Told through beautifully handcrafted puppets and ever engaging original music, One For Sorrow, Two For Joy plays like a whimsical carnival ride that is wound up and then released to tell the bitter-sweet story of a woman alone on the prairies of western Canada.

Born at the turn of the 20th century, Willow Mae O'Reily tosses caution and expectation to the prairie winds and makes a life of her own during a time ripe for change, first as a nurse on the battlefields of WWI, then as a farmer in the foothills of Alberta.

“It is like watching the mechanics of our own heart-sprung cuckoo-clock.” (Peter Balkwell, Old Trout Puppet Workshop).

Intended for adult audiences. Youth ages 13+

Content Advisory: pregnancy loss, smoking, puppet nudity, gunshots.

Producer's Note

The seed for this heartfelt production started like any tiny seed that is lucky enough to find warm soil, rain water and sunshine.

This story grew out of the imaginations of Myself, Jolene Higgins and Klya Read around an old oak table in the early spring of 2022.

We wanted to create a story that brought magic to the prairies, we wanted our character to embody and celebrate the strength and resilience of women that lived and worked on the Canadian prairies. To honour the women that didn’t follow the path chosen for them by the social norms of the day in a time that was ripe for change.

With the freedom that puppetry brings to the stage and the brilliant sensitivity of Jolene Higgins music the story of Willow Mae O’Riley tumbled out onto the old oak table and our journey to bring her to life began.

The team of women that came together to create this show was, at the risk of sounding corny , a dream team. Each of us from different creative pursuits brought to the table a wealth of creativity, quirky intelligence and insightful knowledge that makes this little puppet show a magical adventure. This team of dedicated women have been the warm soil, rain water and most of all the sunshine that brought this little seed of an idea to the program you are about to see.