is going to find out her journey isn’t going to be easy and there are people who need her help to save the kingdom from a mysterious substance.

As I wrote, the piece got further and further away from original story and became both more fun and more serious. I read the tale many times for inspiration when I started writing, but then I let it go so I could focus on this story, which has taken on a life of its own.

Is The Girl With No Hands suitable for all ages?

We are recommending the show for audiences aged 12 and up. It is a great play for adults and young adults, but it deals with some challenging themes that some parents might not want their tiny tots to be exposed to.

There are over 30 handmade masks and puppets in the show – can you tell me about the costume design and how it is integral to telling the story?

Masks are an important part of Odyssey Theatre, and I admire and  find inspiration in Tim Burton’s work. The mask maker and designer, Clelia Scala, and I collaborated on the concept. The imaginative world of The Girl With No Hands is populated by evil queens, harpies, treacherous devils disguised as politicians, and soul-sucking wraiths. The show’s masks, headpieces, and costumes are pretty wild!

There are servant-like characters inspired by mythical creatures. For example, harpies are the equivalent of town criers; they are half-bird half-human creatures that are scandal mongers. Then, there is an inn run by the devil who has a mischievous plot to alter letters exchanged between the Queen Mother and the king; the helpers are strumpets. In classical mythology, there are succubus, mythical spirits who seduce men, so thought it would be fun to have these pig demons dressed as hookers that we call strumpets. They have pig heads and are in trashy costumes with some funny sequences.

There is a bedroom sequence with the king and the handless maiden, where their sleep is disturbed by the devil and drudes, snake-like nightmare demons who plant seeds of doubt in their brains.

Can you tell me a little about the show’s soundtrack?

Ottawa-based Venessa Lachance created the music for The Girl With No Hands. Lachance, Scala, and I came up with the idea for this other world that emerges in the show. We thought about what kind of imaginative world this girl might want to go into, and we were intrigued by the neo goth movement. The girl is dwelling on death, and we thought that she would go into a world that was infused in some of that imagery. There is an overall feel that is sort of reminiscent of a creepy carnival. This visual underscores that heroine must decide if life is merely a carnival where nothing really matters, or if there is something meaningful waiting for her when she comes back to the real world.

How does it feel to perform with the backdrop of Strathcona Park? What are some of the advantages and challenges of performing under the stars?

Strathcona Park is a really lovely park, and it is inspiring. The lovely thing about working outdoors, is that you don’t feel confined and you are surrounded by this big open space, with trees and the river. This summer has been particularly challenging because it has been so hot and humid, and it has affected our electronics. Between storms, wind, and the heat and humidity, it has delayed some of the rehearsal process and we had to push back our opening.

What message do you want audiences to walk away with?

I remember reading somewhere that Jane Austen said that when she wrote Emma, she wanted to create a character that people wouldn’t like, but I am hoping that people will care about this girl. We can all see a bit of ourselves in this girl since we have all faced challenges in our lives and had to face our own demons. I wanted to create a character that was angry, who puts up a fight, and I want people to root for her, see how she addresses her demons and how she comes back to the real world with self-appreciation and a readiness to get on with her life.

Most of all I hope that people have a really wonderful experience at the show.