Undercover actress-playwright Rebecca Northan.
It should be no surprise that the latest play from Rebecca Northan involves a murder, because the playwright and actress has been killing it on Toronto stages for years. Undercover, the new piece co-written by the creator of the Dora Award winning Blind Date, involves an audience member who gets to go gumshoe as a rookie detective on the big case. As for Northan, she gave The Globe and Mail plenty of clues as to what she likes to investigate when she's off-duty.
What she's watching: "The Break on Netflix. It's a French murder-mystery series. I have been exclusively watching mysteries, cop dramas, British cozies, etc., for six months in preparation for my new play Undercover. I think I've watched enough to start solving cases in real life! Also, I like learning to swear like a French cop."
What she's reading: "I am loving The Hero Within: Six Archetypes We Live By, by Carol S. Pearson. I'm 100 per cent into the heroic archetypes we all live by, and because reading this book is way cheaper than going to therapy."
What she's looking forward to: "The Virgin Trial by Kate Hennig, at the Stratford Festival until Oct. 8. Kate is a good friend, a mentor, an inspiration and a genius. Her use of language is both brilliant and funny. She also writes some seriously kick-ass female characters. Sexual and political intrigue in the Tudor court! Who doesn't want to see that?"
Undercover runs to Oct. 29 at the Tarragon Mainspace, $29 to $60. 30 Bridgman Ave., 416-531-1827 or tarragontheatre.com
Brad Wheeler