The 9th’s premier production…
The Abigail
The Abigail
Presented as part of the Fringe Festival, The Abigail marked Dylan Stav’s first independently produced theatrical work outside of Humber—and it arrived with epic ambition. A three-act genre blend of gothic drama and magical realism, the play spanned over 50 years and featured a cast of more than 20 characters, charting the haunted legacy of a single home.
At the heart of the story is Abigail, a young woman whose childhood home is violently stolen from her by gangsters who murder her father. What follows is a lifetime pursuit to reclaim what's hers—while every owner who follows is consumed by the house's dark curse.
Entirely self-funded and mounted with a small team, The Abigail was praised for its scope, emotional depth, and inventive structure. It stood out in the festival as a bold, haunting debut from young creators with a clear vision and a love for sprawling, character-rich storytelling.
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The Hamilton Spectator review
“A dramatic saga by Dylan Stavenjord and Aidan Tozer. Told in just ninety minutes, with a most impressive cast of nine playing over twenty characters, the play is a marvel. It’s set in America and the artists are essential Canadian from three generations of Humber College Theatre Alumni.
If its future in America is chancy, its success in Hamilton has strong legs. A southern family is murdered but for one survivor, the daughter Abigail. Their property is stolen and transformed by greed and mendacity. The homestead becomes a hotel and morphs through a world war to the hippy sixties.
The writers deploy themes of violence and cessation, moral decay and political extremism, to love and human survival and hope. Abigail lives on both in the name of the hotel and the girl herself. It is an extremely minimalist production that works well. The creative talents of the company are brilliant and eminently worthy of large audiences. Do see it.”