The Citizen, 2005-06-29, Page 17The house that
started it all
Peter Colley, visiting a remote East Wawanosh
farmhouse, was inspired to write /’// Be Back Before
Midnight which has been seen around the world
This lonely farmhouse near Belgrave inspired Peter Colley to
write I’ll be Back Before Midnight. It has played a significant part
in Festival history ever since.
It's not one of the most impressive
farmhouses in Huron County but for
ardent Blyth Festival fans, it should
be marked with a plaque.
Half-hidden by trees and shrubs,
the house on a sideroad in the former
East Wawanosh Twp. near Belgrave
has been the summer home to a
succession of Festival icons for
nearly 30 years and the inspiration
for perhaps the most successful play
in the Festival history.
Festival founders James Roy and
Anne Chislett were living in the
house in 1978 when London
playwright. Peter Colley, stayed with
them overnight. Colley was working
on revisions for The Huron Tiger, his
play about the life of the legendary
Tiger Dunlop.
A city kind of guy, Colley was
spooked by the loneliness and
silence of the house and absolute
darkness of the country night.
“. . . James suggested that I write
a play about his old farmhouse since
I found it so spooky and thus I began
I’ll Be Back Before Midnight, Colley
recalled in Special Memories,
published for the Festival’s 15th
anniversary in 1990.
The seed was planted for a play
about a young husband and wife
who come to a lonely farmhouse
seeking peace, but find terror
instead.
Midnight (called I’ll Be Back for
You Before Midnight then), opened
the Festival season in 1979. It was
an immediate hit and was brought
back in the 1980 season. It spread
around the world and was translated
into several languages. The Globe
and Mail called Midnight, “the most
produced Canadian play ever”. It
has grossed over $10 million
worldwide and was even adapted as
a forgettable, straight-to-video
movie starring Heather Locklear.
After James Roy left the Festival,
the house was turned over to
Canadian theatre legend Paul
Thompson and his wife, frequent
Festival star Anne Anglin. The
couple’s many guests over the years
included poet/novelist Michael
Ondaatje who memorialized the
surrounding countryside in his
poems.
When the Thompsons moved to
another farm home a few miles
away, they passed on the house to
Ted Johns, the Festival’s most
popular playwright and Janet Amos,
one of the Festival’s most popular
actors and twice its artistic director.
There definitely is more to this old
farmhouse than meets the eye.
Midnight Memories
“No one in the company of I'll Be
Back Before Midnight will ever
forget the thrill of hearing the
audiences scream, ‘don’t open the
window’ to wonderful Angie Gei as
the character Jan attempted to
understand the odd happenings in
the farmhouse. The audiences
provided us with such stimulating
adrenaline during each performance
as they committed themselves to the
suspension of their disbelief.” —
Kate Trotter who starred as Laura
in the premiere production
remembering for Special Memories,
published on the 15th anniversary
of the Festival in 1990.
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BLYTH FESTIVAL SALUTE, JUNE 29/30, 2005, PAGE 17
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