User:Geo Swan/Catherine Frid

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Catherine Frid is a Canadian lawyer and playwright. Frid is notable for writing an autobiographical play, "Homegrown", chronicling eighteen months of visits she made to terrorism suspect Shareef Abdelhaleem.

Frid's writing career
Frid's other plays include: Dead cat bounce, buff, The Golden Door, The Tango Player, Guineapigging, Thistlepatch, Spend Your Kids Inheritance and What I Gave, I Have.

Homegrown: a true story
Frid's play Homegrown is subtitled, "a true story". Her ex-husband was a high school teacher, and he had taught Shareef Abdelhaleem, an individual arrested as part of the "Toronto 18", and the play is built upon the regular visits she paid to him while he was in jail waiting for his trial. Abdelhaleem turned out to be one of individuals who was evenutally convicted.

Frid's play stirred controversy as it was described as a "sympathetic" portrayal of a terrorist, for which she received government funding. Notably, members of the Prime Minister's Office weighed in on the play's merits, even before it had been released. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper fielded questions about the play.

The Toronto Sun alone published over close to a dozen articles on the play.