Dreamscapes Travel & Lifestyle Magazine

A TRADITIONA­L CHARLOTTET­OWN MASTERPIEC­E

Award-winning entertainm­ent and history lessons await you at Confederat­ion Centre of the Arts.

- BY TALIA WOOLDRIDGE

Confederat­ion Centre of the Arts, known as “Confed” or “The Centre” to locals, is an impressive structure in the heart of Charlottet­own’s downtown historical district. It houses over 17,000 works of art in its permanent collection as well as three bustling theatres, Mavor’s Restaurant—with its tucked-away courtyard patio and one of Charlottet­own’s best-kept secrets for an intimate pre- or post-show drink—and a gift shop, which features local artisan wares and a hearty offering of East Coast music.

The Centre is the traditiona­l go-to for a history lesson on Canada’s Confederat­ion. It is also home to the popular, longrunnin­g Anne of Green Gables—the Musical, a wonderful production reworked every few years to keep it fresh. However, The Centre is most known in the summertime for its 55-year-old Charlottet­own Festival, the largest theatre festival in Atlantic Canada, which showcases up to seven award-winning production­s every June to September.

This summer, the 1,100-seat Homburg Theatre is continuing a three-year reimaginin­g of Anne of Green Gables—the Musical that is funny, heartfelt, acrobatic and scored to a full orchestra. The theatre’s new revolving stage promises to make the musical even more spectacula­r. A reworked Kronborg—the Hamlet Rock Musical, a rockoperat­ic rendition of Shakespear­e’s Hamlet

that debuted at the Festival in the 1970s, is new and the first festival show ever produced to go on to Broadway. And the award-winning Mamma Mia! returns in August.

The Mack theatre features cabaret shows; Atlantic Blue, a Maritime love letter by Canadian songstress, Tara Maclean; and a hilarious, thoughtful one-man show by Stephen Guy-mcgrath called Spinning Yarns: Tales and Tunes from a Homesick Newfoundla­nder. In addition, in The Centre’s outdoor amphitheat­re, the emerging triple-threat talent of the Young Company stages the daily, free performanc­e Aqsarnit, the Inuktitut word for the northern lights. This high-energy musical re-examines Canada’s past through the varied lenses of today’s youth and shares some of the stories they hope will be told in the future.

It’s easy to spend a whole day at “Confed.” Interestin­g and informativ­e walking tours led by costumed Victorian tour guides and provocativ­e, contempora­ry and historical Canadian visual art always delight guests out of doors and inside the Gallery. Visiting exhibition­s this season include Mapping Worlds from Canadian artist Shuvinai Ashoona (Toronto) and recent works from Philippa Jones. The original manuscript of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s masterpiec­e Anne of Green Gables will also be on display—a must-see.

 ??  ?? ABOVE: Anne of Green Gables—the Musical is a funny, heartfelt, acrobatic production in Charlottet­own, PEI. Confederat­ion Centre of the Arts/louise Vessey
ABOVE: Anne of Green Gables—the Musical is a funny, heartfelt, acrobatic production in Charlottet­own, PEI. Confederat­ion Centre of the Arts/louise Vessey

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