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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1983-07-06, Page 20Janet Amos stars in the second play of the Blyth Summer Festival season. Amos plays Rose Clarke in My Wild Irish Rose. She also wrote the play, which is being directed by Paul Thompson. ( photo by James Hockings ) By D. Meese The Myth Summer testivai opened its seeatd pray ,of the season last week with My Wild Irish Roue, written by Janet Amos and directed by Paul Thompson. ThiriXtultattelYt the play does not ltvm tip to the usual standar of the Blyth summer season. People .going 1p see My Wild Irish Rose must be warned not, to expect a few things, Firsrof all, they are not to expect a play about Ireland; despite the title and the play's setting, Ireland is not its train concern. Secondly; they must not anticipate a familiar home- spun play. Although the characters are familiar, they act all too strangely, in very unfamiliar cir- cumstances. In the play, Kate Ross, an artistic director of the Maitland Centre for the Arts, accompanies her aunt, Rose Clarke, to Ireland. Rose is looking for the roots of her father's family. Kate wants material for a play she is supposed to write for her theatre. Janet Amos, the author of this play, is the artistic director of the Blyth Festival, and we must conclude that this play is autobiographical. Amos also stars in the play as Rose Clarke. not up THEATRE REVIEW Amos plays the role of Ruse wit) a UV/Hendon flair and � wide of the oars chara 1 • :..n The first act starts the play off with great promise, with Rose presenting her slides of her trip to Ireland at a women's Institute meeting. The scene is hilarious, and sets a tole for -the play that is not followed up. The play, in the second act, loses the ' light-hearted feeling that was established in the first act, and retains only a black and bizarre humour. One scene in particular stands out: during a visit to Dungannon, (the most' bombed city in Northern Ireland), Kate and Rose are frightened by the bombs going off at regular intervals while their hostess continues her monologue unshaken. The scene is so incongruous as to be laughable, and certainly not believable. The third act more closely resembles absurdist theatre. There seems to be no pur- pose for the scenes, and nothing connecting them to the rest of the action. The play simply falls apart. Whatever Amos is trying to Say with the hurried scenes and the -rushed dialogue 13 incomprehensible, and therefore lost. Interspersed with the adventures the two women have in Ireland are scenes relating to. Rose Clarke's , past. Evidently these details are considered important by Amos, because they become the more prominent scenes In the play. But the link between the past and the present is not made clear. These glimpses of Rose's past are touching, but they do not relate to the rest of the playa At the beginning of the play, it was suggested that by searching for ancestors, Rose and Kate would find out more. about themselves and their own identity. Certainly we find out more about Rose, but does her role justify being the main one in the play? It is Kate who urn dergoes the voyage of discovery, who comes to understand her aunt more, and who probably is the most affected by the trip. Rose's most important scene is also the most dif- ficult to understand. In the third act, she and Kate are Dorothy Pentland is elected president of Port Albert Ratepayers' Association The annual meeting of the Port Albert Ratepayers' Association was held on July 3 at the cottage of the President, James Kalb- fleisch, with over 40 in at- tendance. Also present was • John Austin, Reeve of Ash- field Township, Bob Pegg from the Ministry of