HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2019-05-02, Page 19THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 2, 2019. PAGE 19.
‘Pigeon King’ connects with NAC audiences
OFA submission
outlines needs
The Pigeon King, the hit that
premiered at the Blyth Festival in
2017, opened at the National Arts
Centre (NAC) in Ottawa on Friday
night, garnering standing ovations
from audiences throughout the
weekend.
The play’s two-week run was
announced just under a year ago,
marking the first time that a Blyth
Festival-produced play, featuring all
of the Festival creators and actors,
has graced the Ottawa stage.
In an interview with The Citizen,
Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil
Garratt said the first weekend of
shows has been truly rewarding and
that it’s been amazing to see the buy-
in from Ottawa audiences, as well as
some familiar faces.
For opening night, Huron-Bruce
federal Liberal candidate Allan
Thompson was in the audience, in
addition to North Huron
Reeve Bernie Bailey, who also made
the cross-province trip for the show.
On Saturday night, the Festival
artists shared the NAC building with
the Governor General’s Performing
Arts Awards, which saw Canadian
performers like Golden Globe
winner Sandra Oh, Rick Mercer and
Colm Feore in attendance at the red
carpet affair.
The story that Festival audiences
have come to know and love brought
the Ottawa audience to its feet on
Saturday night.
Garratt said that while he has been
confident in the show and knew it
had national appeal, he didn’t think
audiences in the nation’s capital
would embrace it as wholly as they
have.
In the early days of rehearsing to
bring the show to Ottawa, Garratt
said there were jokes among the cast
that Ottawa residents may need
subtitles for Garratt’s Arlan
Galbraith, the head of Pigeon King
International, and his rural twang.
However, the audiences have
connected with the show and the
experience has been a positive one
thus far, Garratt said.
The sets were taken from Blyth to
Ottawa, transporting the Festival
experience to the NAC, although the
theatre that is hosting the show is
larger than Memorial Hall.
Another change is that Festival
regular Greg Gale has taken over the
roles played by Pigeon King co-
creator Jason Chesworth and he
doesn’t miss a beat, picking up not
only Chesworth’s characters, but his
guitar-playing prowess.
Garratt leans into the too-weird-
to-believe side of his take on
Galbraith and his body language
alone on stage would elicit laughter
from the audience, whether it was
Galbraith’s knee-slapping (to him)
jokes on the farm or his bizarre
courtroom behaviour. He’s definitely
having more fun with the character
every time The Pigeon King hits the
stage.
The rest of the cast took their full
range of talents to Ottawa, with J.D.
Nicholsen and Rebecca Auerbach
giving audiences music that would
be at home on any Canadian stage.
Musical director and actor George
Meanwell shines as the cast’s multi-
instrumentalist, while seasoned actor
Birgitte Solem excels in her role as
the plucky young journalist who
exposed Galbraith’s scheme in the
first place. In many ways, Solem is
the audience’s touchstone for the
often confusing aspects of
Galbraith’s story, whether it’s the
pyramid scheme revelation or the
strange goings-on during Galbraith’s
trial.
The cast has received help from
home for their NAC production,
with Festival veteran stage manager
Heather Thompson making the trip
and keeping everyone on time and in
place throughout the production.
In his interview with The Citizen,
Garratt said that the success of The
Pigeon King in Ottawa really affirms
what he feels he and others have
been saying about the Blyth Festival
for years, that it is truly producing
some of the best and most important
work in Canada and that it would be
at home on any stage across the
country.
He says that while the support
from Ottawa audiences has been
inspiring, it has also been great to
see all of the Huron County
residents making the trip to the
eastern tip of the province to see the
show. He says that it means a lot to
him as well as his fellow artists.
While Thompson, Bailey and
others were in the audience for
opening night, there was a reception
on Tuesday night that welcomed a
number of locals to the city,
including North Huron councillors
and Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb.
He said that support really
emphasizes the community spirit
that has not only supported The
Pigeon King, but the Blyth Festival
itself for all these years.
Speaking of Bailey making the trip
for opening night, Garratt said that if
a Toronto theatre company had a
show opening in Vancouver, Mayor
John Tory wouldn’t get on a plane to
go cheer on that company, so that
support from Huron County is very
special.
The Pigeon King is on stage at the
NAC’s Babs Asper Theatre until
May 5. Tickets are on sale now and
there are student and rush ticket
options available. For more
information or for a schedule for
further performances, visit the NAC
online at nac-cna.ca.
Continued from page 17
OFA’s submission outlined the needs
of the agriculture sector and our
rural and northern communities, and
our most important recommendation
includes engaging directly with
farmers to find cost-effective
diversion and processing solutions
to farm waste. Reducing waste is
often beyond the reach of farmers
and depends on manufacturers to
help develop viable reduction and
recycling strategies.
The OFA supports a model for
waste reduction that uses existing
resources including Cleanfarms to
assess our current and future needs
for plastic waste recovery, plastic
use reduction and diverting plastic to
other uses.
Ontario agriculture knows that
diverting plastic from landfills
conserves land, energy, water and
labour resources. Recycling also
supports healthy soil and reduces
greenhouse gas emissions. These
activities are all vital to our thriving
agri-food sector and rural
communities. The OFA continues
to work with the provincial
government as it moves forward on
plans to reduce waste and litter to
ensure changes include viable,
affordable options for our industry.
In the meantime, let’s all rise to the
100 per cent recycled challenge for
plastic farm jugs this year.
Read the OFA’s full submission to
the Ministry of the Environment,
Conservation and Parks at ofa.on.ca,
including the OFA’s letter on
reducing litter and waste.
The Citizen
See these and other books at...
541 Turnberry St., Brussels
519-887-9114
405 Queen St., Blyth
519-523-4792
ROSES LOVE GARLIC
Companion planting means
planning your garden to take
advantage of natural friendships
between plants. Discover from
one of North America’s most
beloved gardeners how flowers
help or hinder nearby vegetables
and other flowers. $22.95
HERBS: The Complete
Gardener’s Guide
Beautiful photos and paintings
accompany tips on selecting
and growing herbs, alliums,
seeds and sprouts, kitchen
herbs, and fragrant herbs.
Information on dozens of herbs
and how to preserve and use
them. $24.95
IMPROVING YOUR SOIL
A Practical Guide to Soil
Management for the Serious
Home Gardener
Soil scientist Keith Reid provides
steps to achieve the right soil
base in which to grow bigger
vegetables and better flowers
and how to manage the soil for
the long term. $29.95
THE ORGANIC LAWN
CARE MANUAL
The ban on pesticide use on
lawns doesn’t mean you
can’t have a good-looking
lawn. This 270-page manual
provides information on how
to have a healthy lawn,
identify pests and control
them. $26.95
HIGH-YIELD VEGETABLE
GARDENING
Whether you’re looking to
grow fresh vegetables year
round, sell at a farmers’
market or start a community
garden this book gives tips on
maximizing your garden’s
potential. $28.95
GROWING TREES FROM SEED
The late Henry Kock of the
University of Guelph Arboretum
shows how to collect and plant the
seeds of dozens of varieties of
native trees. Comprehensive
instructions, beautiful illustrations,
30 pages of colour photos. $45.00
Time to get growing with these fine books
25%off
Gardening Books
for the month
of May
On the road again
The Blyth Festival collective production, The Pigeon King,
opened on the National Arts Centre stage on Friday night to
a tremendous response, according to Blyth Festival Artistic
Director Gil Garratt. Above are Birgitte Solem, left, and J.D.
Nicholsen, both co-creators and performers in the show.
(Terry Manzo photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
ON $6.00 THURSDAYS
Drop into either of our offices any
Thursday with your word classified
(maximum 20 words) and pay only
$6.00 + HST (paid in advance).
That’s $1.00 off regular rates.
The Citizen