May 28th 2021

OMYGOD – A solo-show by TinaO

Premieres in Three Countries

IRELAND / UK

7:30pm BST / 11:30am PDT

NEW YORK / TORONTO

6pm EDT / 3:00 PDT 

VANCOUVER / LOS ANGELES

6:30pm PDT

On May 28th 2021, you are invited to Christina’s 50th Birthday un-party in Tuam, County Galway Ireland where an 8 yr old girl who thinks she’s a witch meets Jesus, a woman who knows how to boil an egg, lights three fires of reconciliation, and the special guest at the party is The Morrigan, a shape-shifting Irish deity of prophecy, battle and sovereignty.

OMYGOD is a mythical tale about the women we burned, the children we buried, the Gods we worship and the fires we light after seven generations of children witness their mother turn into witches before their very eyes.

In this special place of Inglenook… 

Writer/Performer, Tina Overbury catches us off guard with her humorous, poetic and harrowing tales of life as a woman who loves the sacred, but offers: “I love God, but does he have to be a man?” She reminds us about the power of books by showing us the Malleus Maleficarum, the ‘Witch Burning for Dummies’ instruction manual which shaped us for 300 years. She asks us to come and sit by the fire with all aspects of what it means to be a woman. She offers, we are The Morrigan, The Three Mary’s of the Gospel, and the infamous Lady M herself. We have a conversation with Jesus, and we’re introduced to Mouse Woman, the North American Indigenous mother of Raven.

As guests at her un-party, audiences will witness the makings of a mad woman and say we’re sorry as we sweep up the ashes of those we have burned in the name of being holy. 

OMYGOD is a mythical and redemptive tale across time, culture, and faith that is as funny as it is brave. As world patriarchal structures crumble, we are not left with void of wisdom, we need only look to the cultural stories that exist within to remember that God belongs to everyone, and power within gender is not hierarchical, or a conversation about sex, witchcraft or worthiness. 

This is STORYTELLING for RECONCILIATION

Before there can be reconciliation, there must be truth.
And there are some truths that only art can hold.

Storytelling is a way we can honour the scars left behind from unspeakable atrocities. It’s a way through the bruising to remember, witness and move toward reconciliation through a restorative process of embodied listening.

Theatre can do that.

OMYGOD is the first storytelling experience offered by TinaO. Semi-autobiographical and inspired by real-life events and historical references, this storytelling experience is offered in the spirit of reconciliation and restorative justice, and as a bridge of humility between cultures. It is a feminist narrative combining humour, storytelling and poetry which brings together two Indigenous cultures rich in oral history and a shared scar of cultural and human genocide.

From the residential schools of Turtle Island (North America) to the Mother and Baby homes of Eire (Ireland), from the triple essence goddess of The Morrigan to the three Mary’s of the gospel, from witch burning to the everyday making of a madwoman – OMYGOD offers historical explanations as to why we are the way we are, and asks us: 

‘Who do we become when seven generations of children watch their mothers burn?’

This story is personal, hopeful, humorous, and deeply tender.
We are human.
Storytelling reminds us of this.

WRITER / PERFORMER – TINA OVERBURY

DIGITAL DIRECTOR – JAMES GARDINER

CREATIVE CONSULTANT & LIVE THEATRE DIRECTOR (for winter 2021 performances) – DEAN PAUL GIBSON

DRAMATURG – NICOLLE NATTRASS

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY – RANDAL HRYTZAK – Bemoved Media

EDITOR – JAY LEHMANN

SOUND DESIGN – PAUL TEDESCHINI

Tina Overbury is a storyteller, performer, and a professional listener who works with narrative and story structure as a vehicle for human connection. Her work is rooted in Myth, Mysticism, and the practice of personal faith. She is devoted to global reconciliation through the exploration of origin stories, sharing our oral history, land-based knowing, and a continued focus on communication as a sacred practice. She brings thirty years of collaborative storytelling in theatre, film, marketing, team based selling, and workshop facilitation. She is the founder of Live Your Best Story, a weekend retreat of deep listening held on Bowen Island, BC, Canada and is the voice and story behind TinaOLife, home to Stories from the Core – her weekly writing and conversation series. She is a proud associate of PowHERhouse Impact Media as a core-communications specialist working with individuals and organizations who feel called. She is a co-host of GATHER for HER, and a PowHERhouse Artist of Impact Amplify Coach helping leaders become artists and artists become leaders.