I received this book from Playwrights Canada Press in exchange for an honest review.
“And I wonder, I wonder why they tell stories about my cold, dark eyes, the ugly old virgin, the mother of monsters who eats their children as pay for their questions, when no one will stay and have a drink, get to know me. I’m very funny, you know,” (Sandler 46).
When private investigator Rapp is hired to learn what happened to the young heir of a yogurt empire, he doesn’t expect to learn about Baba Yaga, a Slavic myth who seems more than myth in the small town of Whittock. Teaming up with the local sheriff, the investigator questions a university professor with a predilection towards younger men and stories of a woman who helps others in a strange hut in the woods, Rapp is in for more than he bargained for.
Yaga is a brilliant play! I was hooked immediately by Sandler’s script, the dialogue between the characters is crisp and easy to follow, the transition between the different characters and scenes is smooth, the mystery is intriguing. Sandler manages to perfectly balance the line between mystery and humour and makes it easy to fall in love with her characters. Not to mention the fact that in staging this play only has a cast of three actors, I’d love to see how that transitioning between characters would look. This would be such a joy to watch staged one day!
Yaga is a quirky mystery playing with myth and fantasy, women helping women, and giving much needed depth to the Baba Yaga myth. Gaslight. Gatekeep. Girl boss. Be the Baba Yaga you want to be in the world!
Publication: January 31 2023
Publisher: Playwrights Canada Press
Pages: 157 pages (paperback)
Source: Playwrights Canada Press (Thank you!)
Genre: Fiction, Play, Contemporary, Fantasy, Mystery
My Rating: ⛤⛤⛤⛤⛤
Summary:
She’s more than just a wicked old witch. Baba Yaga is a legend, usually known as that elderly woman who lives alone in the woods and grinds the bones of the wicked. But what if she was actually a sexy, smart, modern woman operating off of morally ambiguous motives?
A detective finds himself in a small, isolated town asking, what does the disappearance of a young heir to a yogurt empire have to do with some random lore about an old witch? Matched by an apprehensive local sheriff, a university professor with a taste for younger men, and a whole cast of curious characters, the Slavic myth of Baba Yaga twists into a new labyrinth of secret lives, ancient magic, and multiple suspects.
This genre-bending comedic fairy tale meets thrilling whodunit gives voice to an antihero of epic proportions while interrogating how her story has historically been told by men. From now on, you’ll remember the name Baba Yaga for the right reasons.
Sarah O'Connor 