Playwright and historian Dr. Geoffrey Reaume has utilized his research into the early history of the Toronto Hospital for the Insane (now the Center for Addiction and Mental Health - Queen Street Division) to craft this incredibly powerful narrative depicting  a patient’s-eye perspective on life in a large turn-of-the-century mental institution.

    ‘Angels of 999 Queen Street West’ (This being the street address of the institution in question, prior to it being changed to 1001 Queen St. W. in the mid-1970’s) depicts in vivid detail the daily lives of several inmates of this institution as they face the challenge of incarceration lasting for decades at a time, backbreaking forced labour, staff  abuse and outside community attitudes ranging from indifference to outright hostility.

    ‘Marcia F.’ (Ruth Ruth) was a woman who spent a combined total of nineteen years in two separate asylums (Toronto and Hamilton), merely for being a woman who wished to control and freely express her sexuality, which earned her the diagnosis of ‘erotomaniac.’ ‘Emily O.’ (Lucia Costa) was a devout Christian and former domestic servant whose repeated letters complaining of abuse earned her the emnity and contempt of the medical staff during a period of imprisonment that spanned five years.

    Carpenter and violin-maker ‘Winston O.’ (Heinz Klein) spent fifty-eight years behind the walls before dying shortly prior to  his 90th birthday, while the lovelorn youngster ‘Egbert G.’ (Liza Soroka) saw the handwriting on the wall early, subsequently scaling it to freedom after a mere three weeks’ incarceration. ‘Jane the Story Teller’ (Penny Riegle) maintained continuity through her smooth narrative flow, while the ‘protagonist’ (Ken Innes) placed aspects of the story into a modern context by wielding a thoroughly engaging comic flair, while keeping cast and audience alike on their toes throughout.

    Based on portrayals of several actual inmates of the asylum  (The names were changed  to respect peoples’ privacy) along with a number of skilfully created composite characters, these were just some of the people depicted in this study of the remarkably rich tapestry  of ‘patient’ life and culture, inside the walls of one of Canada’s most oppressive institutions.

     This play, which was two years in the crafting under the loving touch of the Friendly Spike Theatere Band. surely stands as one of the most imprtant renderings of the history of an oppressed people, from the perspective of the people themselves. 

    The book Remembrance of Patients Past: Patient Life in the Toronto Hospital for the Insane 1870-1940 by Geoffrey Reaume, Ph.D is now available through Oxford University Press.