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Articles

Volume 22 Number 1 / Spring 2001

Violent Women: The Bernardo/Homolka Case in Famous by Carol Bolt and Paul's Case by Lynn Crosbie

Submitted
May 13, 2008
Published
2001-01-01

Abstract

This paper discusses a play called Famous by Carol Bolt, which was produced in Toronto at the Tarragon Theatre in 1997. The play is based on the real-life crimes committed by Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka, and addresses the issue of violent and deviant behaviour in women. The play activates a social discomfort with the very idea of violent women and certainly with representations of "real-life" violence, which prevented Famous from receiving the critical attention it deserved. Cet article examine Famous, une pièce écrite par Carol Bolt, représentée au théâtre Tarragon à Toronto en 1997. La pièce, basée sur les crimes réels commis par Paul Bernardo et Karla Homolka, aborde la question du comportement violent et déviant chez les femmes. Face au malaise social que la pièce déclanche avec l'idée même de femmes violentes et certainement aux représentations "réelles" de violence, Famous n'a pas suscité l'attention des critiques qu'elle mérite.