Writing our own illness stories is hard. Performing them is about ten billion times harder.

When Robin Duke was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 her first instinct was to hide. Robin had written, performed and produced on stage and screen but she was determined that cancer was going to be a private performance. Now she’s ready to go public.

This Saturday, November 18th, she will be performing at 8 pm at The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts – event details here.

In I’ve Been Hacked, we see the necessary intrusions of medical professionals and the voyeuristic ones of near-strangers at parties. We hear the rumours swirling around the acting world and share her feelings of exposure. But unlike on the stage where Robin’s show girl self could shine on her own terms, cancer had its own stage directions. With stories, songs and characters, we watch Robin through her fears, her changing body image and her unexpected fashion choices.

But with all of these questions, Robin sees that there are no clear answers. The idea of being inspired, makes her really tired and in the end she finds something better than answers. In collaboration with director and theatre artist Martha Burns and myself, Robin Duke’s one-woman show shines a light on her cancer adventure on her own terms. Robin spoke about our collaboration to the Sault Star before performing at the Algoma Fall Festival last month.

Robin is known for her work on Saturday Night Live, SCTV, and currently, in the comedy troupe Women Fully Clothed and FXX’s Man Seeking Woman.