Divine Monster, by Elena Kaufman, directed by Mary Dwyer, is currently playing in the RBC Finance Studio at Soulpepper as part of the Fringe.  Martha, a young, lesbian Canadian rock singer has just split up with her girlfriend on the Paris leg of a backpacking trip.  She finds herself in Père Lachaise, chez Sarah Bernhardt, late at night.  It’s one of the rare nights when an ancient ritual might free Bernhardt from her incorporeal existence if the right “victim” can be found.  Martha, who has basically decided that she is a failure with no future might be the ideal candidate.  At least she can see and talk to Sarah though not the other ghosts who lurk around.

Advised by her principal lover Edward VII, though with inputs from a Belgium prince, Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde, Sarah weaves her web.  The trouble is that the two women operate on almost entirely different wavelengths.  Martha, who has had to Google Sarah to figure out who she is, is baffled by a lifestyle of travelling with an elaborate entourage, being denounced by the clergy and all the rest of the 19th century baggage while Sarah is bemused by cellphones and Facebook.  To some extent it’s predictable but it’s handled well.

Sarah’s insatiable desire to return to the real world and, presumably, new celebrity, plays off against Martha’s despair at being dumped by her girlfriend and her manager.  Sarah is convinced that with Martha’s singing voice she could achieve new heights.  But the ritual must proceed in the time honoured fashion.  Does it?  It certainly gets close but the ending leaves questions to be answered.

It’s very well executed.  Bonnie Anderson, switching effortlessly between English and French, is every bit the somewhat predatory and very full of herself grande dame.  Hope Goudsward does a very nice job of capturing Martha’s insecurity and bafflement at the situation she finds herself in.  Greg Campbell is especially good as Edward but does a very decent job with the multiple other characters he plays.

It’s an interesting and often very funny piece that asks a lot of questions about how we construct celebrity, the price of fame and how those things change over time.