The Words with Will logo: a squirrel with a quill for a tail.

Launched in 2016, in partnership with Playwrights Workshop Montréal, Words with Will is Repercussion Theatre’s ongoing play development series that supports new plays by contemporary Canadian writers. These plays are inspired by and/or talk back to Shakespeare in some way, and allow audiences to engage with the work at various stages of the process.

3rd edition

(2026-2027)

Currently in progress, the 3rd edition of Words With Will sent out a call to playwrights who had something to say back to the Bard. The chosen playwrights will be announced in September 2026.

2nd edition

(2019-2021)

For the 2nd edition of Words With Will, we fostered the development of two new works by three playwrights: Wardo by Jimmy Blais and Black Fly by work-and-life-partners, Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton. These projects pushed theatre-makers’ and audiences’ reflections on Shakespeare.

Livestreams featured a roundtable discussion with previous Words with Will playwrights Jeff Ho and Erin Shields, along with Jimmy Blais, Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton, followed by conversations with the writers and their creative team, as well as sneak-peaks at the play and process.

Wardo

by Jimmy Blais

Wardo follows an Indigenous adolescent boy Jordon into his 17th foster home. He is hardened and shut down, his guard is up and seemingly impenetrable until …his new, charmingly eccentric mom Dottie finds her way in; Shakespeare. Using the child welfare system as a metaphoric parallel, Wardo examines the complexity surrounding our admiration of Shakespeare’s work and puts into question the significance of the space and time we dedicate to what many consider to be cultural imperialism.

Black Fly

by Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton

We are interested in deconstructing Titus Andronicus, and refocusing the story through the lens of Aaron and Lavinia told as a satirical, dark comedy. Our play will use elements of Hip Hop theatre and contemporary language to explore issues of racism, misogyny and violence.

1st edition

(2016-2019)

The inaugural presentation of Words with Will ran through readings in late October, 2018 at The Segal Centre for the Performing Arts’ Studio Space.

Thy Woman's Weeds

by Erin Shields
Thy Woman’s Weeds, by Governor General Award winning playwright Erin Shields, a theatrical exploration of what it means to be a woman working with Shakespeare today, featuring seven strong female performers: Deena Aziz, Luncinda Davis, Leni Parker, Michelle Rambharose, Joy Ross-Jones, Felicia Shulman and Julie Tamiko-Manning. A fully staged version of this play was produced at Centaur Theatre in 2024.

Cockroach

by ho ka kei (Jeff Ho)
Cockroach, by performer-playwright and Repercussion alumnus ho ka kei (Jeff Ho), is a solo piece about his very personal relationship to language, culture, trauma, and the canon. Cockroach began as Whispers, a piece about the culutral stories and relevancies that Ho saw whispering in the background of Shakespeare’s work. “However, I realized at this point in life (2018), I am much more keen on roaring above his words.”