Getting together again

Victoria Playhouse puts on shows after losing a year to the pandemic

VICTORIA – After COVID19 brought the 2020 season to a halt, staff at the Victoria Playhouse are eager to put on shows once again.

“It feels absolutely vital, honestly,” said Emily Smith, executive director at the playhouse. “I can’t imagine two years without a season of theatre in our building.”

Last year, staff had planned two plays for the summer, before pandemic restrictions prevented them from putting on any shows.

“It was something that we never considered ever having to do in the past,” said Smith. “We spent several weeks waiting to make the decision, and then finally, it became clear that it wasn’t going to be feasible to open our doors to the public. It was a really hard call to make.”

Despite the challenges that come with having to shut down for an entire season, Smith said the playhouse had been lucky enough to keep some of its seasonal staff employed for the summer.

Since they couldn’t put on productions, though, Smith and playhouse staff spent last summer cleaning up.

They repainted, reorganized and renovated – including finding a 125-year-old piano, which they gave to the Victoria Historical Association and was later restored and moved to the old Victoria school.

“We never seem to have the time to do all those tasks,” said Smith, “because, of course, we’re right in the middle of a busy season of performances seven days a week.”

Since last season was cancelled, Smith said the playhouse had been cautiously operating under the assumption that things would look up for the next.

This summer, however, Smith said the playhouse has tried to keep everything as local as possible. That means sticking to Island-based actors, rather than actors from Toronto or Montreal.

In the past, the playhouse has also had musical guests from across Canada, as well as the United States and the United Kingdom. This year, though, the playhouse will see only Island-based musicians in its concert series – the lone exception being a group from New Brunswick for the last show.

“It still looks fantastic,” Smith said. “We have so much talent to draw on, here.”

In addition to bringing one of last year’s cancelled plays back for 2021, Victoria Playhouse is also putting on an original production for the first time in several years: The Good Time Radio Variety Show by Island theatre company Farmgate Theatre.

“We’re pretty excited about this,” said Smith. “And to have an original show developed specifically for our stage is really fun.”

The idea for a radio showstyle play came from Farmgate Theatre actor Cameron MacDuffee’s love of old-time radio shows.

“I love that style of storytelling and that old format,” said MacDuffee. “I wanted to not recreate something from a bygone era, but to do our own modern version of a radio variety show.”

When writing the play – which MacDuffee said was a collaboration with everyone in the theatre company – he envisioned it formatted as an actual radio show performed live.

A live band. Comedy sketches. Live commercials. Mimicking nature sounds with a wind machine and thunder sheets.

“We have different ways to create sound effects that are delightful for the audience to hear, but also to watch how they’re made,” said MacDuffee.

“To me, the show is meant to be a celebration that we’re able to get together again … get off our couches, get away from screens and actually interact with people.”

Cameron MacDuffee Actor and playwright

“The radio show is just a delightful way of experiencing the variety show.”

After not being able to perform last year, due to the pandemic, MacDuffee said he’s excited to get back on stage. He came up with, specifically a “Good Time” Radio Variety Show to lighten the load in the middle of COVID-19.

“Sometimes, we need a bit of a release,” he said. “To me, the show is meant to be a celebration that we’re able to get together again … get off our couches, get away from screens and actually interact with people.”