Psychological drama pairs parables to ask big questions

The Bloody Theatre is an apt title for playwright Steven Ratzlaff’s latest work, a twisty parable of faith, fortune and consequence that required the crew to familiarize themselves with several tools of torture.

Some of those implements have been Frankensteined together by sound designer and musician Jesse Krause, including a “torture cello,” whose warping wails serve as a sonic stand-in for creaking floorboards, swinging doors and instances of suffering that director Bill Kerr knew would be too visceral to be shown onstage.

The Bloody Theatre isn’t necessarily a Halloween story, but with its blend of religious parable, historical martyrdom and psychological drama, it fits right into spooky season.

Produced by local collective Untimely Theatre, Ratzlaff’s script examines principles of communal responsibility, juxtaposing the present-day journey of an unhoused — by choice — Winnipeg woman named Heidi (Sarah Constible) with a verbatim staging of Martyr’s Mirror of the Defenseless Christians, a 17th-century Dutch text that includes heresy trial transcripts detailing the suppression of Anabaptist beliefs under Lutheran, reform or Catholic majorities in Europe.

That’s where the torture and the blood comes in.

When Heidi is taken in by a stranger (Tracey Nepinak) whose principles for community care seem more aligned with her own, her doctor uncle (Ratzlaff) enters the picture, seeking to compel her to return to her family in Toronto.

This modern-day clash of ethical frameworks, which calls into question our implicit trust in often faulty systems, sows doubt as to right and wrong.

“I taught history for a lot of years, and of course, what we’re wanting to do is to understand times in the past, how they’re different, but also to understand now,” says Ratzlaff, who plays a pivotal role in the locally shot series American Hostage (now streaming on Crave).

“It’s like travelling to another country: you might not learn that much about where you travel, but you sure learn something about your own country when you come back. I think a good trip down memory lane to the 16th century shows that the stakes are humongous, the stakes are eternal, and the courage is magnificent”

Ratzlaff, whose earlier works include Last Man in Puntarenas, Dionysus in Stony Mountain and Reservations, says he was inspired to start work on The Bloody Theatre by simply existing as an observant pedestrian in downtown Winnipeg.

“I’m probably not alone in feeling kind of uncomfortable in my relatively satisfied, comfortable life of security, and passing by people in this city, it’s clear that (poverty) is getting worse or, well, more prominent. There are people living with real precarity, and you know, my tendency is to think, ‘Something ought to be done,’ or ‘There needs to be a better program,’ or ‘There needs to be more housing,’” he says.

The central question that drives the modern side of the play, Ratzlaff says, is what would happen if those generous thoughts translated to authentic intervention? What if you were to not just crack your car window and hand over a loonie but open your front door and make up the guest room for a total stranger?

“Another way to think of this play is as two parables — the Good Samaritan, the notion of stopping and helping, and the Challenge to the Rich Man: if you give away everything you have, then you can enter heaven. So each character faces a challenge,” says director Kerr.

The Bloody Theatre runs to Sunday at the Gas Station Arts Centre. Tickets ($20 for arts workers, $30 general admission) are available at untimelytheatre.com.

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The Gas Station Arts Centre (445 River Ave.) is in the midst of a large-scale revitalization, says executive director Nick Kowalchuk.

Opened in 1982 at the corner of River and Osborne, the Gas Station replaced all of its 232 seats in 2024, upgraded its projection and sound equipment, and is currently reimagining its lobby, which will soon feature a café/wine bar.

The centre’s lobby has expanded into the former Subway restaurant, and Kowalchuk says the Gas Station is in preliminary discussions with potential restaurant service providers to run the café, which should provide the non-profit arts centre with a steady flow of daily income and foot traffic.

Other changes in the works include modernized LED lighting and gender-neutral washrooms, which Kowalchuk anticipates to be completed in 2027. The revitalization of the venue’s outdoor courtyard, co-ordinated with Neil and Nick’s Landscaping, is underway. Readers can learn more about the GSAC’s plans on Oct. 25 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the venue’s open house.

Aside from The Bloody Theatre, upcoming programming at the venue includes Behind the Curtain, a two-night musical event with Broadway alums — and Amazing Race Canada winners — Catherine Wreford and Craig Ramsay (Oct. 9-10); and Tick, Tick…Boom, a staging of Rent composer Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical.

Running from Oct. 29 through Nov. 1, the musical is the first production by upstart local company Minus Forty Theatre, with Debbie Patterson directing, Phil Corrin music directing and Devin Alexander choreographing. The cast includes Wes Rambo, Rhea Rodych-Rasidescu and Chase Winnicky. Tickets are $39 at minusfortytheatre.ca.

ben.waldman@winnipegfreepress.com