Theatre: Cape Breton’s next great export
Maybe it’s time. Various communities around Cape Breton Island have well established local theatre traditions.
Some, like the Highland Arts Theatre in Sydney and the Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay, host performances on a professional or semi-professional level.
And then there is a long list of individuals the Cape Breton theatre scene has nurtured and sent off to careers across Canada and other entertainment capitals in the big wide world.
But one of the few areas the theatre community has yet to conquer is taking a Cape Breton show off-island to further success and acclaim.
There a short list of exceptions, of course.
The “Cape Breton Summertime Revue” has toured to capacity audiences both regionally and nationally during its 30year history.
And the HAT has seen two of its original productions — “Heart of Steel” and “The Wakowski Brothers” — receive remounts in Ontario after debuting here.
Still, when one compares how many original theatre productions we export compared to other local centres like Mulgrave, Antigonish and Parrsboro, our impact on the wider theatre community remains disproportionately small.
Those three towns have commissioned works from Cape Breton writers like Daniel MacIvor, Sheldon Currie and Michael Melski. And those works have found national audiences.
What I like about the local theatre is that we are telling Cape Breton stories to Cape Breton audiences and Cape Breton audiences are hungry for more. But Cape Breton stories can also have a universal appeal to theatre audiences.
What got me thinking about this subject is the recent 11-performance run of “The Harness,”
a stage adaptation of an Ernest Buckler short story written and performed by my friend Ron Newcombe.
Newcombe is one our busiest and most dependable stage performers, essaying roles from Mr. Bumble in the recent Cape Breton University Boardmore Theatre production of “Oliver!” to one of the zanies in the Savoy’s latest dinner theatre production.
“The Harness” is a deeply felt show, word for word from Buckler’s story, about a widower’s fraught relationship with his young son.
I saw Newcombe debut “The Harness” at the CBU Elizabeth Boardmore One-Act Play Festival this spring and was immediately engaged by his performance.
Over the years, the one-acts have been a launch pad for not only players but playwrights: some, like Daniel MacIvor and Bryden MacDonald, have gone on to win national awards.
Despite Halifax being a relatively short drive up the road, very few local plays have made the trip.
I was once part of a banner season at the Halifax Fringe when two, count’em, two alumni of the one-acts stormed the provincial capital to modest response.
I recently read an online comment by Halifax theatre columnist Jeremy Webb about “The Harness” — “I like the idea of plays from other Nova Scotia communities coming into the (Halifax) community to take part.”
Reviewer Dan Bray in The Coast said “The Harness” was “gentle, yet moving, performed honestly by the immortal and dashing Ron Newcombe.”
So there — at least one place likes Cape Breton theatre and would like to see more of it. And we have at least one show that can make the journey to other venues off-island.
We don’t need affirmation of our theatre’s worth from offisland but if the already high levels of achievement from our theatre community is to leave a larger legacy, maybe it’s time to start talking about how we can export the homegrown product in the same way our music has reached around the world.
Maybe, finally, it’s time.