The Huron Expositor, 1997-07-30, Page 14homegrown hit with suffi-
cient- theatrical legs to trav-
el."
Robert Reid, Kitchener -
Waterloo Record.
"The play is s small gem of
careful observation...an intel-
ligent and wry.exaniination
of the heart of small-town
Ontario..
...Playwright Scott has
assembled a group of exceed-
ingly likeable characters to
populate his first play. They
are a lta like those long-run-
ning stalwarts on the BBC
series. Coronation Street: juat
ordinary folks dealing with
their ordinary problems of
living a gond. decent life.
And because we can easily
identify with these people
and their daily drathas, they
are _eminently watchattle." .
Rick 'Whelan - ' The
Stratford Beacon Herald.
4•1411111•11111111116111111111111matitiall,11tr
LOcaJswillgetakickoutofpq,
BY GREGO R CAMPBELL
Fxpusitot Suitt
Anybody whu has ever
lived in Seafural tor murr
than u week will probably get
a kick out of There's Nothing
in the Paper, the -editor of
this paper, Dave fount, ilia
play which had its Vitotld
Premiere" (Dave, donh
that out or I'll write anatfito-
rial about freedom of _the
press, and Mien you'll be
sorry! - .Qr ger) it the Blyth
f estival last wi ek, .directed
by Terry %ma i.
There are hints of .cftarac=
ters .we may all recognize in
the comedy. And it's nut
often Seaforth's Main Street
gets to be featured as an actu-
al painted baokdn,p for a the-
atrical .production of this
.magnitude.
.Such characters are com-
mon to all small towns with
century -old newspapers. both
struggling with the ecunumi
and mural dilemmas of th
approaching millennium,
hence this setting and .et n e-
dy will have more than
strictly local appeal.
Veteran actors Vernon
Chapman and Dick Murphy
C
THE SETTING WILL PHOTO av JAWS amasses
e I HE SE,s MainG WILLStreet L.DOE FAMILIAR - to playgoers who are also familiar with
and iB woodduring performances of Thers a Nothing In The Paper, which had
t :wort p etM front ooffr paiikski house at the Blyth Festival last .week. In this amen,
Shadowy/Pe
/Pe Ex) am rin front of eon Swart (Jerry Frankest) and office manager Nellie
(Sharon theBakker)alkown t J�Tatt of W. W. Wiison, the d former publisher
native who is also editor The HuronExpositor.ay was wrtttan rookie playwright David boort. a 6eatofth
as the two.old fans Hank and
. Sam, are particularly engq-
ing.
Lead Jerry Franker is a
more complex_ character as
George. the beleaguered edi-
tor of the Shadowvllle
.Examiner,- a fellow who
seems hung up with carrying
his world -upon his shoulders.
around which this story
revolves.
The stage is split in two set-
tings - your typical small -
Lown newsroom and office of
clutter and activity. and your
local coffee shop of constant
rumour and small-town
intrigue, where everyone is
an expert and knows every-
body else end all the "news,"
anything worth knowing.
long before it gets spelled
wrong in the pages of next
week's paper.
DOESN'T PREACH
The ;players bounce back
and forth between the two,
and the plot develops.
-If the playwright has a
theme. he doesn't hit you
over the head with it.
It is ambiguous enough that
it may lead to healthy discus-
sion about the dilemmas of
the tale, as it -did in my fami-
ly on the drive home from
Blyth. •
My wife thought 1 had
more than a bit of Bob (Brian
Paul as the Porsche -driving,
And this is a comedy.
I thought I had more
W.V. in me. except I'm
dead yet and don't read.edi
rials (who cares what I thi
and why should they?).
faring facts- to upinitn, "
truth without fear ur favour
your bum won't get sore
of from watching this one. •
nut You'll be too busy laughing
to- to notice.
nk. It's my boss's fust play, but
pre--. I'll wager it won't be his last.
the There's Nothing !n The•
Paper runs at Blyth until
Aug. 23.
- i would have printed t
name. -
Which isn't an inside joke
You'll just have to see t
play.
STRONG, SUPPORT
dt is good to see the Bly
Festival sticking to its rur
routs, producing entcrtai
ment we, who chose' to liv
in this neck of the woods, ca
all relate 10.
-I suppose this is une of t
purposes of small-town .the
atre, a beleaguered emit
itself.these days. -
Rookie playwright Scott
was lucky to have suc
heavyweights, as Blyth artis
tic director Janet Amos and
Blyth artistic -director -to -be
Anne Chislett, in his corns
un this.script.
Character development and
dialogue are nothing like
writing for a newspaper, and
both worked tirelessly with
Dave in rewrites honing this
he ***
WHAT OTHER PAPERS
he ARE SAVING:
'If playwright Dave Scutt is
right and sensationalism
th sells, then he'll never get rich
al writing plays.
• But if gentle humour. a
c - good story and common wis
n dum'have anything at all 10
do with an enjoyable night of
he theatre, then Scott has hit
_ paydirt with his brat script."
y - Ian Gillespie, The London
Free Press. .
h "You don't .have 10 know -
_ or even etre about - newspa-
per concentration.to enjoy the
comedy, which has enough
✓ laughs to keep most playgo-
ers ►bent over in their seats
with tears running down their
cheeks...
...There's Nothing in .the
Paper has the potential of a
production.
Scott also owes thanks for
them assembling such an
accomplished cast for a first -
cellular -phone, bottom-line
boss of the new paper in
Shadowville. the Express) in
me. My son was unexpected- f
ime effort.
