Graeme Powell, an affable Sunderland-based playwright and freelance video editor, is a six-year member of the Playwrights Guild of Canada and a 2002 Queen’s University graduate in Film and History. His background in theatre began outside formal training (first in high school), through community performance work that later informed his writing.
“I was always writing stories as a kid, but it wasn’t until my twenties, when my wife (Sarah) pointed out an audition notice for ‘Orphans’ in 2005 at the Borelians Community Theatre of Port Perry at the Town Hall. I looked at the notice and thought it would be fun but never considered myself an actor.”
That open Orphans audition call was an experience Graeme describes as a turning point in his relationship with live performance. He has since focused much of his writing on local stories, small-town settings, and the relationships that shape intimate community life.
Powell describes Canadian theatre as a place for stories rooted in community experience. His forthcoming play Piggyland draws on that approach, using a local historical episode to explore ambition, trust, deception, and the consequences of financial promise. It is based on events that occurred in Sunderland, Ontario, between 1960 and 1962.
He first encountered this fascinating story during March Break in 2023, when his youngest son mentioned Piggyland after tobogganing with friends near the former site. A search through material connected to the Sunderland Historical Society led Powell and Sarah to a Maclean’s article from the early 1960s. The discovery revealed that the Powells lived roughly a kilometre from the site and had passed its remains many times without knowing its history. The article’s account of con artist John Laun, the pig farm, the collapse of the enterprise, and claims tied to Laun’s shady, checkered past provided the starting point for Powell’s research and eventual script.
The historical material behind Piggyland includes post-World War 2 immigration, financial speculation, and the vulnerability of people persuaded by promises of security. Powell notes that the play’s subject remains contemporary because scams and persuasive misinformation continue to affect individuals today. The play also addresses the experience of workers and investors who believed the farm could offer financial stability, only to confront the collapse of that promise.
Powell’s script takes place in the late 50s and early 60s. John Laun came to Sunderland, bought a piece of land, and set up a pig farm. The idea was that people would buy a share in a pig. Laun advertised in Toronto papers and nationwide, and into the States, Europe, and South America. Investors purchased a piglet and feed, expecting a mature pig to generate returns. The scheme promised large profits and encouraged reinvestment, including in sows and piglets.
Laun reportedly attracted more than 1,000 investors across Canada, the United States, and parts of Europe. Piggyland became a tourist attraction. Visitors came to the hilltop farm on weekends to see their pigs, while the site offered family entertainment including playgrounds, horseback riding, a swimming pool, music, fine dining, barbecues, and dancing. The enterprise was later exposed as a scam in which the same pigs were sold to multiple investors.
While researching the play, Powell spoke with some people in Sunderland who remembered the farm. It was a huge topic of interest in the town at the time since Sunderland was not big then (and it isn’t now). While he has no solid evidence and is only going on hearsay, local accounts suggest that Canadian journalist and commentator Gordon Sinclair discussed Piggyland on his radio program, encouraging listeners to invest. Powell has not found documentary or electronic confirmation, but some residents he interviewed recalled hearing Sinclair speak about the farm.
Powell will appear in the production as John Laun. He jokingly says he didn’t write the script with himself in mind as the character. Rehearsals have been going well so far, and he arrives prepared as an actor, not as the playwright. He smiles and adds that he has a different coloured pen just in case he steps into playwright mode for a few moments to note something that might need to be altered in the next draft of the script.
Artistic Director Carey Nicholson, director of the world premiere, says the story aligns with Theatre on the Ridge’s interest in local and regional history: “It’s a local story and recent history. It’s one of our stories, and that’s woven into Theatre on the Ridge’s artistic mandate, whether heritage or contemporary.” She describes the play as one whose relevance extends beyond Sunderland, connecting a specific local episode to broader questions about trust, persuasion, and exploitation.
Theatre on the Ridge’s oRidginators helped workshop the first draft of the script more than two years ago. Nicholson said the material suggested a strong theatrical shape early in development and that she expressed interest in directing the play to Graeme if it moved forward.
“We’re recognizing that this event is something of significant importance. The play is not an erasure of what happened…it’s part of our local and Canadian history,” she says.
A line from the play describes Laun as someone who sells dreams but does not fulfill them, framing the world premiere’s central subject: the gap between promise and consequence.
Directed by Carey Nicholson (Artistic Director of Theatre on the Ridge), the world-premiere cast of Piggyland, along with Powell, includes Scugog and Durham Region local actors Craig Martin, Annette Stokes, Michael Serres, Howard Linscott, Nate Simpson, Grant Evans, and Lisha Van Nieuwenhove.
Performance dates are September 9-20, 2026, at Scugog Shores Museum, 16210 Island Road, Port Perry.
To learn more about Graeme Powell, visit https://gpplaywright.wixsite.com/mysite
To learn more about Theatre on the Ridge: theatreontheridge.ca.
To purchase tickets online, visit theatreontheridge.ca, call (905) 242-9343 or contact the box office at boxoffice@theatreontheridge.ca.
I hear ticket sales are picking up, so it’s best to call, continue checking the website, or email the box office.
