A project of our Youth Theatre Training Program
2019 Perth through the Ages: The Forgotten Ones
Our historic theatrical walking play returned in 2019 with a new play, The Forgotten Ones, set during Depression-era Perth, featuring music and songs of the 1930s. How did rural people pull together in times of great adversity? How did they celebrate the little joys and build on the modest hopes that pulled them through this challenging time?
Written by: Laurel Smith
Directed by: Joanna McAuley Treffers
Historical Consultant: Susan Code
Starring: Mallory Brumm, Tyler Street, Brooke Trealout, Connor Williamson
Stage Manager: Abigaile Gagnon
2018 Perth through the Ages: The Prisoner of Petawawa
In The Prisoner of Petawawa, a powerful theatrical historic walking play presented in 2018 in Perth, Ontario, women on the homefront try to deal with the violence that came home from the war in 1945.
Written by: Laurel Smith
Directed by: Joanna McAuley Treffers
Historical Consultant: Susan Code
Starring: Mallory Brumm, Kathryn Irvine, Connor Lyon, Connor Williamson
Stage Manager: Bronwyn MacDonald
2017 Perth through the Ages: A Nation Lost and Found
In this historical re-creation, A Nation Lost and Found visits Perth residents as they go about their daily lives at the time of Confederation. What are they thinking and talking about with respect to the birth of a new country, the forced dispossession of Indigenous peoples’ traditional territories, the dynamics of the 1837 rebellion and the debates over the Fenian Raids? How do they handle the always tender terrain of courtship, love, and marriage?
Written by: Laurel Smith
Directed by: Joanna McAuley Treffers
Historical Consultant: Susan Code
Starring: Keegan Carr, Emma Houlahan, Garrett Pipher, Connor Williamson
Stage Manager: Brooks Knapton
For Desmond Devoy’s article in the Perth Courier, click here.
2016 Perth through the Ages: River of Memory
A tale about the early years of colonial settlement on Indigenous territory, and the discoveries of secrets that result.
Written by: Laurel Smith
Directed by: Sean Jacklin
Historical Consultant: Susan Code
Starring: Emily Richardson, Morgan MacDonald, Garrett Pipher, Connor Williamson
“I had the great pleasure of going on the Perth Through the Ages historical promenade performance, River of Memory, on 29th June. Now that I’m back home in the UK I just wanted to once again congratulate all the young players, all of whom were superb and most convincing in their roles. So much so that by the end of the story in Stewart Park both I and my cousin (who is local to you) were moved to tears (quite a lot of them). It was a compelling piece and just like watching the ghosts of times past playing out in front of our eyes. It also brought home the atrocious and dishonest treatment of the Algonquins back then, and the cruelty of true love being thwarted by inhumane social mores.” – Gail Taylor, Brighton, United Kingdom
Read what Apt. 613 blog has to say about River of Memory!
2015 Perth through the Ages: The Maid and the Merchant
It is the 1930s, the era of the Great Depression. Nineteen-year-old Nora Shaw (a Nancy-Drew like character) is packing up her belongings as the house is set to be sold and become a tea room. She is distracted, however, by a haunting tune coming from the garden, where she eventually meets the ghost of Ann Glascott, a nursery maid who was apparently impregnated by the Honourable Roderick Matheson, Nora’s great-grandfather, leading to a scandal during the early years of the Perth settlement that involved the mysterious death of a baby and charges of willful neglect and a one-year jail term.
Written and Directed by: Laurel Smith
Historical Consultant: Susan Code
Starring: Sean Jacklin, Morgan MacDonald, Vivian Masswohl, Emily Richardson, Anna Stewart
2014 Perth through the Ages: The Preacher and the Leading Lady
An actress and a stuffy preacher take a time travel trip through Perth history, visiting characters during the first and second world wars, the age of women’s suffrage, and the early colonial settlement.
Written and Directed by: Laurel Smith
Historical Consultant: Susan Code
Starring: Jasmine Bowen, Meghan Brackenbury, Bobbi Cordick, Sean Jacklin, Madison Reid
Our Mainstage Venue at 54 Beckwith Street East, Perth:
For directions, click HERE.
For The Voice of the Turtle, click here.
For Pygmalion, click here.
For Deathtrap, click here.
Our Dinner Theatre Venue at Michael’s Table, 110 Gore Street East, Perth:
For directions, click HERE.
For the Classic Dinner Theatre, click here.
