“Blogger travels west to learn more about the theatre on his own dime. He’s okay with that. Sometimes, to get out of one’s comfort zone, a few bucks may have to be coughed up.”
A phrase often credited to American author and newspaperman Horace Greeley is “Go west, young man.”
Okay. Since Montreal’s Centaur and Segal Centre offer terrific theatre in Quebec, why not head west and see what’s happening? I ventured to Winnipeg in June to attend two productions at Shakespeare in the Ruins.
Although I’m no longer a young man, having turned 65 in August and now being legally a senior, I’m heading to the Belfry Theatre in Victoria for the opening night of Michael Healey’s play, 1979, on September 11.
These two visits have all been on my own dime for the airfare and hotel. And I’m okay with that.
Why continue pursuing opportunities to write about the theatre when I go out of town and have to pay for it?
The answer is still the same. When I retired from teaching in 2017, I wanted to continue learning and writing about the Toronto theatre scene and its environs, with the primary goal of encouraging people to attend whenever possible. I still want to do that. Now, the itch has come to leave Ontario and Quebec periodically to see more theatre. Sometimes getting out of one’s comfort zone to learn more means a few bucks may have to be put forward when it’s financially feasible at the time.
I sent an email to Mark Dusseault (the Belfry’s Director of Marketing and Communications) indicating that I would be in Victoria in early September. I kindly asked if he might be interested in having me write a feature about the Belfry and review the play on its opening night. Director Glynis Leyshon was also available via email to answer some questions.
When I first visited Victoria in 2012, I attended a production at this theatre, which has a truly fascinating name. I was captivated by the building itself and its auditorium. According to the theatre’s website, it is located in a former Baptist church built between 1887 and 1892. From 1974 to 1991, the Belfry rented the main theatre space from the Cool-Aid Society and shared the complex with a homeless shelter. In 1991, the Cool-Aid Society relocated, allowing the Belfry to initiate the first of five capital campaigns to purchase and restore the building. The renovations were completed in 2000, which included restoring the exterior.
The Belfry is listed in the heritage registry and has won awards for its restoration.
There’s more news from inside the theatre.
Current Artistic Director Michael Shamata will step down from his eighteen-year tenure as leader. He has agreed to stay on until September 2026.
Mr. Shamata holds a powerful influence in the theatre industry across North America. Two examples (and there are more) come to my mind regarding his influence. His adaptation of ‘A Christmas Carol’ was a welcome staple at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre for years. Shamata has also written books about audition techniques for actors.
An email conversation with Dusseault provided me with some information about Michael and the Victoria audiences. While Mark says that every artistic director brings a different vision and style to the theatre, Shamata has focused more on words:
“[Michael’s] leaving a great body of work and a lot of new audience engagement activities that have helped deepen [patrons’] experiences with each play. He’s been a champion of new Canadian work. [The Belfry] has commissioned quite a few new plays and gone on to premiere a number of them. Christine Quintana’s As Above, which [the Belfry] commissioned and then premiered in 2024, is being published later this fall.”
To help audiences understand Shamata’s thinking behind each choice of play, [the Belfry] publishes his “Why I Chose This Play”. [This explanation] goes a long way towards deepening the [audience] understanding before they come to the theatre. I’ve read these short snippets, and they do a nice job in piquing curiosity about the text.
Mark has the highest regard for the Belfry audiences. He believes they appreciate quality work just as I’ve found knowledgeable Toronto audiences crave the same. However, there has never been any audience polling on the types of plays they would like to see, as this could lead to a decline in the presentation of challenging works. According to Mark, the Belfry takes every comment from theatregoers seriously. There is a diversity of expectations and opinions among the audience members. Most patrons come seeking a challenge, while fewer attend primarily for entertainment. Mark states that, in most seasons, the Belfry showcases the most challenging theatre in Victoria, as well as some of the most entertaining performances outside of major touring musicals.
With the current upheaval in relations between Canada and the US, are Victoria audiences craving a continued focus on Canadian entertainment and culture?
Mark finds this question interesting:
“[The Belfry] has always focused on Canadian work and certainly more so in the last 30 years, so we may not be the best barometer. I think Victoria audiences crave good work, and with the amazing playwrights and artists we have in this country, that’s not hard to find.
The theatre has been blessed in working with some of Canada’s best artists. Dusseault said there was a time the theatre could get an actor based on the climate. For example, someone could do such and such a show in Winnipeg in February or in Victoria, but that is no longer the case. The theatre artists come because of the experience they know they’ll have.
The feeling of being blessed to work with some of the country’s finest led to an online conversation about 1979′s opening night with director Glynis Leyshon. The play deals with the final days of Joe Clark’s dying Conservative government in Ottawa. Clark is holding firm to his beliefs while chaos surrounds him. Nathan Howe plays Joe Clark. Actors A and B, played by Jay Hindle and Luisa Jojic, portray a multitude of characters, including Pierre Trudeau, John Crosbie, Maureen McTeer, and Stephen Harper.
A graduate of the University of Victoria with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Art History, Leyshon completed her actor’s training at the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Acting School under Christopher Newton. Brownsey clearly knows a thing or two about performance.
She calls 1979 “a sharp, very funny satire of political manoeuvring of ‘politics versus policy’ and of the core values Canadians seek in their leaders. With the ongoing transformation of the conservative Party begun by Stephen Harper and continuing under Pierre Poilievre, 1979 is more immediately relevant today than when it premiered in 2017.”
How has Leyshon found rehearsals going so far?
“It’s a genuine gift, as a director, to work on a very clever script with a group of truly creative actors. We’re having great fun, diving into the theatrical challenges of the play’s multiple characters-(Clark’s office is a revolving door of iconic and colourful Canadian politicians. Every rehearsal brings us all new insights into both Clark’s world and our own.”
For Leyshon, the heart of the play lies in an ongoing debate about leadership styles – virtues like honesty, transparency versus realpolitik expediency. The play becomes a debate we see being acted out in the news every day, with very real consequences to all of us facing an increasingly uncertain future.
What do Leyshon and the cast hope audiences will take away from the production:
“[We] hope audiences will walk away with a deeper understanding of what’s happening today based on the machinations of politicians in 1979. The play provides context for the political struggles we are witnessing now, and as always, I hope it sparks conversations that continue long after our patrons leave the theatre.”
Performance dates for 1979 at Victoria’s Belfry Theatre run from September 9 to October 5, 2025, at 1291 Gladstone Avenue. Visit www.belfry.bc.ca for further information.
