All the latest news and reviews from the Blyth Festival Theatre
In the Wake of Wettlaufer is truly exceptional theatre and you may want to see it for many reasons not necessarily as an impetus to react to the Gillese inquiry report, writes James Karas in his online review. The Blyth Festival has produced a harrowing and deeply moving play about the fate of a man suffering from dementia and its …
By Joe Belanger, London Free Press I’m still thinking about what happened to me Aug. 7. That night, I walked into the Blyth Festival theatre to watch the world premiere of In the Wake of Wettlaufer. Beyond watching compelling theatre, I was looking into a mirror at my own life and hearing actors talk about issues I’ve either had to …
Country 104.9 morning host Fadi Didi and Dan Needles, who wrote The Team on the Hill, had a fun chat recently. This is the final minute of their interview. Listen to Country 104.9 for more clips next week. Seats are filling up for this rich, funny and moving drama about life on the home-farm. Cutline: The Team on …
Portraying raw emotion on stage is difficult. But it’s even tougher to watch, writes Liz Dadson, in her review of In the Wake of Wettlaufer, posted on the Kincardine Record‘s website. However, the Blyth Festival has not only produced a brilliant and timely play, it has done so with finesse and incredible sensitivity, she wrote. Such is the world premiere …
In the Wake of Wettlaufer, written by Kelly McIntosh and Gil Garratt, who also directed, is a powerful artistic achievement but, more importantly, it puts a human face and sharp focus on a horrific tragedy that has exposed the weaknesses in a long-term care system in desperate need of repair, writes London Free Press reviewer Joe Belanger. That this play …
The Blyth Festival has a history of creating dramatic works that address headline grabbing events in the province. The Pigeon King (2017), for example, was based on a $70 million ponzi scheme involving breeding phony “racing” pigeons. In the Wake of Wettlaufer continues the tradition. But whereas The Pigeon King told the story of how Arlan Galbraith bilked hundreds of farmers, Wettlaufer takes a different tack, one that …
BLYTH – Writers Kelly McIntosh and Gil Garratt tell a poignant story of four siblings’ decision to place their aging father in long-term care only to find it is the same home where serial killer nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer has been killing residents, in the world premiere In the Wake of Wettlaufer, running Aug. 7 to Sept. 6 at Blyth Festival. …
“In Austin, the family patriarch, [playwright Dan] Needles has created the kind of rich comic character who, like Falstaff in the Elizabethan era, leaves audiences wanting more of his company. He is the heart and soul of the play and Layne Coleman gives him the kind of bravura performance that for once makes the standing ovation at the curtain call …
BLYTH – Canadian writer Dan Needles trademark wit and unparalleled observations of farm life come to the Blyth Festival stage with The Team on the Hill, running July 31 to Sept. 5. Needles, winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, created the Wingfield Series and brought us True Confessions from the Ninth Concession earlier this year. The Team …
“To pull off a farce, you need relentless pacing and committed performances. Farce only works if the actors play their roles as if their characters are facing life and death situations. The tension must be palpable, and kudos to director Kelli Fox for ensuring that it is,” writes theatre critic Paula Citron in her review of Cakewalk on her blog. …
