Live theatre returns to Prescott after two-year hiatus

PRESCOTT, ONT. -

After two years of emptiness at the Kinsmen Amphitheatre in downtown Prescott, actors once again graced the gazebo stage on Wednesday evening.

"Our last show here was around the middle of August 2019," said Richard Sheridan Willis, artistic director of the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. "There has been nothing here for two years."

Speaking with CTV News Ottawa on Thursday afternoon, Willis said the reaction was wonderful after Wednesday's performance.

"For the audience I think it was quite emotional, and it crept up on them by surprise," Willis said. "In fact, halfway through the show, it was very moving, very emotional and wonderful to see because our theatre has like one of the best backdrops of outdoor theatre in Canada I think."

With the St. Lawrence River setting the backdrop, the Shakespeare Festival would have normally run for five weeks from July to August, but was cancelled this year.

"We were hopeful to have it happen," said Willis. "We had two plays lined up first, then it went down to one play but then the restrictions came along and in the end we just ran out of time to put that play on."

A Toronto company reached out to see if the festival was interested in hosting a 90-minute, two-person play for five days.

"The artistic directors of the Guild Festival Theatre got in touch and said, 'Would you be interested in staging this play that we are doing?'" added Willis. "They've worked here as actors and directors and it was a perfect slot for it, this time in August when we had nothing going on. We were really happy to accept and to stage it."

Salt Water Moon will be at Kinsmen Amphitheatre in Prescott until Aug. 22. (Nate Vandermeer/CTV News Ottawa)

Called Salt Water Moon, it's a Canadian play that takes place in Newfoundland, with a wealthy businessman returning to a small town to win over Mary Snow, who recently got engaged.

Sarah Gibbons, who plays Mary Snow, said the first show on Wednesday night was a success with the audience.

"It was really magical to see their response and it made my heart grow three sizes," Gibbons said.

"A lot of my friends and colleagues who are also artists and actors have lost a lot of work over the pandemic so to be able to do a show right now is incredibly special and I feel so grateful," Gibbons added.

Also from Newfoundland, Gibbons says the play has a special place in her heart.

"To bring this story to the audience here, this special story that comes from where I'm from is a little cherry on the cake," Gibbons said. "Acting is a huge part of my life, it's my career and to be able to do theatre right now after not being able to do theatre for almost two years now has been incredibly special and it means so much to me."

"This is my first outdoor show so it definitely was a challenge to get used to (the humidity)," Gibbons said. "It is a bit more challenging than doing a show in AC!"

The amphitheatre is also running at a percentage of capacity with mask wearing mandatory until the performance begins.

Usually the theatre can hold up to 400 people, but the max capacity for this show is around 150.

People who bought tickets were excited to come see live theatre once again, even with the restrictions in place.

"We're just looking for things to do during COVID and this seemed to be the answer," said Micheline McKeown.

"Salt Water Moon sounded like a perfect play to have in the open air," said her friend Sandra Thompson.

Jane Toshack and Irene Reilly said it was nice to finally be social again.

"To be sociable in a group safely, it's wonderful," Reilly said.

"It's nice to be back, bring my friend for her first time. Pretty excited about it," added Toshack. "I think they've done a great job. Lots of room and you can see that it's got multiple sized groups which is fantastic to be able to come with two, four, six, whatever your family looks like."

At 7 o'clock the show began, with a few opening comments from Willis.

"It's great to be back finally," he said from the stage with the audience clapping, having advice for those who have never seen a live performance.

"If you're fed up with Netflix, and you're fed up with Amazon Prime and you want to see something that's unique to this audience at this particular time, never to be repeated again, it's just for that evening, then come and see some live theatre," Willis said.

Salt Water Moon runs until Sunday Aug. 22 and tickets are still available through their website, at the Kinsmen Amphitheatre box office before each show, or calling 613-925-5788.