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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2015-07-09, Page 27THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, JULY 9, 2015. PAGE 27. There is no easy way to tell the story The Wilberforce Hotel, which opened at the Blyth Festival Friday night, tells – the true story of Austin Steward, a pillar of the community of Wilberforce and a man who lived through slavery with the goal not just to survive, but to thrive as a free man. Steward’s autobiography, Twenty- Two Years A Slave, and Forty Years A Freeman, is the basis for Sean Dixon’s play, which takes place just as the final grains of sand slip through the hourglass on Wilberforce, a colony of free black families north of London in the late 1800s. A community that Steward and the rest of Wilberforce’s residents worked so hard to build – literally clearing trees themselves – was about to be taken from them, or rather, was never theirs to begin with, thanks to the Canada Company and there was no recourse. A profound story about a strong and free black community, however, begins with two young white men “blacking up” before they perform their minstrel show at the London Fair. As the lights go down, Eli Ham and Greg Gale appear in front of the Memorial Hall stage and darken their faces with burnt cork before performing their interpretation of black culture. Soon after, however, they find themselves on the run from the law as they fall right into the hands of Steward and his hotel in Wilberforce. Steward is portrayed masterfully by Marcel Stewart, a newcomer to the Blyth Festival, but a man who clearly has all the tools and talent to be a star of the North American stage. Stewart is rhythmic and poetic as Steward – smooth and relaxed, but authoritative and direct when he needs to be. It’s easy to see why Director Philip Akin and Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt fell in love with Stewart during an audition, the conditions of which one would be liberal in calling haphazard. Having been struck by a car just days before, Stewart had broken his leg and was in a cast when he arrived for his audition. Seated and unable to incorporate any physicality into his performance whatsoever, Stewart won the two men over, leading both Akin and Garratt to declare that they had found their Austin Steward before the actor even left the room. Stewart’s work with Shakespeare in Action, specifically with a program to present the works of the great playwright and poet through the vehicle of hip hop, has clearly served him well on the stage. Stewart’s command over the performance is palpable from the second he’s on stage – no one is left wondering who’s in charge of the Wilberforce Hotel. It’s certainly one of the most powerful performances the Festival has seen in recent years. But Steward is clearly a haunted man – even his wife Milly says so. Milly is ever-present in Steward’s mind, but as the audience soon learns, she has returned to New York, awaiting her loving husband’s arrival, admitting defeat in Wilberforce and in search of a better life. Sophia Walker is the beautiful and elegant Milly. Hard working, graceful and willing to speak her mind all at the same time, Walker’s Milly is as complex as she is fascinating. The story is told mainly through flashbacks, which are handled clearly and simply by through the cast and lighting and set design. This is an impressive feat, as flashbacks aren’t always the easiest effect to pull off in a stage show. In Peter Bailey’s return to Blyth, it’s clear that he has done a lot of growing up since his turn as a teen in 2007’s World Without Shadows. Whether he’s playing Steward’s neighbour William or his nemesis Israel Lewis, he doesn’t miss a beat. Bailey can play the hard-working Wilberforce resident when he needs to, just minutes before sliding into the role of the slick-talking Lewis, all before he picks up the banjo of one of the minstrel performers and plays an original song. His range is impressive and his work in The Wilberforce Hotel is a true accomplishment. The Wilberforce Hotel and the pairing of Ham and Gale have shown themselves to be a truly harmonious marriage. While both were in Blyth for its 40th season last year, with Wilberforce, they’ve truly been given roles through which they can shine. Ham plays Robert Cole and Gale is Henry Hill, minstrel performers on the run from police. Like all the other performances in Wilberforce, they are complex. However, exactly like the other performances in Wilberforce, the actors are up to the challenge. There are moments of drama, action and comic relief, all of which Gale and Ham handle with style. A particular challenge, for a number of reasons, is the pair’s minstrel show. In early drafts of Dixon’s play, he had written out the performance. It was director Akin, artistic director and founding member of Toronto’s Obsidian Theatre Company, who felt the minstrel performance needed to be in the show. Portraying something that causes many heads to shake in its historical context can’t be easy, but the men do the performance justice and attack it with the enthusiasm that would have no doubt been present in a late- 1800s minstrel show. With The Wilberforce Hotel, the Blyth Festival has brought new faces to Blyth that are no doubt destined to do great things, while at the same time, Garratt has brought back familiar faces and given them greater opportunities to show off their talent – and they do just that. History unique to southwestern Ontario, drama, comedy and heartbreak –The Wilberforce Hotel is an example of what the Blyth Festival can be on one of its best days. The Wilberforce Hotel runs until Aug. 8. ‘Wilberforce’ explores history, asks tough questions Strong throughout Marcel Stewart, in the foreground as Austin Steward, is the dynamic leader of one of the strongest casts in recent Blyth Festival history. The story of The Wilberforce Hotel is told by Steward to two fugitive minstrel performers, Eli Ham, left, and Greg Gale, right, in the final days of the real life colony, settled by free black immigrants who fled to Canada from the United States, in a story that often includes drama, humour and music. (Terry Manzo photo) Featuring: Jon Lawless, Illitry, Three Forks, Texas King, Stuck Out Here, Celtae Lynn, Honey Sweethearts and more ... Information at www.blyth1419.ca or call 226-523-1419 Happy 50th Anniversary Nancy & Ed Daer July 10th, 2015 Love Terry, Tric, Josh and Lexi Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary Bob and Donna Gibbings (Smith) Married July 24, 1965 With love from your family An Open House will be held Saturday, July 25, 2015 7:30 p.m. Londesboro Hall Best Wishes only 519-440-2717 Wonky Frog Studio DIRTY FUN Entertainment StopsStopsStopsStopsStops a l o n g the wayalongtheway A VISITORS’ GUIDE TO HURON COUNTY stopsalonglakehuron.com Read the latest issue on-line at... 430 Queen Street, Blyth, Ontario 226-523-9720 Specialty Coffees & Espresso Bar Lunches, Treats, Craft beer and Ontario wine By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen