Last summer, director Iain Moggach’s emotionally intense, visionary production of Vern Thiessen’s Bluebirds left me thinking about the story for days after. That alone was reason enough to keep my fingers crossed to see whether he would return this summer to Theatre on the Ridge’s outdoor setting at Scugog Shores Museum on Port Perry’s Island Road.
Well, Moggach returns.
This time, he and Landon Doak (Dora Award-winning composer and actor) helm William Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers, Romeo & Juliet. Doak’s featured musical compositions will also play a pivotal role in telling this iconic, tragic tale.
Iain has experienced major career trajectory changes since leaving Barrie’s Theatre by the Bay. He’s certainly keeping busy, nevertheless.
Click here: https://www.imoggach.com/about to see Moggach’s growth as a Canadian artist who is becoming increasingly in demand.
He’s also a sincere, unpretentious, genuine and real gentleman who makes you feel welcome and puts you at ease very quickly. He also hesitates (with a hint of boyish shyness and charm) to have the focus on him. Iain would be the first to say, “Please tell the actors. They are the ones who elicited the emotions from you.”
We recently held a Zoom conversation about Romeo & Juliet that opens Theatre on the Ridge’s 2026 season.
Moggach looks forward to returning and says:
“I had such a phenomenal time working with the cast and creative team last summer for ‘Bluebirds.’ Theatre on the Ridge’s space [at the Scugog Shores Museum] is gorgeous and [has] such a wonderful audience.”
He realizes that Theatre on the Ridge is a company he wants to continue giving back to and working for:
“Carey [Nicholson, Artistic Director of Theatre on the Ridge] saw the results of ‘Bluebirds’ and felt this is someone who gets what we’re doing here [at the Museum]. [Iain] is able to work in the parameters of what we can do and develop something really interesting.”
He then credits Landon Doak, who, after seeing the Bluebirds’ recording, believed that Romeo & Juliet should be pitched to Nicholson. Landon felt this was the right time to stage Romeo. Doak’s work with all the Bad Hats Theatre productions as performer and composer was another bonus.
When Iain approached Carey about Romeo alongside Landon Doak, she agreed wholeheartedly.
Moggach and Doak first staged Romeo & Juliet in 2015 at Old Flame Brewery in Port Perry. At that time, they were fresh out of theatre school, doing rehearsals in all places (from condo party rooms to parks) and had a scrappy energy. That energy fed into the piece extremely well at the time.
Both Iain and Landon want to honour that same scrappy energy once again with the production adapted specifically for the Ridge tent.
It’s a young, up-and-coming cast. Some are fresh out of theatre school, and their energy, enthusiasm, and passion during some of the music rehearsals have been invigorating for Iain and Landon.
Moggach further adds:
“[The cast] is also super sharp… Several have worked with Theatre on the Ridge in the past, while some are newcomers to the theatre and to the region. I couldn’t be more excited.”
The cast includes: Ben Ridd as Romeo; Una Roulston as Juliet; Shannon Pitre as Prince/Nurse; Hilary Wheeler as Benvolio; Kieran Prouty as Mercutio/Paris; Michael Williamson as Friar Laurence/Tybalt, and Elm Reyes as Capulet.
Does Romeo & Juliet still speak to a twenty-first-century audience?
When he and Landon first began discussing the play, one of the central themes that emerged was reconciliation. Iain explained that our world is now polarized, with a large portion of the population having lost a real sense of humanity and community. To quote the play, about the “bitter, ancient grudge of rivalry” between the Capulets and the Montagues, there is a dichotomy here. Love and tragedy have made the grudge ancient, and love and tragedy ultimately led the families to break it.
One of the things Iain is interested in exploring through rehearsals is the act of forming and framing the story with young actors: do they believe what is happening? And if they do, can the audience then believe it:
“I hope that the themes of the play will feel new and rejuvenated. I hope this rejuvenation will penetrate the more cynical of us. Look at the state of the world around us right now – will anything ever be good ever again?”
There’s already musicality in the iambic pentameter verse of Shakespeare’s plays. Iain most assuredly believes that Landon has phenomenally done wonderful things with the music. It will add life and vitality. The music will become the strings of Fate:
“There are sections of the play that are sung. It adds this whole vitality and life beneath the sung words. The music will also make the story more accessible to people. You don’t need to know references to ancient Greek myths and texts that are already part of the play to understand what’s going on with the characters.”
Iain recalled their time together at theatre school, when Landon first pitched setting some of Shakespeare’s text to music. With a laugh, Iain called himself a Shakespeare snob then (and still is) and was curious to see how it might work. When Landon sent some of the initial recordings to Iain, it was jaw-dropping to hear the gorgeous music. Iain can’t wait for audiences to hear this musical accompaniment. It may be something they’ve never experienced before.
Will this Romeo & Juliet make audiences cry?
“If we do our jobs right, absolutely it will happen. But, I hope in a way that makes the audience feel a bit of hope as well. That ties in to the reconciliation thematic piece.”
What’s next for Iain after Romeo & Juliet concludes?
He has a couple of projects. The first is Burro’d Theatre in Angus at Novalis Hall of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in late August/early September. In early November, he will be working with King Theatre Company on the Canadian premiere of Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace.
Romeo & Juliet runs June 17 – July 5 at the Scugog Shores Museum and Village, 16210 Island Road, Port Perry.
For tickets, click: https://theatreontheridge.thundertix.com/events/255646
In addition to public performances, a limited number of school packages are also available. Theatre on the Ridge is still offering any last-minute school and/or group preview packages.
For further information, email the Box Office: boxoffice@theatreontheridge.ca. The Box office opens on location one hour before every performance. Please make sure you check the start time of the specific performance on your ticket.
You can also call (905) 242-9343 during the following office hours:
Tuesday through Friday – 1 pm – 7 pm
Saturday 11 am – 4 pm
Sunday (show days only) 11 am – 1 pm
To learn more about Theatre on the Ridge, click: www.theatreontheridge.ca.