The remainder of the char-
acters, none whom I can find
ault with, are: Sharon
akker as Nellie, the front -
Mee lady; Beverly Elliott as
rondo. the coffee -slinger;
nd Kirsten Van Ritzen as
oan, the bouncy up-and-
oming young ad rep. who
vows a -good deal when she
es it but changes as the
ay moves along.
.Aad lit .does ,tiao»ts ,rig{tt
ong.
ain't Shakespeare -but
lfullell corner
ly quick to disagree. Bob B
combs what .hair he has and o
I'm more of a bumpkin. but B
my lad wasn't quite sure a
which character I wouldbe. j
Anyway. it led to an inter- c
esting family discussion and k
the spirited airing of different se
points of view, which is pi
something we covor;hpasy •
after all watching other al
things. such as a video or TV.
New pay telephone al
Last month Hallett Council Hi
'sent a letter of appreciation to 15.
Bell Canada for installing a
pay telephone at the restau- the
rant, at the corner .of ' 8/9
- Co
ghway 4 and county road
The contract for repairs to
Kennedy bridge on Conc.
was awarded to Raymer
natruction for $98,690.
au're Invite
Tuesday, August 26, 1997
2:30 p.m.
Millington's of Brucef ield
Topics
• Retirement
for the 80'.rs .
• 'axation - You -& yourestate
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Seating is limited so mat_ your
reservations today maing
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For more info. call
John McLeod ' .0
pp
482-9984
evenings
2nd Anniversury of
VILLAGE
FLE
VANASTRA A .2
FRSES .
Grasshopper titre .Glow�n
will be there 12 - 2. Free
animal balloons for
children
Wedding
Pax► Nolan and Brad Beutttcnnailler were
united in marriage on June 14, 1997 at St-.
C-olumbar Roman Catholic Church. The
bride is the daughter of Joseph & Helen
Nolan of St. Columbian, and the groom is the
leo' of Bob it Betty BeutttsertnriUer of Seaforth.
Matron of Honour was Marg McAuley,sister
the e bride, and Bridesmaids wse
Flanagan, sister of the bride, Mary Anne
Ianzrkaat, sister of the bride, Donna Cornish,
sift of the bride, Gail Sararas, sister of the
ode and Sherri Buchanan, friend of the
bride. The Bert Man was Jason
Beuik bier of the groom, and
Grobrother-
in--law the bride, Brad rken were Frank Flanagan brnther-
-grlawom, E Carter, friend of the
Dean No Eugene
o� � bride,
Driscoll, friend of the groom. After a dinner
arkd senoeptimi at the Seaforth & District
Commurhityy Centres, the happy couple
honeymooned in the Boston and Cape Cod
area. Pari and Brad are presently residing in
London.
At4
•
SEAFORTH
527-0980
t W1.111St)kY Ni I
SOUND IMAGE D,1
Happy 6001
Birthday (Aug 2)
DEL SCHLOENDO1Rf
Love k your
fitmlb & frianois
Come & See WORLD CHAMPION
...11111111111
t►:
TAie Pada*
filackiike
• Canada .& U.S. Horse of the Year Ae 13Z ASE'$$
• Winner of a record 28 consecut ,ye was
• $2,041,a i7 in earnings
SUNDAY, AUGUST 3
LifIE RACING SWIM AT W. PN
mese got something for everyone.
V Supervised Swimming i,?f Picnic Area LiGhildren's Playground
(►tf Live and simulcast racing (/Special Events and 8arbec0e8
Clinton Community Centre - 8oaoohh
•
1 •
GRADUATION
Kristine Gemmell,
daughter of Ken and
Norma, graduated from
Conestoga College on
June 25, 1.997 with a
diploma in Business
Administration -
Management Studies. Kris
was named -to the
Presidents Honour List
and was the recipient of
an Athletic Scholarship.
She is employed with
^'a_:onaI Trust.
Congratulations, . Kris. 'YVe
are very proud of your
achievements.
Lure- Mom, Dad, Jeff and
Jam,.
8rueefietd Fire ()apartment
4th Annual
- CHICKEN
B•B-Q
with at the Inmmir►gs
Saturday, August 9
4.80 - 6:00 pm
at
&ucefield Fere Hall
(Take -Outs Available)
1/2 CHICKEN MEAL $10.00
114 CHICKEN MEAL $7.00
Chikken 4 and Under Frew
'ONLY 200 TICKETS AVAILABLE'
Tickets Available At
Brucefield Variety
or from Brucefiea Firemen
Praweds to PorprypFq
Sr. Equipmasf
FORTHCOMING
MARRIAGE
On August 2, 1997, at
the Hensall United
Church Trudee
McCI-ure and Jeff
Balsdon will
exchange wedding
vows at 6:00 p.m.
Open reception to
follow at Hensali
Community Centre
beginning . at 8:00
p.m.
Tent -
Buck & Doe
for
Greg Clerk
Jennifer iipfer
in Watton
SATURDAY, AUG. 6
Age of Majority
1.,.Wi0h Prnyllflad
For information
phone
5194$74636 or
U74$53
STRATFORD'S
J91
ANNUAL
WESTERN
ONTARIO
aos,
Roftford Arena, Lakeside Drive
STi li ffORD, ONTARIO
AWAY IMINIM 4, 1997
pp4om it l 70 Wr4IMY
Air. to 1 p.m
AIIAtamkr
two. ire 6 p.m.
ADMISSION $4.
SENIORS $ 3.