The Blyth Festival Podcast

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Have you ever thought A Christmas Carol is just a bit ... quaint? Old fashioned? A nice period piece, but without much relevance to the modern world?

Well, buckle up. The Blyth Festival’s Huron County Christmas Carol drops the classic story right into modern-day Huron County. Here Ebenezer Scrooge has bought up every feed mill in southwestern Ontario, and everyone else can barely make ends meet.

This is a remount of the sold-out 2019 premiere - a production that broke attendance records and left plaid-shirted farmers weeping in the aisles.
Join me for a fascinating conversation with Blyth’s Artistic Director Gil Garratt and actor Randy Hughson. Together we debate the timeless appeal of Scrooge’s journey to redemption, explore the dark side of the Dickens classic, and discover why a contemporary retelling of this story is exactly what your 2023 Christmas needs.
A Huron County Christmas Carol runs November 30 - December 22, 2023. Tickets available here, or by calling 1.800.862.5284.
"Of all the many versions of Dickens' story I've seen, this is the first that is truly moving." Christopher Hoile, Stage Door
Special thanks to all Members of the Blyth Festival, along with Bruce Power, our New Play Development sponsor. A Huron County Christmas Carol lives because of your generous support. Thank you!
We love your feedback - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Please email us at [email protected].
Credits: Research/writing/host: Joanne Wallace | Sound design/production/editing: Jim Park
Music: "Dirt Under Their Feet," "So Caught Up In The Money," Huron County Christmas Carol, composer John Powers | Incidental music: Courtie-Radford: God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Hand bells); Beanstalk Audio: Merry Christmas Bells; Traditional: Twelve Days of Christmas; all via Shockwave-Sound.com | CKNX Barn Dance: "It's The Saturday Night Barn Dance, Volume 2," 1998 compilation cassette |Theme (c) Kevin MacLeod Achaidh Cheide, licensed under CC BY 3.0 | Clip art: Stockio.com

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Actor Andrew Moodie burst onto the scene as a playwright in 1995 with Riot, an exploration of the 1992 Yonge Street Riot that followed the Rodney King uprisings in LA. Since then, Andrew has written many more plays bringing Black Canadian stories and voices to our stages.
These include The Real McCoy, the story of a gifted young African Canadian engineer who revolutionized steam-engine technology in the late 1800s, and changed the entire world in the process.

Join me for a fascinating conversation about how Andrew first discovered this lost bit of Canadian history, and turned it into the hit play recently remounted at the Blyth Festival.
The Blyth Festival is 2.5 hours west of Toronto | 1.800.862.5284 | [email protected]
"Flawless cast ... sprightly script ... an altogether marvelous show ... had me laughing one moment and wiping away a tear a few beats later." Ontario Stage
The Real McCoy is sponsored by Orr Insurance. Our New Play Development sponsor is Bruce Power. Special thanks to you both, along with all Members of the Blyth Festival - we couldn't do it without you!
Credits: Research/writing/host: Joanne Wallace | Sound design/production/editing: Jim Park | Incidental music: Doug Peterman, Sean Purdy | Ode to the Pozo Pioneers, composer John Francis Jorgensen, performed by John Starcluster, via Shockwave-Sound.com | Theme (c) Kevin MacLeod Achaidh Cheide, licensed under CC BY 3.0

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Part two of our in-depth conversation with Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt about his revival of James Reaney’s landmark Donnelly trilogy.

Today Gil tells us about the design and staging of his new productions, and about the changes he’s made to Reaney’s original works for this production. He also talks about the Blyth audience’s particular affinity for this story, as well as his own personal connection to it.

The Blyth Festival is 2.5 hours west of Toronto | 1.800.862.5284 | [email protected]
★★★★★ "No theatre lover should miss it!"
"The chances of seeing The Donnellys: A Trilogy are so rare, much less in such a beautifully acted and directed production, that no one with an interest in Canadian drama should let the chance go by to see it. Indeed, it is such a great work that no theatre lover in general should miss it."
- Ontario Stage
The Donnellys: A Trilogy is sponsored by Carlyle Peterson LLP and The Good Foundation, with additional support from Donnelly Murphy Lawyers and Blyth Legion 420 & Legion Ladies Auxiliary.
Thanks to all of you, to Bruce Power, our New Play Development sponsor, and to all Members of the Blyth Festival. We couldn't do it without you!

Credits: Research/writing/host: Joanne Wallace | Sound production/editing: Jim Park | Incidental music: Doug Peterman, Sean Purdy, Eleanor Plunkett, composer Emmett Cooke via Shockwave-Sound.com | Theme © Kevin MacLeod Achaidh Cheide, licensed under CC BY 3.0

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In the wee small hours of February 4, 1880, an angry mob descended on a farmstead in Lucan. An hour later, five people were dead, and the farmhouse was in flames.

This shocking piece of Canadian history – known as the Donnelly Massacres – was first dramatized in a trio of plays written by James Reaney in the 1970s. All three shows have been abridged and updated by Blyth Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt, and appear in rep this summer at the Blyth Festival.

Today Gil shares his thoughts on why this troubling story is even more relevant in today’s climate of political polarization and factionalism. He also walks us through the actual history of the Donnelly family, and offers some insights into how a nation’s character is revealed through its art.
The Blyth Festival is 2.5 hours west of Toronto | 1.800.862.5284 | [email protected]
★★★★★ "No theatre lover should miss it!"
"The chances of seeing The Donnellys: A Trilogy are so rare, much less in such a beautifully acted and directed production, that no one with an interest in Canadian drama should let the chance go by to see it. Indeed, it is such a great work that no theatre lover in general should miss it."
- Ontario Stage
The Donnellys: A Trilogy is sponsored by Carlyle Peterson LLP and The Good Foundation, with additional support from Donnelly Murphy Lawyers and Blyth Legion 420 & Legion Ladies Auxiliary.
Thanks to all of you, to Bruce Power, our New Play Development sponsor, and to all Members of the Blyth Festival. We couldn't do it without you!

Credits: Research/writing/host: Joanne Wallace | Sound production/editing: Jim Park | Incidental music: Doug Peterman, Sean Purdy, Eleanor Plunkett, composer Emmett Cooke via Shockwave-Sound.com | Theme © Kevin MacLeod Achaidh Cheide, licensed under CC BY 3.0

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Matt Murray started writing plays and musicals after a 20-year career as a musical-theatre performer – and he’s never looked back. His new comedy, Chronicles of Sarnia, opened this summer at the Blyth Festival.

Matt and host Joanne Wallace discuss the craft of writing comedy for the stage and the role the audience plays in that process. Matt also shares what inspired him to write The Chronicles of Sarnia, a story set in his home town, and how supporters of a small theatre festival in Blyth, Ontario help artists create new works that continue to define Canada.
The Blyth Festival is 2.5 hours west of Toronto
1.800.862.5284 | [email protected]
Critics and audiences love this show!
"...home truths along with abundant belly laughs" - Ontario Stage
Special thanks to production co-sponsors David and Jennifer Palmer, New Play Development sponsor Bruce Power, and all Members of the Blyth Festival!
Credits: Research/writing/host: Joanne Wallace | Sound production/editing: Jim Park | Incidental music: Doug Peterman, Sean Purdy | Theme © Kevin MacLeod Achaidh Cheide, licensed under CC BY 3.0