Natural Resources in Winghaln and Jeff Walker of the Ashfield Lakefront Association. Main items under discussion from the minutes included the recent widening of the river mouth; repairs to London Road; the horse shoe contest; the beach party; and the golf tour- nament. New business included the inshore commercial fishing which has been in violation of the one kilometre limit and has been -'affecting local fishermen. It was pointed out that the setting of gill nets, 200 yards offshore, is a definite hazard to the safety of swimmers and snorklers. A strong request for snow plowing of the hill was made by permanent residents. Appreciation was ex- pressed for the laying of the dust layer on the roads. The meeting unanimously elected Mrs. Dorothy Pentland as president and Bob Janke as vice-president both for two year terms. Church News Morning prayer was ob- served at Christ Anglican Church, Port Albert Sunday morning with the Reverend Robert Crocker conducting the service. Several visitors were in Attendance from Stratford and London. Next Sunday will be the Cemetery Service at 3 p.m. Walter Tigert from Goderich will provide organ music for the service. ocial News Ronnie Fritzley from Burford spent the weekend at the home of Elton Draper, Port Albert. Visiting with Marg and Bill Balkwill for the weekend were, her daughter, Karen and husband, Barry Hut- chison from Brampton, also Anne Bills from Downsview. Jean Lednor, mother of Margaret Balkwill, is spending a few days in the village. Jean Lednor will be 100 in December. She is quite active and enjoys good health. Mrs. Agnes Brentwood from Hamilton visited with Kaye and George Fennell over the holiday weekend. John and Gloria Bottcher and children Vicky, 17, Dawn, 15, and Michael, 10, have moved to Goderich from Port Albert. This is John Bottcher' 29th move. He was formerly employed by Cementation Company, Brampton and just recently he accepted a position with Domtar of Goderich. He hopes this will eliminate the problem of moving. Don and Barb Harrower of Holly, Michigan and sum- mer residents of Port Albert, will be leaving shortly to motor to Winnipeg to visit friends. They will then fly to Vancouver to visit friends, rot PORT ALBERT NEWS. Tem Livingstemesi,E 29-7®45 and if time permits, will pay a visit to Victoria, returning to the village about the end of July. Jim and Roy Kirchoff from Stirling Heights, Michigan vacationed itt Port Albert until; July..4 the _American_ holiday. Lillian Clapham from Auburn, Michigan vacationed at her cottage in Port Albert until July 4 also. Ruth Rose of Tillsonburg and Patti Rose of Simcoe are visiting with Brian and Judy Draper of Port Albert. Judy Draper of Port Albert is one of 10 -children borh to Roy and Ruth Wintemute of Simcoe. The entire family was put up for adoption in Simcoe m 1961. She has been searching for four years to find the rest of the family. She is awaked Tony, 31, who lives in Tillsonburg; Patti, 34, who lives in Simcoe; Charles, 32, who livesin Tillsonburg; Bill, 27, who lives in St. Catharines; Janice, 30, who lives in Oak- ville and Marg, 25, .who lives in Tillsonburg. Judy is now looking for Vivian, 31, who was adopted at age 10; Tommy, 24, adopted at age 3; Jimmy, 29, adopted at 11; and David, 21, adopted when a baby. Bob and Jean Janke of Port Albert have their daughter Jinny and husband and children, Lisa, 11, Lori 9 and Bobby 5 visiting from Owen Sound. Ginny Luening from Burlington and son Ray and daughter Ann are visiting at the summer home of Ginny Luening's mother, Annette Wittig from Kitchener. Mery and Myra,Lahn and family from London are vacationing at their cottage in Port Albert this week. The Lahn family, accompanied by Mrs. Reta Smith from