August 2014

On the boards: Lotus at The Arts Project
As posted in London Free Press

This article appeared in the August 6, 2014 edition of London Free Press By Joe Belanger, The London Free Press Wednesday, August 6, 2014 5:13:56 EDT PM The Play: Lotus, a new play by Caitlin Murphy (who wrote the hit Fringe show The Ladies Room). Lotus is described as a “provocative, dark comedy about our digital daze . . .... (Read more)

LOTUS: Homegrown Hopegrown Hits a home run
As posted in Donald's Dish

This article appeared in the August 5, 2014 edition of Donald’s Dish By Jason Menard One Hour, plus post-production Q&A Hopegrown Productions’ presentation of LOTUS at The ARTS Project may be a successful homecoming for the playwright and actors – but it’s by no means a happy one. LOTUS slowly blossoms into a contemporary tragedy filled with sorrow and dark... (Read more)

July 2014

Old friendships lead to new show at The Arts Project
As posted in London Community News

This article appeared in the July 25, 2014 edition of London Community News By Sean Meyer In the four years she spent studying theater at Montreal’s Concordia University, and in the time since, Miriam Cummings has noticed a frustrating lack of quality acting roles for women. Cummings, who grew up in London before leaving for Concordia in 2009, joined with... (Read more)

Beating the Bechdel Test
As posted in Metro.ca

This article appeared in the July 24, 2014 edition of Metro The start of an acting career carries all sorts of challenges for young women, but London’s about to welcome three who are setting their own standards. Londoner Miriam Cummings is part of Hopegrown Productions, a theatre group which has three female members determined to play strong roles and tell... (Read more)

Hopegrown Productions brings Londoner home again
As posted in The Londoner

This nice article appeared in the Tuesday, July 15, 2014 edition of The Londoner Hopegrown Productions — a Montreal-based theatre company founded in part by Forest City native Miriam Cummings — will be making a stop in London this August with a brand new Canadian play by another former Londoner, writer Caitlin Murphy. LOTUS, a two-hander that explores serious issues... (Read more)

June 2014

Quietly powerful. Eerily compelling. Deeply disturbing.
As posted in Festival St-Ambroise Fringe De Montréal

Some plays waste no time with one quick punch to the collective face of their audiences. Others prefer to fire off a rapid succession of emotional blows over the course of their varied running times. But the dramatic effect that LOTUS has on its audience is something rather different, if not altogether unique, and it takes a great deal of... (Read more)

The Facebook Wall
As posted in The Charlebois Post

By Sarah Deshaies. It’s a bold and tempting move to rip a story from the headlines, so-to-speak, and make it your own. Playwright Caitlin Murphy’s Lotus riffs quite nicely on the threads of cyberbullying, teen rape and the permanency of actions that we’ve seen played out in the news on a regular basis now. Dark content, to be sure, but... (Read more)

OnStage: Review: LOTUS (Montreal Fringe)
As posted in OnStage Ottawa

June 17, 2014 by Matthew Champ The 12:45 PM Sunday show of Lotus was nearly sold out, not surprising after Hopegrown Productions 2013 Fringe hit Around Miss Julie. I’m sure there was a lot of pressure to live up to the show that Hopegrown Productions put on last year and Lotus is a valiant effort. Written, by Caitlin Murphy, on... (Read more)

Bloody Underated: For The Love Of Pie, Crook Of My Dreams, LOTUS
As posted in Bloody Underated

BY Scott Humphrey LOTUS Hopegrown Productions, winners of last year’s Spirit of the FRINGE award here in Montreal, are back with a new piece: LOTUS. Born out of the stories of Amanda Todd and Rehteah Parsons, Caitlin Murphy has written this new play about “how one person’s suffering is never discrete” — a single event can create waves of pain... (Read more)

The Visitorium: Montreal Fringe-Coma 2014 – LOTUS
As posted in The Visitorium

BY KEVIN REID Yay, two shows in a row at the same venue! Music to my ears, or rather my feet, which are getting pretty tender now that I’m two days and 10 shows in at the Montreal Fringe…I keep forgetting how spoiled we are for venues in Ottawa. And speaking of Ottawa Fringe, last year when I made my... (Read more)

The Montreal Gazette: Montreal Fringe Festival Marathon Continues
Pat Donnely of The Gazette says LOTUS is worth the detour.

BY PAT DONNELLY, GAZETTE THEATRE CRITIC JUNE 15, 2014 The first weekend of a fringe festival is always a marathon, a test of how many shows can be visited within the space of a day. Because Montreal Fringe Festival veterans know that most of the good shows will have long lineups next weekend. Accessibility is seldom an issue on the... (Read more)

The Montreal Gazette: Montreal Fringe Festival: High hopes by the dozen
Pat Donnely of The Gazette picks LOTUS among the best

Breaking news: LOTUS makes @patstagepage Top 12 Fringe Picks!! BY PAT DONNELLY, GAZETTE THEATRE CRITIC JUNE 13, 2014 MONTREAL — Decisions, decisions. Since there are 110 shows to choose from at this year’s Montreal Fringe Festival, the choosing demands careful consideration. The 24th edition of this democratic annual festival, which gives all performing artists a fighting chance to draw an... (Read more)

May 2014

The Montreal Gazette: The queen bees of the Fringe
First mainstream media Mention for LOTUS

This article appeared in the May 30 2014 edition of the Gazette. MONTREAL — When I began looking at the Montreal Fringe Festival from the “girl power” perspective last week, I was mainly thinking of young playwrights like Johanna Nutter who have launched their careers through this annual performing arts festival, as well as those like Melissa Paulson who are... (Read more)

LOTUS Posters have gone to print!
And they look very good

LOTUS posters have gone to print! Thanks to Rubiks! These’ll soon hang all-over! (Read more)