{"id":112812,"date":"2025-03-19T14:11:37","date_gmt":"2025-03-19T18:11:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=112812"},"modified":"2025-03-19T14:11:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-19T18:11:37","slug":"interview-saint-stella-talks-masque-red-death-toronto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/03\/19\/interview-saint-stella-talks-masque-red-death-toronto\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Saint Stella Talks About The Masque Of The Red Death In Toronto"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The
The cast of The Masque of The Red Death (Photo courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s The Masque of the Red Death is a story that definitely resonates from its original published date in 1842 right to the present day. It\u2019s been given a makeover with a difference by Toronto multi-hyphenate artist Saint Stella for a new show that will take the stage April 5 to 12.<\/p>\n

Poe’s The Masque of the Red Death is a short story that details the attempts of Prince Prospero and his wealthy friends to hide from a deadly plague known as the Red Death. As they take shelter in Prospero’s abbey, they host a masquerade ball which stretches across seven rooms. Each of the seven rooms is decorated a different colours. As they party the night away, a figure cloaked in mystery, disguised as a victim of the feared plague, makes his way through each of the rooms, leaving a trail of death in his wake.<\/p>\n

Saint Stella: The Interview<\/h2>\n

Stella Kulagowski, AKA Saint Stella, is a fixture and an award-winning performer in Toronto\u2019s lively burlesque scene, and a performer, producer, creator and movement teacher. Stella has produced sold out productions at the Toronto Fringe Festival, including Lysistrata (2017), Carmilla (2018) and Mayhem at Miskatonic (2019), along with producing, choreographing, and performing in Ill Met by Moonlight, a \u2018Shakesqueer\u2019 adaptation. They received an emerging queer artist award from Buddies in Bad times in 2020 and a Community One Rainbow Grant in 2024.<\/p>\n

The play\u2019s premise, and a reality TV show, is what initially sparked the idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started sort of thinking about doing this play during the pandemic,\u201d Stella begins, \u201cwhen we were all isolating, and terrified. The pandemic shone a spotlight on the growing wealth discrepancies in our society. It’s no longer about rich and poor, it’s about living different existences.<\/p>\n

It was a video they saw of the Kardashians holding a party during the pandemic lockdowns that stuck with her, and the image of the uber-wealthy as an aristocratic class that is completely disconnected from the realities that most of us live with.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t think that we really look up to these people anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The
The cast of The Masque of The Red Death (Photo courtesy of the artists)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Cabaret Of Virtues<\/h3>\n

The music consists of both original songs and covers, covers a wide variety of genres, and is an integral part of the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe show takes place, three-quarters of it, at a cabaret in the compound,\u201d she says. There, seven different performers will take the stage, each with their own act to present from break dancing to burlesque.<\/p>\n

The cast includes:<\/p>\n