HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News Record, 2015-08-12, Page 1212 News Record • Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Blyth's Fury tells the story of love and loss on Lake Huron
Laura Broadley
Clinton News Record
The world premiere of
Blyth Festival's Fury, writ-
ten by Peter Smith and
directed by Micheline
Chevrier, opened at Blyth
Memorial Hall last Friday.
Fury tells the story of
Margaret Mackay and
Michael Grey, who fall in
love with a backdrop of
the Great Storm of 1913.
Over 250 lives were lost
and 12 ships sank during
the infamous storm on
Lake Huron in the early
20th century. The SS Wex-
ford was one of those
ships; all 25 people
onboard perished in the
storm.
Mackay is a young
woman from the Magda-
len Islands who has come
to live with her uncle,
Judge Cassidy, in Goder-
ich. Cassidy facilitates the
engagement of Mackay to
lawyer, David Cooper.
Despite being engaged to
Cooper, Mackay falls in love
with Grey, a troublemaker
who charms her against her
better judgement. His
Photo courtesy of Terry Manzo
Jeff Irving and Rachel Cairns in their roles as Michael Grey and Margaret Mackay in Blyth Festival's
world premiere of Fury. The play opened last Friday at Blyth Memorial Hall and will run until September
12.
singing voice captures her
attention and eventually
her heart as the audience
witnesses the development
of the hidden relationship.
Along with his friend,
Bernard Smoke, played by
Keith Barker, Grey takes
work at the docks and
eventually on the Wexford.
The chemistry between
Irving and Barker is evident
and much of the comic
relief comes in their scenes
together.
Rachel Cairns, in the
role of Mackay, shines in
her subtlety. Cairns has
the difficult task of playing
a character whose defin-
ing experience happens
before we catch up with
her during Fury.
Mackay's love interest is
expertly portrayed by Jeff
Irving. Irving's singing
voice and charisma is a
necessity in a role as the
intense Grey.
Playwright, Peter Smith,
captures an urgency in his
characters with seemingly
effortless dialogue that
flows through scenes of
humour and scenes of
despair. Smith has created
characters so dynamic the
audience can't help but
get attached.
The music, by Clinton -
native Samuel Sholdice,
ignites emotion and
guides the audience
through the intensity of
love and loss. The music,
lyrics and dialogue go
together so well it's hard
to imagine they were
developed from the minds
of two different people.
The set, designed by
Ronnie Burkett, was sim-
ple with slight changes
between scenes. The hull
of the ship looms in the
background throughout as
a delicate reminder that
the Wexford is never gone
even though it rests at the
bottom of Lake Huron.
The Great Storm of 1913
is a subject so important
in the history of Huron
County, so personal, so
emotional and the Fury
team does it justice. They
proved that through art we
can begin to understand
the tragedy that surrounds
us.
If you go see Fury, you
will laugh, you will cry
and ultimately you will
appreciate all 25 lives lost
aboard the Wexford.
Fury plays at Blyth
Memorial Hall from July
29 to September 12. Tick-
ets are available by calling
Blyth Festival's box office
at 519-523-9300, toll free
at 1-877-862-5984 or
online at blythfestival.
com.
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