Final shows at Blyth Festival close this weekend

The final two shows at the Blyth Festival wrap up this weekend.

Both world premieres, "The Last Donnelly Standing," opened Aug. 4, and runs to Sept. 2, while "If Truth Be Told" opened July 27 and runs to Sept. 3.

Gil Garratt is epic as Robert Donnelly in this one-man show - the ultimate fiery epilogue to the bloody Biddulph Feud.

Of the seven Donnelly brothers, only one was ever sentenced to hard time in prison; only one was ever convicted of asasult with intent to kill and murder; only one returned to the charred foundations on the infamous Roman Line to drive his hammer against fresh timbers and rebuild from the ashes. And that was Robert Donnelly.

Garratt, Blyth's artistic director, is truly amazing in this show, taking on all the roles, and giving the audience a look at the wildly defiant, but surprisingly engaging Donnelly from several different angles. It's a fast-paced, energetic show that thrills to the time of the Donnelly family murders and then tries to make sense of the aftermath.

Written by Garratt and Paul Thompson, and directed by Thompson, the play adds to the great stories about the Black Donnellys.

"If Truth Be Told," written by Beverley Cooper and directed by Miles Potter, is a wonderful depiction of censorship and who should decide what we can or cannot read.

It's true that you can't go home again, and that a writer, artist or musician is never appreciated in his hometown.

This is blatantly obvious for Peg Dunlop, played by Catherine Fitch, who returns to her hometown to care for her ailing mother. A famous author, Peg has won awards for her writing all over the country and made a name for herself internationally by writing stories set in the small town where she grew up.

When she returns home, that's when the trouble begins, as her childhood friends and neighbours are not impressed and a campaign begins to have her work banned from the local high school.

Fitch is joined on stage by Rebecca Auerback as Maysie Piggott, Meghan Chalmers as her daughter, Jennifer, J.D.Nicholsen as Harry Briggs, and Anita La Selva as Carmella.

While the cast does a remarkable job, telling a difficult story, the real stand-out is La Selva who makes her Blyth debut in this play. She is the fiery high school teacher, intent on having Peg's book read by her class, while Nicholsen is equally as fiery as the head of the school board and the local church elder, objecting to such smut being read by impressionable students.

As Peg and Carmella fight the zealous censors, what follows is a high-stakes lesson in what it means to tell the whole truth, what it means to tell a good story, and what it costs to fight the good fight.

For ticket information, call the Blyth Festival Box Office at 519-523-9300; toll-free at 1-877-862-5984 or on-line at blythfestival.com.