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The Citizen, 2010-10-07, Page 23THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2010. PAGE 23. Entertainment Leisure& 50th Wedding Anniversary John and Florence Wiersma (October 12,1960) The family of John and Florence Wiersma invites you to an OPEN HOUSE Saturday, October 16, 2010 from 2:00 ~ 4:00 pm Blyth Christian Reformed Church Happy 40th Anniversary Gary & Beth Earl October 9th Love, your family Play about British Home Children locally directed Doctor Barnardo’s Children is a play about displacement, lost identity, and 100,000 children who suffered being torn from their worlds and deposited across one, or several, oceans and it’s being directed by a Blyth resident. The play is about British Home Children, youths plucked from the streets, or sometimes from their family homes, given minimal training, and shipped overseas during a time of financial hardship in Britain. It’s also a very timely piece for the Goderich Little Theatre to be tackling, given that 2010 has been declared the Year of the British Home Child. The play, directed by Blyth resident Duncan McGregor, focuses on three different characters, and examines their lives during their time as children and the present, when they are grown. Starring Goderich Little Theatre mainstay Rob Bundy as Barnardo, the show illustrates, according to McGregor, how the Barnardo Children emigration started, and what the results were, regardless of the good intent of the program. McGregor said that the heart of the play is hard to summarize because of how broad the subject matter is. “It’s hard to encapsulate,” he said. “We see Dr. Barnardo at a young age, and see how he was motivated to [start the program], and then we see how it affected people.” McGregor said the difficulty involved in summarizing the play comes from its fluid nature. “Time is so flexible in the play,” he said. “We see the three main characters when they were first brought to Canada, when they were between 13 and 15 years old, and when they are adults. Sometimes we even see them as adults and children within the same scene.” The play was written by Ian McLaclan and performed first at The 4th Line Theatre in Millbrook under the artistic direction of Robert Winslow. The show debuted at The 4th Line Theatre in 2005 and really impressed McGregor. “Emotionally, it hit me as hard as it could,” he said. McGregor said the play ranked with the best he has seen in Blyth, and that he wanted to do his own rendition of it, but didn’t know when. “I retired from teaching, and then we did a reading at The Livery and they approved,” he said, adding that the cast has expanded to 43 members since that original reading. The play will be different from the 4th Line Theatre’s take on it, however, since McGregor wanted to explore some more minor storylines in addition to the main plot. McGregor said that the 4th Line production had the background children as just that, background, which suited their theatre well, but, since the play will be indoors he can elaborate on the alternative storylines more. “I want to personalize the story,” he said, explaining that he would focus on more of the children briefly to show what they went through. Some stories from the British program are of harsh taskmasters while others are of families that did their best to make the experience an enjoyable one. This variance, according to McGregor, provides many different opportunities for exploration in the story. The decision was made in no small part due to the connection that Huron County residents have with the children. McGregor said that, since he began auditioning, many of the actors have come forward and explained that they have connections to the children, and that almost all the stories he has heard have been reflected in the play. He also stated the area is directly connected to Doctor Barnardo’s Children, as there was a British Home Child distribution house in Clinton and that newspaper clippings from the area link it directly to Doctor Barnardos Children. McGregor explained that the 4th Line Theatre, being an outdoor Theatre, didn’t use as many sound effects, and relied on natural lights for the production. The Goderich Little Theatre production will make more use of technology, allowing them to put more focus on peripheral stories. Doctor Barnardo was the head figure of one of several groups who sent the Children to their new homes. British Home Children would land on foreign shores, like Australia, New Zealand and Canada, be given to new families or individuals, and find themselves working for room and board, typically on farms. The play will reverse the traditional relationship between actors and audience with the stage being the seating area and the entire Livery floor acting as the stage. The change will allow the play to emulate its original showing more accurately, according to McGregor, and provide opportunities for actors to really take the audience by surprise. Doctor Barnardo’s Children opens on Oct. 21 at 8 p.m., and will run Oct. 22-23 and 28-30 at 8 p.m. Matinees are scheduled for Oct. 24 and 31 at 2 p.m. For more information about the play and The Livery, visit www.thelivery.ca or call 519-524- 6262. By Denny Scott The Citizen Alzheimer Society welcomes legends of Rock and Roll for fundraising concerts The Alzheimer Society of Huron County is ready to rock out to “The Legends of Rock and Roll and Country Music!” This tribute show is a live re-creation of over 20 superstars, such as Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Britney Spears, Shania Twain, Roy Orbison, Tina Turner, Madonna and Willie Nelson. There are three shows: Thursday, Oct. 14 at Central Huron Secondary School in Clinton, Friday, Oct. 15 at South Huron District High School in Exeter and Saturday, Oct. 16 at Wingham Columbus Centre in Wingham. Doors for each show open at 6:30 p.m. with the show slated to start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 each or $54 for a family pass, which admits up to six people. Tickets can be purchased in advance by calling the Alzheimer Society of Huron County at 519- 482-1482 or 1-800-561-5012. Tickets will also be available at the door. “It’s a fun night of great, live entertainment. Everyone really enjoys themselves and the funds that we raise help us to enhance the programs and services that we offer to the residents of Huron County,” says Cathy Ritsema, Executive Director of the Alzheimer Society of Huron County. For more information, please contact the Society at 519-482-1482 or 1-800-561-5012 or by e-mail: melissa@alzheimer.on.ca Continued from page 20 the children, and he is hoping that they receive enough feedback to make multiple quilts necessary. “We’re hoping that we get enough stories and photographs to make multiple quilts,” he said. “We want people to see these stories.” McGregor said that, during the play’s run, the quilt will be viewable in the lobby, and will be at the Goderich branch of the Huron County Library after that. Anyone with information can contact The Livery at by phone at 519-524-6262 or e-mail at lisa@thelivery.ca Home Children quilt showed at Livery play A Celebration Starring MARIE BOTTRELL ✮✮✮✮ PPPPAAAATTTT SSSS YYYY CCCC LLLL IIII NNNN EEEE ✮✮✮✮ 2-time CCMA Vocalist of the Year 4-time Juno Nominee Canadian Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Hear all the Hits: “Crazy”, “Walkin’ After Midnight”, “She’s Got You”, “Sweet Dreams of You” and more! OOOO NNNN EEEE SSSS HHHH OOOO WWWW OOOO NNNN LLLLYYYY !!!!Sunday, October 17 (3 pm) BLYTH MEMORIAL HALL All Seats: Only $20 per show Tickets ON SALE NOW at the Theatre 423 Queen St., Blyth Or Phone (519) 523-9300 or 1-877-862-5984 (toll free) www.BlythFestival.com AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY!