The Hagstone Collective

The Hagstone Collective was formed in late 2021 between friends and collaborators Paige Francoeur and Katelyn Polischuk. Originally designed to house co-written classical theatre adaptations, it has since evolved into a de facto producing umbrella for personal work as well. We take basic frameworks that are in the cultural zeitgeist— (whether they are folk / fairy tales, or merely tropes / archetypes / genres), and then works to interrogate and cannibalize those existing narratives, using them as a launchpad to form innovative and fresh stories that speak to the here-and-now. The stories we seek to tell are deeply thematically rooted in the lived experience of the collaborators on a given project, and have so far spanned the range of tackling topics of misogyny, neurodivergence, queerness, and gender identity/expression.

At The Hagstone Collective, we believe that theatre is a place where an audience should be encouraged to engage with stories that challenge them. We hope to our work will inspire people to consider new perspectives, and we are passionate about engaging artists and audiences in a safe, and supported way.

Hagstones are rocks with naturally-occurring holes bored through them - usually the result of many years on the beaches or in the ocean. In folklore, they are thought to be protective charms; it is supposed that looking through the centre of a hagstone allows the viewer to observe beyond the veil and into the world unseen. To us, art is looking at something that scares you, but with a layer of glass in between. It allows the viewer to observe and engage with things and ideas they find uncomfortable or unnerving.