All the latest news and reviews from the Blyth Festival Theatre
“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. …
BLYTH, ON – The Blyth Festival Theatre is pleased to announce a three-year sponsorship agreement between Blyth Cowbell Brewing Co. and the Blyth Festival. Cowbell Brewing will be the exclusive Hospitality Sponsor and will sponsor the development of a new play, focusing on a remarkable, historic Blyth resident. “Cowbell Brewing is proud to support the Blyth Festival Theatre, a unique …
In this video, Artistic Director Gil Garratt chats with Gemma James-Smith, the designer and constructor of the puppet that dominates the stage in Jumbo, which plays at the Blyth Festival until Aug. 10. Photo: Jumbo, written by Sean Dixon, runs until Aug. 10. Pictured are: Tony Munch as Matthew Scott and Lucy Meanwell as Annie Jones. Creative team includes: Manon …
BLYTH, ON – At the outset of the 45th anniversary season, The Township of North Huron and the Blyth Centre for the Arts (Blyth Festival), together announce a new ten-year, year-round lease for Blyth Memorial Community Hall. This replaces a previous lease agreement between the township and Blyth 14/19. The change in leaseholder will not affect the historic use by …
By James Stewart Reaney LondonFuse Contributor That’s a really big show up at Blyth this summer. That would be Jumbo by Sean Dixon. Your part in the play? Get on up to Huron County and feel its big love. Based on the tragic tale of the giant African elephant, Jumbo opened the Blyth Festival’s 45th Season on June 14. …
Playwright Collen Curran first wrote Cakewalk for the Blyth Festival in 1984. Then it made the rounds of area theatres, and I was fortunate enough to see it in 1985 at the old Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia. So it was interesting to see its return 35 years later, writes Mary Alderson in her blog, Entertain This Thought. I was concerned that the …
The return of Cakewalk to the Blyth Festival stage is a welcome slice of life and humour that is both unique to rural Ontario and universal at the same time, writes Shawn Loughlin, of The Citizen. Written by celebrated playwright Colleen Curran, the show premiered at the Blyth Festival in 1984. It would be remounted two years later as part …
The mission of the Blyth Festival in tiny Blyth, Ontario, is to produce new Canadian work on rural themes. That might seem a tough nut to crack, but they’ve been at it successfully for 45 years now and the quality of the plays I’ve seen has been remarkable, writes Kelly Monaghan in his blog The Intrepid Monologue. Not everything they …
