Village Squire, 1979-10, Page 28David Francis, Lubomir Mykytiuk, Sharon Bakker, Skai Leja and Lynne Hostein in Paper Wheat
visiting Western Ontario this month.
The big hit that did
from the little theatre
that could
On the surface, Saskatoon hardly seems
a likely hotbed of Canadian theatre. But
then it seemed absurd 30 years ago to
predict Canada's largest theatre could
exist in a small city of 25,000 in
southwestern Ontario too.
But the biggest noise being made
nationally in Canadian theatre this fall is
eminating from the tiny 25th Street House
Theatre in Saskatoon. The little theatre's
biggest success is on a national tour that
includes Ottawa's National Arts Centre.
There has already been extensive touring
of the show in the west, productions in
Montreal and Toronto and in the future
may be a tour of the western states
followed by a run in New York city. There
have been invitations to tour in Australia,
Guyana and perform in East Berlin at the
invitation of the prestigious Berliner
Ensemble followed by a tour of Eastern
European countries.
26 Village Squire, October 1974
All the fuss is being made about a play
about western Canadian wheat farmers
who struggled against the elements to
make a go of it in the early years then
realized they also had to beat the system
dominated by powerful companies who
sold them supplies and bought their wheat.
The prairies Wheat Pools and co-operat-
ives were the solution they came up with.
It's the kind of country issue that the
smart people in theatre will tell you just
isn't relevant to the urban people of
Canada today. Who in Montreal would
want to go out for a play about prairie grain
co-operatives? Well from October to
November of 1977 the play sold out six
solid weeks at Montreal's Centaur theatre.
That same fall the play crept into Toronto
with very little advance publicity. It opened
to a small audience but by the end of the
five week run people were being turned
away by the dozen.
The play, as many produced by 25th
Street House, was created through the
collective method made most famous in
these parts by Theatre Passe Muraille. In
January 1977 the theatre's artistic director
Andras Tahn and six actors began to
research and rehearse a play. They used
the same techniques that were familiar to
farmers in 0,e Clinton area when Passe
Muraille created the Farm Show there in
1972. The actors went out and talked to,
people, did research and then came back
and worked their ideas into a show. All the
actors had a lot to learn whether they had
been brought up in Saskatchewan or not.
They talked to people they could reach
about the subject and each contact led to
more contacts.
Even after the show was premiered in
Sintaluta, Saskatchewan in March 1977 the,
research continued. In subsequent per-
formances in Moose Jaw, Regina, Eston
and finally at a two week run in Saskatoon
the actors met with the audience after the
show and exchanged ideas and information
and working the new material into the play.
A great deal of the original show has
disappeared over the years and has been
replaced by stronger material. A great deal
of the original cast has disappeared too,
leaving only Sharon Bakker from the group
who suffered through the birth pains of the
play. Andy Tahn the director has also given
way since the initial work. While remaining
artistic director of the theatre he called in
Montrealer Guy Sprung to restage the
show before its first excursion out of
Saskachewan in the fall of 1977. Much of
the credit for the present success has been
given to Sprung's work. After that