HER2

In this poignant meditation on the uneasy relationship between science and the human spirit, a group of women aged nineteen to fifty with HER2-related breast cancer are recruited for a clinical drug trial. For some of them the trial is renewed hope; others feel it’s a weary last resort. For Dr. Danielle Pearce, the research scientist in charge of the program, the trial is the most critical moment in her career. Her mission is global, and measured outcomes are her chief concern. But in the chemo room, medical statistics are just background noise as the women gradually form a collective bond through humour and compassion, raising the question, does community positively influence immunity?

AUTHOR

Maja Ardal

An Iceland-born Canadian, Maja Ardal was schooled in Scotland. She is a playwright, performer, theatre instructor, the former artistic director of Young People’s Theatre, and a core member of Contrary Company. She wrote Midnight Sun, produced by Tarragon Theatre and the National Arts Centre, and published by Playwrights Canada Press. Over her thirty-seven-year career she has directed at the Shaw Festival, the Grand Theatre, and Alberta Theatre Projects among others. For her illustrious career, Maja was the recipient of the 2002 George Luscombe Award for Mentorship in the Theatre. Maja is playwright-in-residence at Nightwood Theatre, and has written The Cure for Everything, a sequel to You Fancy Yourself.

Reviews

“…Maja Ardal finds exactly the right tone. Her script is laced with droll humour and so much emotional intelligence that you connect deeply to the characters and Ardal’s pointed critique of the ways medical treatments use and abuse patients.” —Susan G. Cole, NOW Magazine
“A wise, funny and thoughtful piece about a difficult subject.” —Martin Morrow, The Globe and Mail
“…an admirable portrayal of challenged, but not defeated, women who are loud, funny, sexy and imperfect.” —Carly Maga, The Toronto Star