​Kincardine’s Brontae Hunter makes professional debut at Blyth Festival Theatre

Kincardine native Brontae Hunter is making her professional debut at the Blyth Festival Theatre in “A Huron County Christmas Carol,” which opened last week and continues through to Dec. 21.

From fields to footlights, Hunter followed her passion early, performing in high school productions at Sacred Heart High School in Walkerton, and Stratford Central Secondary School, and with the Kincardine Theatre Guild.

She also sang with Kincardine's Lighthouse Swing Band.

Now living in Montreal as a singer, songwriter and actress, Hunter is thrilled to return to Ontario where she feels a personal connection to the Blyth Festival’s spirit of reflecting rural stories back to the community.

In “A Huron County Christmas Carol,” she plays Belle, Clara and Emily, singing and acting in a multi-role casting that showcases her versatility.

Written by Blyth’s artistic director, Gil Garratt, with original songs by John Powers, the show is an updated, local version of the original Charles Dickens tale.

It’s 2025, and greedy tycoon Ebeneezer Scrooge has bought up every feed mill from Windsor to Tobermory, Lake Huron to the Ottawa River. With billions in the bank and Ontario’s farmers under his thumb, Scrooge sits on his riches and refuses to give a dime to help those less fortunate … but on Christmas Eve, he is visited by (yes, you guessed it) three ghosts!

"The story is set in 2025, right here in Huron County,” says Garratt. “Fact is, a lot of what Dickens was writing about, the haves and the have-nots, is still very much with us. In some ways, it’s even more pronounced.

“By making Scrooge a feed-mill tycoon who has bought up as many mills as he can, and now wields power over farmers, the adaptation draws on real economic and social tensions that folks in rural Ontario are feeling these days. Scrooge is cornering the market, building a monopoly, and he has the farmers under his thumb.

“The show resonates with farmers, themselves, or folks who have friends in farm communities, who feel the daily stress associated with issues of consolidation, independence and precarious commodity pricing, especially in a globalized food system.

“This adaptation of the Christmas classic reminds people in farm communities that they're not alone and it ends on a really positive note - filled with joyous affirmations about the human condition and hope."

The play continues Dec. 10 and 16 at 10 a.m.; Dec. 11, 13-14, 17-18, 20-21, at 2 p.m.; and Dec. 11, 13, 17, 19-20 at 7 p.m.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit blythfestival.com.