Playwright Todd Devonshire, is, as he puts it, old enough to remember when abortion was legalized in Canada in 1988.
When the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in the United States — the Supreme Court case that protected abortion as a constitutional right — was overturned in 2022, it inspired Devonshire to create a play that explored the topics of choice and autonomy, but from the Canadian perspective.
“At the end of the day, it’s all about choice,” he said. “And when you don’t have a choice, what will you do to get a choice?”
The Boat, written by Devonshire and produced by his company, Highway 55 Productions, will premiere at The Refinery and run from Feb. 26 to March 8, 2026 as part of the Live Five season. The play follows three women in the 1960s who travel to a boat just off the coast of Nova Scotia, which houses a clinic in international waters to provide pregnant women a safe environment to make decisions.
Devonshire, who is also a history teacher, said that while the play is fictional it is based on real-world occurrences — including drawing from stories of frontline nurses during the 50s, 60s, and 70s, as well as a real boat in Europe that functioned in a very similar fashion to the fictional offshore boat-clinic in the play.
Devonshire acknowledged that the topics in the show can be difficult to discuss or address, but said he hoped The Boat could lead to more nuanced conversations about something that has long been extremely polarizing in the public eye.
“I really think what has happened with abortion is that it’s too much a black-and-white issue, and what we do in The Boat is try to bring everyone into the grey a little bit,” Devonshire said. “Out of the conversations comes empathy.”
The play went through a creation process that included being part of the First Monday developmental showcase produced by Sum Theatre in partnership with Persephone Theatre, which helps support Saskatchewan-based playwrights in creating new works.
The play is directed by Saskatoon’s Liz Whitbread and features a local cast and crew. Devonshire lauded the entire team not only for their talents, but for their thoughtful handling of a sensitive script.
“Watching the cast and the crew, and the conversations they’ve had … the whole vibe of the show has just been so positive,” he said. “The actors have done a phenomenal job. They make it their own, and it’s amazing to hear those voices you have in your head come out in rehearsal.”
The Boat runs from Feb. 26 to March 8 at The Refinery as part of the Live Five season. Tickets can be found at livefive.ca.
