HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2016-02-04, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2016.
First month of `Fighting 61st' work in the books
Formulating thoughts
Eli Ham is one of the actors who has been hard at work on The Fighting 61st, a collective
under the direction of Paul Thompson that aims to tell the story of the 161st Battalion from
Huron County in the First World War. Daniel Roberts can be seen rehearsing in the
background at the Blyth Festival's Memorial Hall rehearsal space. (Fiona Sauder photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Work is underway on the Blyth
Festival project The Fighting 61st,
but those involved with the play will
tell you that they've just begun to
scratch the surface.
The play, which was announced
late last year, is a collective being
Theatre
makes
donation
The Woodstock Dutch Theatre
Group was feeling generous recently
and handed out a pair of cheques to
local charities, including the
Children's Health Foundation.
The theatre group, which often
hosts shows at Memorial Hall in
Blyth, recently presented the
Children's Health Foundation with a
cheque for $1,000 and a cheque for
$250 to the McNally House in
Grimsby.
These donations are made every
year to the two organizations.
The theatre group is a non-profit
organization run entirely through
volunteers. Annually, the group
performs five theatre shows in four
different locations throughout
southwestern Ontario.
The group is already working on
its 2016 season with Abseilen, a
tragicomedy told by three girlfriends
on vacation with their two
daughters. All of a sudden, someone
comes crashing down in their garden
and the events that follow test their
friendship when a big secret
threatens to come to light.
Abseilen will hit the stage on
March 19 at 8 p.m. in Blyth. The
show is also playing in Beamsville,
London and Woodstock during its
tour.
For more information about the
theatre group or this year's show,
call Maartje van Wely at 519-709-
1402.
directed by Member of the Order of
Canada Paul Thompson. It has yet to
find a home, says Blyth Festival
Artistic Director Gil Garratt, who is
also acting in the play, but will likely
be produced in Goderich. It is a
partner project with the Huron Arts
and Heritage Network (HAHN).
Acting in the production in
addition to Garratt are Eli Ham, Cam
Laurie, Daniel Roberts and Fiona
Sauder. The group has been in the
community on and off for a number
of weeks throughout January, and
will continue its work through
February and March.
The production will tell the tale of
the formation of the 161st (Huron)
Battalion in the First World War, a
unit in the Expenditionary Force.
The unit began recruiting members
in 1915, before sailing to England
the next year.
The unit would later be absorbed
into the 4th Reserve Battalion in
February, 1918.
The entire cast, including
Thompson, sat down with The
Citizen Friday afternoon and
discussed the research being
conducted as part of the collective
process and some of the more
interesting stories they've
uncovered.
When asked how much research
they've done in comparison to how
much information is out there about
the Huron Battalion in the First
World War, several of the actors held
their thumb and forefinger so close
together that light can barely shine
through. Though they've been very
busy in recent weeks, they've barely
covered any group, when compared
to what is out there, they said.
To say they have been
overwhelmed by the rich trove of
information they're currently
making their way through, they say,
would be an understatement.
Roberts says that in his short time
in Huron County researching for The
Fighting 61st, he has already had a
significant, almost supernatural
brush with history.
While researching one of the
characters he will play in the
production, Roberts stumbled upon
an important date in the young man's
life: Jan. 22, 1916 — the date he
enlisted in the Armed Forces.
Roberts happened upon this fact
on Jan. 22, 100 years to the day. And
not only did these events happen
exactly one century apart, but
Roberts read it when he was in the
rehearsal hall, above the offices of
the Blyth Festival.
It was amazing, he said, to be able
to read this information and look out
the window towards the southeast
corner of Queen and Dinsley Streets,
across the street to where the man
would have went to enlist.
Similarly, Laurie says he's begun
work on the real-life character of a
printer and journalist who had
been covering the war, but then
enlisted.
Sauder will play many of the
production's female roles, but will
also portray male soldier roles over
the course of the play as well.
Much of her work will focus on
what is ongoing on the homefront,
she said, which will be just as
important in the play as what was
happening overseas.
Those roles are crucial to the
telling of Huron County's story,
Continued on page 23
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