Playwright, director and performer Anita La Selva took a tragedy in her own life, and through a process of healing, connected with horses, made a film, and developed it into a play. Five years of development went into 12 Litres 8800 Steps.
The world premiere of 12 Litres 8800 Steps by Anita La Selva takes the stage at Factory Theatre May 1 to 17, 2026, produced by The Unbridled Theatre Collective and Aluna Theatre.
La Selva lost her partner through addiction, and saw it unfolding in front of her eyes. It brought home the fact that stigmas lock both addicts and their loved ones in a state of shame and fear. She pursued equine therapy in her journey to healing, which helped her to rediscover play and joy. Finding the silver lining in tragedy sparked the idea for 12 Litres 8800 Steps.
She initially developed the story into a short film which was screened at 18 international film festivals, collecting accolades along the way. Turning it into a theatrical experience took another five years. It’s a visually striking production that incorporates text, sound, choreography, and video projections — with puppeteer and movement specialist Brad Cook as The Horse.
The play combines magic realism and everyday reality as it shines a spotlight on the roller coaster that the families and caregivers of addicts experience. La Selva performs as The Woman in the production.
LV caught up with Anita La Selva to ask about the project.
Anita La Selva
Anita La Selva is an award-winning theatre maker, actor, director and dramaturg. Recent accolades include the award for Best Director of a Musical at the 2025 Broadway World Toronto Awards for her production of The Threepenny Opera, and another 16 nominations for her The Unbridled Theatre Collective.
Other recognition of her work includes the Best Independent/Regional Director award for her production of Look Back in Anger (Fevergraph Theatre). She was the 2019 recipient of the Gina Wilkinson Award for Emerging Female Director. She has worked with Aluna Theatre, Nightwood Theatre, and served as director and dramaturg for five of Tracy Erin Smith’s solo works between 2009 and 2013.
Anita earned an MFA in Directing from York University. She is also a graduate of the London Academy of Dramatic Art, UK. Anita teaches regularly at York University, Sheridan College/University of Toronto Mississauga and Seneca Polytechnic.
Anita La Selva: The Interview
“It actually began as a theatre piece,” La Selva explains, “but because of COVID, I pivoted to a film.”
It tells a story, but not in a linear fashion. “The piece is put together as a non-linear narrative. It has multiple disciplines,” she says.
The video projections serve to reflect the character’s inner world, while the immersive soundscape augments the experience.
“People take in theatre in different ways,” Anita says. Her goal was to reach the audience on multiple levels. “I wanted to create multiple symbols, metaphors, images. It’s kind of collage.”
The story depicts the present, and the past appears in flashbacks.
“The stark reality of the everyday is juxtaposed with fantasy. It’s kind of mercurial,” she says. “It deals with emotions — when we struggle with something big, we often get flashes from our lives, these images come up. We don’t behave in a linear fashion. There’s no real beginning, middle and end.”
What she didn’t want to create was a one woman monologue about dealing with her partner’s addiction.
“I wanted it to be much more present and visceral.” As such, she wanted to go beyond her specific story. “People can connect to the work on multiple levels. We can flash back from present to past, from fantasy to reality.”
As she points out, when we’re in crisis, the everyday takes on otherworldly aspects. It becomes a journey, a kind of odyssey.
The Horse
“The horse, for example, plays multiple roles,” La Selva explains. It becomes her friend, her therapist, and finally, a symbol of hope.
“There’s always that guide,” she says. “Why the horse? The horse is what inspired the whole piece.
I engaged in quite a bit of equine therapy,” she adds.
“I used to ride horses when I was younger. That was the thing that changed my life.”
Before equine therapy, she’d gone through a sessions of talk therapy. But, the horse could reach what a sympathetic human ear could not.
“I met a horse, I worked with this horse. I got messages from this horse, I got guidance. And it kind of changed my life,” she says. “The horse brought me back to my creativity.”
Artistic creation had taken a hit throughout the ordeal.
“I’m an artist, and I’m going to start to put things together.” With equine therapy as a catalyst, it became the inspiration she needed. “That’s why the horse came in as this kind of inspiration. It was a natural fit for me. It made so much sense.”
The projections and other elements of the play were inspired by her experience.
“[I brought] in the imagery that I was haunted by,” she says. “The piece has a fair bit of text as well,” she adds.
“You’ll see the woman that I play as an eight year old self when she fantasizes about her fantasy horse,” she says. As a child, La Selva dealt with anxiety and panic attacks. As an adult, it was natural to return to the horse for comfort.
“We all need something to hold on to and give us hope in our lives. The beauty of animals is that they don’t judge you. They don’t make any assessments of you.”
Horses, as it turns out, make ideal therapists. “They have a huge degree of empathy. They live in the moment. With their huge attachment to the herd, when you make a connection with a horse, it’s [very storng],” she says.
Theatre maker Brad Cook is an actor, puppeteer, movement specialist and teacher. He is the co-creator and performer of multi-Dora Award-nominated Maanomaa, My Brother (The Belfry & Blue Bird Theatre/Canadian Stage), Body 13 (MT Space), and Frankenstein’s Ghosts (Inter Arts Matrix).
He’s also something of a specialist in creating horses on stage. He served as head puppeteer for the War Horse productions back in 2012 and 2013, and more recently in the Red Sky Performance/TSO presentation of She Holds Up The Stars.
“That’s a lot of his work,” Anita says. “That’s actually how I found him. He’s also a movement specialist,” she adds.
“My horse is not a puppet,” La Selva explains. In her play, the horse has a dual character, both man and horse. “He has an incredible physicality on stage. He understands animal movement. He’s an expert at that, and quite wonderful.”
Cook helped her develop the character of the horse in the story. “It’s been a lovely collaboration in that way.”
She points out that the play premieres during the Chinese year of the horse.
Takeaways
“I think for me, I really wanted to create a piece that spoke to the things that we don’t speak about in society,” La Selva says.
“There’s still a lot of stigma around addiction.” The truth is hidden, and conversations take place in covert situations. “On a personal level, when I was dealing with it, I didn’t talk about it. I hid it.”
With the play, she’d like to change that tendency.
“I really wanted people to talk about it. I want it to inspire people to have a more open dialogue about addiction issues.”
The play focuses on the often overlooked role of the caregiver. At a workshop of the play in progress a couple of years ago, Da Selva says that she invited people to share feedback. Many were not addicts themselves, but were the caregivers to those with addictions. “That was really enlightening and inspiring for me,” she says.
“I think it offers hope. You can move through it.” She points out that you don’t have a choice in those situations. You just have to deal with it.
“We are stronger that we think we are. And we do have resilience. We just need to find those catalysts, those guides,” she says.
“Stagnation is the enemy. Movement is key,” she says. “It’s work. It’s hard work. Just waiting it out doesn’t work.”
Performances
12 Litres 8800 Steps takes the stage at Factory Theatre Mainspace from May 1 to 17, 2026.
12 Litres 8800 Steps features production design by Trevor Schwellnus, dramaturgy by Martin Julien, choreography by Victoria Mata Soledad, sound design by Thomas Ryder Payne and costume & horse mask design by Teresa Przybylski & Monica Viani with co-direction by Beatriz Pizano.
- Find tickets and show details [HERE].
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