Toronto’s Coal Mine Theatre doesn’t shy away from productions that push boundaries, spark discussion and take audiences outside of their comfort zone. The theatre’s newest production, Killer Joe, is no exception. The show is directed by Peter Pasyk and stars Vivien Endicott-Douglas, Matthew Edison, Paul Fauteux, Matthew Gouveia and Madison Walsh.

“Come to see this play and challenge yourself as an audience member to stay open to events that unfold, and see what comes up for you after you leave the theater,” says Endicott-Douglas, who will be playing Dottie in the Toronto premiere of Tracy Letts’ dark tale of a deeply dysfunctional family. This will be her first show with Coal Mine Theatre, something she’s excited to be a part of. 

Endicott-Douglass has been a fan of Coal Mine since her friend Layne Coleman directed a production of The Motherfucker with the Hat in the space. In general, she says it’s the material that Coal Mine produces that drew her to the theatre, material wherein the characters on stage are often judged. “These characters are not heroes but you kind of root for them anyway.” That sentiment can easily be extended to Killer Joe.

Upon first reading of the script she says she was struck by just how many feelings she had. “Right away, as an audience member and a reader you can immediately feel invaded or wowed that this is incredibly evocative, and it’s easy to jump to judging the characters because of the choices that they make,” she says. 

To her, what’s most important about the characters in Killer Joe is why they’re making the decisions that they’re making. “These are people that are so poor they don’t have any other choices. They’re making these decisions with the best of intentions actually,” she notes. “It’s a play about people who don’t have a lot of options and who are just trying to make a better life for themselves.”

When it comes to bringing Dottie to life, Endicott-Douglas’ goal was to find the depth in a character that could be read and played as one-dimensional. “Dottie is a young woman and she could easily, upon first reading, simply be seen as a victim,” says Endicott-Douglas.  “She is a character that is quite objectified and the potential is there to just see her as a victim without much agency, but the thing about her is that even though her family thinks she’s unaware, she knows more than she lets on.” 

According to Endicott-Douglas the Coal Mine is a fitting stage for the story: “What’s really neat about the Coal Mine space is that it will be a practical set, about the size of a trailer and the play itself actually takes place solely in the trailer.”

The space is so intimate, she says of the theatre and explains that it’s a little more difficult for an audience to feel involved at larger theatres. Whereas watching a production at a small storefront theatre such as Coal Mine makes you feel part of what’s gong on. “There’s no escape from it. You’re not just a witness to something, you’re part of the story.”

When it comes to performing, what’s most significant for Endicott-Douglas is what she feels like she’ll be learning from playing a particular character. In terms of actually being on stage, it’s the exchange with the audience and the feeling of being a conduit for a bigger story and a bigger conversation. “I love being in the rehearsal hall, getting the opportunity to talk with other people of varying backgrounds and levels of experience and bringing those discussions to the final piece,” she explains. “Then that conversation continues as the play goes on. A show continues to develop as you perform it because of the audience, something that is very different than doing film and TV, which is why theatre is so important to me.”

Killer Joe, as with other Coal Mine productions, will be an opportunity to be engaged in a way that goes beyond what you may normally see on stage or screen. “I think it will spark a lot of reaction in people; we’ll have a whole spectrum of discomfort,” Endicott-Douglas says of the production. “That’s why I do theatre, to feel uncomfortable.” Feeling uncomfortable has a tendency to get people talking and as she notes, “a lot of discussion will be created from this play.”

Killer Joe runs at Coal Mine Theatre from April 3 – 24.