Kitchener, have just recently returned from Switzerland where Geoff Lahn graduated from Neuchatel Junior College. The Lahns, with their daughter Pegg and son Pierce,, spent four days in Switzerland where the weather was quite warm. The Latins were impressed with how clean the country was. From Switzerland, they flew' to Cairo, Egypt and cruised the Nile. The family then flew to Amsterdam and from Amsterdam to Toronto. Son Geoff stayed over in Paris and London, England for a few days, returning home one week later. It was jlt$t a great weekend in nte.lvillage. with many visitor letljaying -the nice warm weather. July 8, 9 and 10 is the Slow - Pitch Tournament to be held at Petrie Park, Port Albert. First game should start at 8 p.m. Sixteen teams are expected to participate. Prize money i5 $1000. Round `n About with Martha I'm sure everyone must be very happy with the great weather we have had ever since we arrived home. I had delayed our departure several weeks because the weather across the Middle States was terrible and also when I had decided the time was "GO", your weather changed to rain and cold so we stayed where it was warm. I must confess the last three weeks were very hot during the day with over a month of no rain. So you have to take your chances: I have a dread of being caught in the mountains. One year I drove the whole string in a downpour. Pretty hard on the nerves, believe me. A week after I had to hike to Emergency. When the HIVES take over the palms of your hands and the bot- toms of your feet - you're in trouble! I feel good about last winter. I really worked hard and have some nice pain - tangs to show you. Also I played hard. We have a good shuffleboard court in our park and there, are a lot of good players. You can work out a lot of frustrations in an hour or so at this game and feel relaxed and ready for a good nite's sleep. If you really work at it, you can do this with most any game - and it is good for you. I don't seem to have ac- complished too much since I've been home, but I'm working. I'm TRYING, I hope to be finished by December. I'm a dreamer! Anyway I enjoyed by birthday. I've made the three quarter mark and still rarin' to go. I hope to do some ex- ploring aploring soon so may have something more ekciting than weather to talk about. Have a good week. Give mea call. Love you, Martha. Harrison -family holds annual picnic The 48th annual Harrison picnic was held at the Clin- ton Conservation Area on June 11. Fifty-five people at- tended. Officers for, 1983-84 are: president - Bill Collins; secretary -treasurer - Cheryl Collins; directors - Ray and Elizabeth Foster and Art and Dorothy Airdrie; and sports - Brenda MacLean, Ruth McAdam. The following won races or contests: running races - three years and under - first - Eliza Jane Smyth, second - Angela Collins; 3-5 years - first -Trevor MacLean, second -Shaun McAdam; 6-9 years - boys first -Jeff Oesch, second -Mac Hackett; 10-14 years - boys first -Stanley Airdrie, second -Jeff Oesch; 10-14 years - girls first -Sheri Oesch, second -Sara Eagleson; men - first -Paul Kearns, second -Leroy Dougherty; women - first - Brenda Hackett, second - Barb Oesch; sack race - 10 and under - first-Titnmy An- drea, second -Sara Eagleson, over 10 - first -Scott Hackett, second -Leroy Dougherty; three-legged race - first -Bill ' 4 Collins and Stanley Airdrie, • Second -Brenda Hackett and Scott Hackett; kick the slipper - women - first -Barb Oesch, second -Dorothy Air- drie; men - first -Bill Collins, second -Scott Hackett, nine and under - first -Trevor MacLean. second -Jeff Oesch; relay: putting on nylons with oven mitts - Bill Collins' team; longest line of clothing - Bill Collins' team; balloon toss - pairs - first -Ian Harrison; Paul Kearns, second -Scott Hackett, Leroy Dougherty; closest to 30.5 metres (100 feet) - first -Jan Kearns, second -Olive Siemon; peanut scramble - all the children; most but- tons - Wilmer Harrison; raf- fle - plant -Barb Oesch, lawn chair -Ian Harrison; oldest - Annie Harrison; youngest - Angela Collins; and travell- ing the farthest - Paul and Jan Kearns (from Scar- borough). Motocross Championships at Hay Gully this weekend If you thought this weekefld's Motocross races were just that, you've got another thing coming — another thing, and another thing, and another thing. For the Labatt's Senior National Motocross Championships at Hully Gully on the 9th and 10th the best motocross rac- ing in the country is just one attraction. The Clinton Kinsmen have set up a watering hole at the Senior Nationals that will cool appreciative throats. All weekend long, the roar of racing engines will be punctuated by the sound of a helicopter giving spectators rides. On Saturday night at 7:00 p.m., after the qualifiers, there's a Twilight Bed Race, followed by a Bicycle Motocross Demonstration, At 8:30 p.m., the contem- porary country sounds of the band Country Sky will enter- tain at the street dance till 11:30. On Sunday the finals -get under way at noon, and the famous Labatt's Balloon will be floating over the races. Other highlights include the filming of the Canadian Nationals by CTV for airing on Wide World of Sports later in July. , The Labatt's Senior Na- tional Motocross Champion- ships on July 9th and 10th — beginning at noon both days at Hully Gully. Point Farms has lots Join us at Point Farms Provincial Park this week. Follow the fitness trail, swim or join in on these planned events: Thursday, July 7 - 7 p.m. Windsurfing Demonstration - Taste the freedom of gliding across the lake waters. Goderich Wind- surfing will give a Wind- surfing Demonstration at the Beach; Friday, July 8 - 8 p m. -Twilight Hour at the barn. Join in for an hour of entertaining films for everyone; Saturday, July 9 - 3 p.m. Kidstuff - Fun and games at the old Point Farm Hotel site. (If raining, meet at the Barn); 7 p.m. - The Lambton Youth Theatre will present a Theatre Review covering the century. Entertainment for the whole family at the Baran; Sunday, July 10 - 11:30 a.m. - Church Service and Singalong at the Barn. Informal dress, everyone welcome; and 2 p.m.iI The Lambton Youth Theatre will present a children's play - Once Upon a Time. Performance will take place at the Barn. Admission included in entry 4, usual standards Rnplly, confronted by the Ring of the Dempseys, the ancestore Rose has been • for, The scene's an only heightens the general confusion in the piny. . Arun Anglin as Kate Ross plays a wonderfully energetic foil for Amos. Paul Thompson plays all the other characters in ,a versatile performance, but at times he tends to overact, especially as the theatre janitor in the first act, Mention must be given to the Blyth Festival Singers who acted alternately as a diversion for the scene changes and as minor case members. Their diversion was .certainly more Welcome than that of the seemly it- self. The oddly shaped;. 'r. a -a ,July . . slanted . blocks *ere very ffectiiie the tdoo rockseand teasrrain; asoutat e8r they were too distracting. One scene of the play has Rose Clarke turning to her '7 niece Kate and saying, "You; can make a real farce out of this trip to Ireland." Unfortunately, the line turned out to be too prophetic for the playwright, andJanet Amos cannot count My Wild Irish Rose as one of her successes. Talent search is on Are . you an amateur singer, dancer or musician with dreams of making it as a professional entertainer? If so, we're looking for you! The