A Goderich native is bringing her hometown’s most traumatic event to the stage.
Taylor Graham is the playwright behind “Cottage Radio,” a three-act play based on the F3 tornado that hit Goderich on Aug. 21, 2011.
This is the first stage adaptation to come out of the Goderich tornado, which killed one person and injured many others.
Graham - who is now studying theatre in Toronto and Guelph - knows the responsibility that comes with bringing her hometown’s tragedy to the actual people that experienced it.
“That's the really important task of art, is to sort of bring those stories and reflect them back to the people that were actually affected by them. I know it's going to be be emotional for some people, I know it's going to be difficult for some people and that's okay. You know if you're affected by it and it is emotional for you I completely respect that,” she says.
Graham also hopes it can be part of the healing process for those who were affected.
A portion of proceeds from the play, which opens on the three-year anniversary of the storm at The Livery Theatre in Goderich, will go towards the town’s rebuilding efforts.