If We Were Birds

In her one-act play, If We Were Birds, playwright Erin Shields channels her views about war through the lens of the Greek myth of Philomela, who's raped by her warrior brother-in-law, Tereus, and their subsequent transformation into birds. Called "stunning" by The Globe and Mail, it's an unflinching, sometimes shocking commentary on modern war and its devastating aftermath, particularly for the women who become its victims. Winner of the 2011 Governor General's Award for drama, this beautiful and brutal work deftly blends horror, humor and human understanding.