search is on throughout southwestern On- tario for talented young per- formers between the ages of 11 and 21. Prize money totals over $1,000 at the local level, and the overall winner receives an expense -paid trip to Memphis, Tennessee to compete in the world's largest amateur talent com- petition for prizes up to $7,500 and an audition with a CBS top casting committee. The Southwestern Ontario Youth Talent Search aims at seeking out and showcasing the best amateur talent available in the area, and possibly launching a profes- sional entertainment career for the winner. Now into its third year, the talent search has expanded to include preliminary con- tests in Aylmer, Dresden, Elmira, Exeter, Kitchener, London, St. Marys and Woodstock. Judging is on the basis of natural ability, quality of performance, showmanship and audience appeal. There is no entry fee and the competition is open to amateur performers in categories including vocal, instrumental, dance and variety. Soloists or groups of up to four members will be accepted. The top 15 entries from each area will perform on Stage 10 during the 1983 Western Fair, September 9 to 18. Quarter and semi-final competitions will narrow the field to 12 finalists who will perform at the Western Fair grandstand on September 18. The 1983 winner will go to Memphis in October to com- pete with youngsters from across the continent in the third -annual Youth Talent International competition hosted by the Mid -South fair. Last year's local winner, 21 year-old Jamie Warren of Hanover, placed second in the international competi- tion, and has already' taken the first steps toward a pro- fessional career. Jamie is performing throughout the summer at Libertyland amusement park in Mem- phis, and the young singer/songwriter's debut recording"World of a Child" is receiving airplay on southwestern Ontario. radio stations. Closing date for the 1983 Southwestern Ontario Youth Talent Search preliminary competitions in Exeter is Ju- ly 8. For further informa- tion, contact Mabel Hern at 229-6300. Falls Reserve has crafts and movies Looking for something to do this 1 peekend? Why not - take a seenic drive alongthe Maitland River through Goderich and Benmiller. A great place to stop for a pic- nic lunch and swim is the Falls Reserve Conservation Area,. just outside of Ben - miller. A regular program of ac- tivities will be offered this weekend at the falls. Moonlight movies on Satur- day night will feature the film "Grey Owl". On Sunday morning there will be crafts for the kids. The Activity Centre at the Falls Reserve will be open throughout the summer season. Tourism information on the area is available and sports equipment can be loaned for use in the park. Watch your local paper for more information on upcom- ing activities. Plan to join in next weekend for demonstrations and exhibits — all part of a special heritage weekend. For more information, call the Falls Reserve at 524- 6429. The Falls Reserve is located four miles east of Goderich on County Road 31. SA4TFORD VALLEY HALL FOR RENT c.« 524-2892 $2.85 Gets you 2 pieces of Willie Wimpers Golden Brown Fish Fillet, Chips, Slaw, Roll and Butter, Take Out Only. THE COURT ph: 524-9111 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY from RPOOAAHILDA & THE GANG 1IIGIOtJSf TOWN HALL. 5:90A BETTER W V (Thu) ;SlOO CHRISTOPHER CLOSEUP (Ori) 50Q THIS IS WE LIFE (Tie) 5.:30. .UNIVERSIT OF MICHIGAN PRESENTS 6:00 FARM AND GARDEN (Wed) 6:00 TV -5 AND YOUR COM- MUNITY (Thu) 6:00 SCOPE (Fri) 6:00 U.S. FARM REPORT (Mon) Q 6:00 HEALTH FIELD (Tue) 6:30 EARLY TODAY 7:00 TODAY 9:00 THE FACTS OF LIFE (R)(Wed-Fri) 9:00 DIFF'RENT STROKES (Mon. Tues) 9:30 SALE OF THE CENTURY 10:00 HAWAII FIVE -O 11:00 HOUR