Village Squire, 1976-08, Page 32Theatre
Summer of '76 proves Canadian theatre can
be good and crowd pleasing
While Canadians have become increasingly
chauvinistic in many ways, in the arts the
feeling still often seems to be: "if it's
Canadian, it can't be good."
We see it in television where many people
turn off a television show before it starts if
they know it's made in Canada. (One of the
few successful situation comedies on
Canadian television, The King of Kensington
is popular in part because few viewers seem
to know it isn't American). We've seen it in
movies where to be dubbed Canadian means
nobody will come out to see it even if you can
persuade a theatre owner to book it in.
Wealthy art collectors seem to think a New
York painter is infinitely better than a
Canadian.
One area of the arts that seems to have
wiped out the stigma is live theatre. In fact,
one of the problems in Canadian theatre has
been just the opposite: that theatres are so
busy putting on "relative" (that is Canadian)
plays that they forget that their first duty is to
provide good entertainment. Too much trash
is mounted on stages in the name of
nationalism.
But in the summer of 1976 in western
Ontario three summer theatres are proving
that Canadian plays can not only be
interesting but good box office.
Home-grown Canadian drama really
reached the big-time this summer when the
Stratford Festival made its first venture into
original Canadian material with Larry
Fineberg's adaption of Constance Beresford-
Howe's Book of Eve. Eve has been a critical
success, with particular praise going to
Jessica Tandy in the title role. The production ,
has probably drawn as' universally 'good
reviews as any production of the season.
Meanwhile over at the Huron Country
Playhouse, the two Canadian works in this
year's play season have been among the best
received. Warren Graves, The Muniberly
Inheritance drew good reviews from the
normally acidic critics (the Playhouse has
been proving well this season that bad
reviews don't necessarily mean bad business)
But the hit of the season is the Canadian
musical comedy Anne of Green Gables for
which tickets were hard to get weeks before
opening. The play will tour several other
centres in the next few weeks then return to
the Playhouse for a further week. It's almost
certain to smash all box-office records for the
Playhouse.
30, VILLAGE SQUIRE/AUGUST 1976
The theatre ,that's been doing more •
Canadian works than both of the others
combined, however, is the Blyth Summer
Festival. The Festival has received a good
deal of attention from across Canada because
it's one of the few theatres committing itself
to an all -Canadian playbill: in fact in 1976 it's
nearly an all -original playbill.
It's a risky business, doing all new material
and that's reflected in the fact that the Blyth
theatre has had some tremendous successes
and some disappointments this season.
Generally, however, the.experiment has been
a big success.
The box-office leader far and away has
been the revival of last year's box office
leader, Mostly in Clover. James Roy, Festival
artistic director stuck his neck way out last
year in the embryonic season of the festival to
do not only a Canadian play, not only an
original play, but one based right in the Blyth
area from the books of Harry J . Boyle.
Working with writer Steven Thorne and a
talented cast of actors who improvised many
scenes from the book, they turned out a
mixture of corn, comedy, music and tragedy
that drew many people back to the theatre
7
*GOURMET
COOKWARE
•HANDCRAFTS
•GIFTS
*ANTIQUES
HOURS:
Monday, Tuesday
-10-6p.m.
Closed Wednesday
- - r Thursday, Friday
& Saturday
10 - 6 p.m.
Sunday 1:00-6:OOp.m
THE KITCHEN CUPBOARD
QUEEN ST , BLYTH, ONT
HWY. N0.4
TEL. 519-523-9672
A
CHRISTMAS COUNTRY FAIR
DISPLAY & SALE OF LOCAL ARTS,
CRAFTS & COUNTRY BAKING
pi 1111 tlll� .
, *MA W' WO % Wednesday, October 20 and
t , ft irdSaturday, October 23, 1976
1R
)— v 1�►
\� Er •,.
I 1\ Salt$ord Valley Hall V. mile N.
of Goderich in Colborn,t
4
A •
_ 1• 1 y Township
The original Western Ontario craft show organized BY craftsmen
to PROMOTE craftsmen and a community.
Special Features: John and Barbara Kerr of Brussels in Pioneer
Crafts. Refinished early Canadian furniture by Dennis Steep of
Dunlop [corner of Hwy. 21 & Huron County Road 251.
30, VILLAGE SQUIRE/AUGUST 1976
The theatre ,that's been doing more •
Canadian works than both of the others
combined, however, is the Blyth Summer
Festival. The Festival has received a good
deal of attention from across Canada because
it's one of the few theatres committing itself
to an all -Canadian playbill: in fact in 1976 it's
nearly an all -original playbill.
It's a risky business, doing all new material
and that's reflected in the fact that the Blyth
theatre has had some tremendous successes
and some disappointments this season.
Generally, however, the.experiment has been
a big success.
The box-office leader far and away has
been the revival of last year's box office
leader, Mostly in Clover. James Roy, Festival
artistic director stuck his neck way out last
year in the embryonic season of the festival to
do not only a Canadian play, not only an
original play, but one based right in the Blyth
area from the books of Harry J . Boyle.
Working with writer Steven Thorne and a
talented cast of actors who improvised many
scenes from the book, they turned out a
mixture of corn, comedy, music and tragedy
that drew many people back to the theatre
7
*GOURMET
COOKWARE
•HANDCRAFTS
•GIFTS
*ANTIQUES
HOURS:
Monday, Tuesday
-10-6p.m.
Closed Wednesday
- - r Thursday, Friday
& Saturday
10 - 6 p.m.
Sunday 1:00-6:OOp.m
THE KITCHEN CUPBOARD
QUEEN ST , BLYTH, ONT
HWY. N0.4
TEL. 519-523-9672