
The play is the Philippines’ official entry to the 9th Festival International de Théâtre de Mont-Laurier in Quebec, Canada which will be held from September 5 -11, 2019. Only 25 companies from over 20 countries are selected to join and present their plays during the said biennial theater festival. The Philippines is the only country from Southeast Asia who was selected to join the festival since its launch in 2003.
Any play can, practically, be “based on true story” but “The Insanity of Mary Girard” is one of the few that took real-life events into a haunting and highly theatrical piece. Mary Girard (1758–1815) was committed to an asylum in 1790 where her husband declared her legally insane. During her confinement, she gave birth to a baby girl – unsure who the father was – who died five months later. After residing in the insanity ward for 25 years, she was laid to rest somewhere on hospital grounds, her grave unmarked.