In White or Red, three writers, one female and two male, of different types and levels of ability, are forced to form a community and rely on each other to survive. Leah is in her thirties, bisexual, and Canadian. She is coming to terms with a chronic, invisible illness that has ravaged
her life. She's signed up for a writing retreat in rural Sicily, and arrives to find she is the only participant. Her host, Turner, is a gay, unwittingly misogynist ex-pat American writer in his 60’s, who was once famous. Tony is a straight, unwittingly misogynist Italian writer in his 50’s who
becomes entangled with them both. A hideous crime forces them to rely on each other in ways they could never have imagined, as they are threatened with death if they leave the confines of Turner’s farm. Faced with remaking a world for themselves, the line between real and surreal
becomes increasingly blurred as the play continues. Hunger, ecstatic visions, bondage, withdrawal, marionette shows, healing ceremonies, collective drug trips and the makings of a new goddess cult blend together as the three fall further away from normalcy. White or Red is
either a relentlessly dark comedy or a demented tragedy, taking on big themes such as systemic misogyny and violence against women, homophobia, monosexism, trans- and genderqueerphobia, national identity, organized crime, PTSD, communication across language, old and new technologies, chronic illness, kink, mythology, revolution, and the creation of community out of sheer need to survive.
Keywords: Sicily, Canada, Newfoundland, surreal, dark comedy, drugs, chronic illness, gender, bisexuality, feminism, writers, Italy, gay, italian, sick, cult, silly, marionettes, multimedia, goddess