The Citizen, 2006-08-17, Page 18Forthcoming JYtcurricuge
Paul and Dianne McCallum
along with Bev Bromley and
Kathy Bromley are pleased
to announce the
forthcoming marriage of
_ their children
COtteen Ntcote
and
Scott Witham
Saturday August 19, 2006
at the home of
Paul and Dianne McCallum.
PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 2006.
Theatre review
`Harvest' revisits 'Promise's' Purves family
By Janice Becker
Special to The Citizen
Once again, Blyth Festival veter-
ans Anne Chislett and Keith
Roulston have come together to cre-
ate an astute rendering of the trials
faced by farM families.
This time the story tells of the
struggles of farmers across the coun-
try after the reporting of a single
case of BSE in a cow from Western
Canada in 2003.
With .comedic, dramatic, thought-
provoking and sometimes even
uncomfortable scenes, Another
Season's Harvest pulls the audience
in.
In the first act, we witness the
playful yet edgy, true-to-life kibitz-
ing of three generations of the
Purves family.
Father Ken (Jerry Franken) and
son Robert (Randy Hughson) have
been through difficult times before
as they weathered the downturn in
the mid-80s.
As always Franken plays his role
to perfection, reminding me of many
' of the aging farmers with whom I
grew up.
Hughson, in the role of son Robert
took a little more time to adjust to, as
I had seen him in a early production
of Stompin' Tom. However, his com-
mitment to the role soon wins over
the viewer.
This time around, Fen is ready for
retirement, Robert has become a cor-
porate farmer and the grandson,
Sandy (Darren Keay), has decided to
go organic, much to the dismay of
his father.
As the Purveses, which now
includes a second wife, Jane (Brigit
Wilson), for Robert, and a city-
dwelling step-daughter, Judy
(Rebecca Auerbach), gather for a
family barbecue, son challenges
grandson to a competition to see if
there truly is a difference between
organic and "factory-grown" prod-
ucts.
Director Gil Garrett plays a perfect
hand in these scenes, as there is just
the right amount of hesitation with.
the wine tasting, keeping the audi-
ence in suspense.
The jibes and poking of fun in Act
1 adds a light touch to the produc-
tion, a much-needed balance for the
dark events to come later.
Throughout the early scenes,
burdening the other.
While it is obvious Robert and
Sandy have little to agree upon, nei-
ther understanding the other's posi-
tion, this tension only increases in
the second act when the BSE crisis
hits.
Having stepped away from farm-
ing, Ken is off on a world cruise
when he first learns of the crisis and
Minnint. • •
Mitch McNichol enjoyed the yummy dessert served at the
end of the St. John's Anglican Church pork chop barbecue
on Sunday night. (Vicky Bremner photo)
soon rushes home to discover the
state of affairs.
In one of the quirkier aspects of
the play, Ken's subconscious is por-
trayed by a little red hen (Brigit
Wilson), not always gently nudging
him into action.
The little red hen and the story of
planting one grain of wheat is used
effectively to demonstrate how farm-
ers must deal with seed sellers,
bankers, bakers, government agen-
cies and a list of others, more than
willing to take a slice of the resulting
product, leaving little for the red hen
who did all the work.
As the second act turns bleak, the
production slows down, and whether
intentional or not, it does drag some-
what.
Robert's misery is palpable. Will
he survive, mentally and physically,
from the strain as he struggles to
hold onto his business?
His distress is only exacerbated
when his family relationships con-
tinue to break down and he sees his
rebellious son actually succeeding to
some small degree by catering to
urban-dwellers and tourists.
In Robert, you can sense a feeling
of sacrilege as he hears of tours
being conducted on the family farm.
Though the farm crisis is far from
resolved even three years after that
initial BSE case, Another Season's
Harvest takes the audience to a posi- -
tion of some optimism by the close.
Those farmers that have survived,
though many were lost to the indus-
try during those years of closed bor-
ders, struggle to pull together as, a
cohesive group to force governments
into action. The challenge continues.
,s-110 qt-1110
"VialOtt Seget 16"
Ashley & Bridget
(Aug. 16) (July 31)
Love your family
And while those directly involved
in agriculture may appreciate the
directness of the final scenes, from
Harvest, there is a question as to
whether non-farmers will be made to
feel uncomfortable. And maybe that
is the point. Those outside the indus-
try need to be made aware of the sit-
uation and how little control farmers
often have of their own business, but
whether that will be the message
received is yet to be seen.
Another Season's Harvest runs
through Sept. 2.
The Brubachers of Ethel
Restaurant Bakery
Real Home Cooking
Try our Cinnamon Buns
Mon. - Fri. 7-6:30;
Sat. 8-6:30, Sunday Closed
887-8659
iftwritiage
Trevor, Jessica and Julia
wish to announce
the forthcoming marriage
of their mom
Leah Darlene
daughter of
Keith and Olwen Richmond
to
Joel Mark
son of
Gord and Pat Jenkins
on Friday, August 25, 2006.
Open reception at
Blyth Community Centre
(arena floor) 9 p.m.
Live Band "Nuthin' Fancy
Please dress casually
Hen pecked
From left: Rebecca Auerbach, Jerry Franken and Brigit Wilson appear in a scene from Keith
Roulston and Anne Chislett's Another Season's Harvest, which opened at Blyth Festival this
month and runs until Sept. 2 (Terry Manzo photo)
Jane's extreme dislike for all farm-
ing discussions seems unusual, as
she is married to a farmer, for the
second time. The reasons for her
trepidation and anger are brought to
light later as she struggles with yet
another crisis in her family. She and
Hughson work well together as a
married couple not quite knowing
how to deal with stress for fear of
13P-tly (-5 113 R io
(TcO..14 000
4 s
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