The Citizen, 2016-06-23, Page 27BX93 Open Air VIDEO DANCE
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THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JUNE 23, 2016. PAGE 27.
Entertainment & Leisure
Festival paints portrait of Dinnings' life after death
Seeking a connection
Laurie Dinning, left, as portrayed by Rebecca Auerbach, walks the Camino Trail in Our
Beautiful Sons: Remembering Matthew Dinning in an attempt to find a connection with her son
Matthew, right, played by Jesse LaVercombe. Matthew was killed by a roadside bomb in
Afghanistan and Laurie embarked on her trip afterwards for a number of personal reasons.
(Terry Manzo photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
It is often said, by way of either
historical proclamation or current
conversation, that the Blyth Festival
is one of the few Canadian theatres
that holds a mirror up to its
audience – that the Festival was
created to reflect the community's
stories back at its members.
This was unusually true on Friday
night as the Festival staged the world
premiere of Our Beautiful Sons:
Remembering Matthew Dinning.
Lincoln and Laurie, Matthew's
parents, Brendon, Matthew's
brother, and Gail, neighbour of the
Dinnings (often referred to in
whispers on opening night as the
'nosy neighbour') all sat in the
audience Friday night as Blyth
Festival versions of themselves
stood on the Memorial Hall stage
telling their stories back to them.
The news of Matthew's death – via
roadside bomb in Afghanistan – is
now 10 years old. It is well known
by Huron County residents who
remember hearing the news and saw
the faces of Lincoln and Laurie on
television or in newspapers.
The vision of former Artistic
Director Eric Coates to bring
Matthew's story to the Blyth Festival
stage stretches almost as far back.
Matthew's story was in the back of
minds and on the desks of many as
the Festival's Artistic Director
position shifted from Coates to Peter
Smith to Marion de Vries to current
Artistic Director Gil Garratt.
Now, 10 years after Matthew was
laid to rest, why tell the Dinnings'
story? What is there to learn?
Like Titanic, there is no spoiling
the ending – the boat sinks.
Similarly, Matthew dies in Our
Beautiful Sons and we all know it.
Like so many stories, especially
those viewed through the complex,
and often fractured prism of family
tragedy there is so much to learn, to
feel and to consider.
Not to make another Titanic
reference, but the known and
accepted version of the Dinning
story is like an iceberg. In Huron
County, we've seen the minutes -long
television reports and we've seen the
pictures in the newspaper, but what
playwright Christopher Morris and
Garratt as director have done is
brought us behind that curtain to the
times devoid of photographers. Our
Beautiful Sons brings members of
the audience into conversations they
hope never to have – a view of the
90 per cent of the iceberg that's
submerged under water.
Some conversations are tragic,
while others are uncomfortable and
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IF TRUTH BE TOLD
Written by Beverley Cooper
Directed by Miles Potter
Fact or fiction, truth or lies, literature or smut; who
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others still are more casual than
you'd expect. But these are all stops
on the journey of grief the Dinnings
were forced to travel.
There is blame, there is anger,
there is sadness and there is
confusion. But at the same time,
there is humour, there is tenderness,
there is empathy and there is love.
Morris spent years sitting across
tables from those who knew and
loved Matthew and his family – and
this level of research and dedication
shows. It's only through that level of
devotion that you can present more
than the perfect soundbite or that one
great quote on the poster to hook
audiences in.
It's not through his notes that
Morris tells the story, but rather
through the moments in which he
likely put his pen down and simply
absorbed things, through osmosis.
Whether it was an atmosphere, a
feeling or a conversation, he was
there, he learned and he felt it – so
too, then, does the audience.
In Gillian Gallow's set design,
i
The family of
Brock & Janis (Morritt) Vodden
invite you to a celebration of the
60' Anniversary
of their parents
and the 80th birthday
of their mother, Janis.
Come and Go Tea
Iat the Royal Canadian Legion
Hall, Blyth Branch 420,
Dinsley Street, Blyth
Sunday, July 10
from 2:00 to 5:00 pm
No gifts, please
three chairs sit neatly around the
Dinnings' kitchen table, while a
fourth lays toppled on the ground to
one side. This is Matthew's chair and
it never returns to the table. In a way,
however, that space belongs to the
audience as you sit at the table,
alongside the Dinnings and travel
this journey with them.
Our Beautiful Sons is full of
extreme peaks and valleys – a true
and vivid window into the lives of
the Dinnings. Audience members
will laugh as hard as they have at
some of the Festival's greatest
comedies, but they'll also cry more
Continued on page 28
Gavin Bowers graduated
from the University of
Guelph with an Honours
Bachelor of Science
Degree in Statistics. Gavin
is the son of Steve and
Rita Bowers of R.R. #2
Brussels. Congratulations
Gavin, we are very proud
of you.
Love, Dad, Mom,
Laura and Greg
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