MAGAZINE AFTERNOON 12:00 NEWS 12:30 SEARCH FOR TOMORROW 1:00 DAYS OF OUR LIVES 2:00 ANOTHER WORLD 3:00 FANTASY 4:00 MOVIE (Mon -Thur) 5:30 M.A.S.H. WEDNESDAY, JULY 1903 DAYTIME MOVIES 4:00 "FLOOD". Robert Culp, Martin Milner. EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 NBC NEWS 7:00 P.M. MAGAZINE 7:30 ALL-STAR GOLD: FIFTY YEARS ON THE DIAMOND 8:00 MAJOR LEAGUE ALL-STAR GAME 11:00 NEWS 11:30 TONIGHT 12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN 1:30 NBC NEWS OVERNIGHT THURSDAY. JULY Y. 1983 DAYTIME MOVIES 4:00 "LOCUSTS". Ben Johnson, Ron Howard. EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 NBC NEWS 7:00 P.M. MAGAZINE 7:30 THREE'S. COMPANY 8:00 FAME 9:00 GIMME A BREAK 9:30 CHEERS 10:00 HILL STREET BLUES 11:00 NEWS 11:30 TONIGHT 12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN 1:30 NBC NEWS OVERNIGHT FRIDAY, JULY 8, 1983 DAYTIME MOVIES: 4:00: "FIRE!". Ernest Borgnine, Vera Miles EVENING 6:0014EWS 6:30 NBC NEWS 7:00 P.M. MAGAZINE 7:30 THREE'S COMPANY 8:00 THE POWERS OF MAT- THEW STAR 9:00 KNIGHT RIDER 10:00 NBC REPORTS: CENTRAL AMERICA 11:00 NEWS 1:30 TONIGHT 12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN 2:00 NBC NEWS OVERNIGHT 3:00 MOVIE: "EAGLES ATTACK AT DAWN". Rick Jason, Peter Brown. 41'30 MOVIE: "THE TOUCHABLES' Judy Huxtable, Esther Anderson SATURDAY, JULY 9, 1983 MORNING 6:00 VEGETABLE SOUP 6:30 NEW ZOO REVUE 7:00 CARRASCOLINDAS 7:30 LAUREL AND HARDY 6:00 THE FLINTSTONES 8:30 THE SHIRT TALES 9:00 SMURFS 10:30 THE GARY COLEMAN July 12 WOW 1Mk) .WWITOIED 11;30 SOUL TRAIN Anvttaoeta, 12:30 EBONY -JET CELEBRITY SHOWO SE 1:00 COMEDY: AMERICAN STYLE 1:30 THIS WEEK IN BASEBALL 2:00 BASEBALL 5:00SHA NANA 5:30 HAPPY DAYS AGAIN EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 HEE HAW 7:30 BJ/LOBO 8:00 DIFFRENT STROKES 8:30 SILVER SPOONS 9:00 QUINCY 10:00 MONITOR 11:00 NEWS 11:30 SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 1:00 BENNY HILL 1:30 MOVIE: "SUMMER OF '42". Jennifer O'Neill, Gary Grimes SUNDAY, JULY 10, 1983 MORNING 6:45 DAVEY AND GOLIATH 7:00 OPEN CAMERA 7:30 IT'S YOUR BUSINESS 8:00 DAY OF DISCOVERY 8:30 REX HUMBARD 9:00 ORAL ROBERTS 9:30 SUNDAY MASS 10:00 THE ADDAMS FAMILY 10:30 THE MUNSTERS 11:00 MOVIE: "LITTLE MISS BROADWAY". Shirley Temple, Jimmy Durante AFTERNOON 12:30 MEET THE PRESS 1:00 OPEN CAMERA 1:30 MOVIE: "THE THREE STOOGES MEET HERCULES" Three Stooges, Vicki Trickett 3:00 MOVIE: "PARADISE ALLEY". Sylvester Stallone, Ar- mand Assante. 5:00 GRIZZLY ADAMS EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 P.M. MAGAZINE: SPECIAL EDITION 7:00 VOYAGERS! 8:00 CHIPS 9:00 MOVIE: "ALCATRAZ: THE WHOLE SHOCKING STORY". (Part 1). Michael Beck, Telly Savalas. 11:00 NEWS 11:30 MOVIE: "HUD"- Paul Newman,. Melvyn Douglas MONDAY. JULY 11. 1983 DAYTIME MOVIES 4:00 "THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN" Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 NBC NEWS - 7:00 P.M. MAGAZINE 7:30 THREE'S COMPANY 8:00 LOVE, SIDNEY 8:30 FAMILY TIES 9:00 MOVIE: "ALCATRAZ: THE WHOLE SHOCKING STORY". (Port 2). Michael Beck, Art Carney 11:00 NEWS 11:30 THE BEST OF CARSON 12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN 1:30 NBC NEWS OVERNIGHT TUESDAY. JULY 12. 1983 DAYTIME MOVIES 4:00 "THE MUMMY". Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee. EVENING 6:00 NEWS 6:30 NBC NEWS 7:00 P.M. MAGAZINE 7:30 THREE'S COMPANY 8:00 THE A -TEAM 9:00 REMINGTON STEELE 10:00 ST. ELSEWHERE 11:00 NEWS 11:30 THE BEST OF CARSON 12:30 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN 1:30 NBC NEWS OVERNIGHT U E E N C' 1 HOTEL -7 Entertainment This Week Wed. -Sat. EQUUS Next Week Mon. -Sat. VIGILANCE HAPPY HOUR Mon. -Sat. 4:0($- il:3O PATIO DINING LOUNGE ev, OL'en 7 days a's r,' 1.0 No Cover Seaforth