Garlic Breath: A Quartet for Garlic, Cello, Mouth & Telephone

A brand new staging of Garlic Breath, directed by Lianna Makuch (Statford Festival, Banff Centre, National Arts Centre, Dora Award Winner). One night only!

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Garlic Breath is an interdisciplinary theatre piece from classical cellist Miriam Stewart-Kroeker and writer-performer Ben Gorodetsky. These two powerhouse artists bring their distinct styles to a performance that explores memories, melodies, smells and fragments of grandmaternal love and trauma. Contemporary classical solo cello is juxtaposed to stories exploring Ben's relationship with their maternal grandmother, Raiya. Her experiences with starvation, survival, and transformation are told through phone calls, live cooking, movement and translation. A delicious and nutritious mix of music, memory, telecommunication, and fragrant garlic.

“[We] were engrossed in a symphony of love, trauma and, of course, lots of garlic. The air was filled with the garlic’s pungency carried by the melodies from the cello bearing the weight of Raiya’s story. The performance left a lasting impact, [and] more questions than answers…”
-Harleen Kaur Dhillon, The Community Edition

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Creative Team

Writing & Performance: Ben Gorodetsky

Music Curation & Performance: Miriam Stewart-Kroeker

Direction: Lianna Makuch

Dramaturgy & Design: Lauren Prousky

Dramaturgy: Lisa O’Connell

Garlic Breath was originally commissioned by Pat the Dog Theatre Creation and premiered at Femme Folks Fest 2025. The project was funded by the Canada Council for the Arts & Shevchenko Foundation.

Photos by Mark Walton.

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