Trent Valley Archives has launched a new historical theatre initiative, with its inaugural production Tide of Hope coming this May to Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough, with a second public show added due to demand.
According to a media release, Trent Valley Archives Theatre’s mission is to bring regional history to life on stage, while also raising funds for the non-profit organization that promotes the preservation, identification, and care of archives in the Trent Valley region.
“This is a natural next step in its evolution, following on the heels of its ghost walks, historical tours, and cemetery pageant,” says Tide of Hope coproducer Greg Conchelos in the release.
Conchelos is part of a committee of volunteers for the project that Trent Valley Archives has recruited from among the region’s most experienced youth history theatre producers and educators. Other members of the committee include Mary Conchelos, Suzanne Schroeter, Deirdre Chisholm, and Trent Valley Archives liaison Karen Hicks, along with Tide of Hope director Gerry McBride and playwright Ed Schroeter.
Tide of Hope is a prequel to the immigration story of Peter Robinson, the 19th-century politician in Upper Canada who administered the passage and settlement of over 2,500 poor Catholic families from Ireland to what is now eastern Ontario. Set in 1825 in the Blackwater district of Ireland at the height of the agrarian rebellion against excessive land rents and church tithes, the play tells the story of David Nagle, an Irish land agent and rent collector forced to flee to Upper Canada when Irish rebels branded him a traitor.
“The play commemorates the bicentennial of the Peter Robinson immigration while opening a dialogue about immigration, refugees, migrants, and European settler history,” states the media release.
Geared to both the general public and students in Grades 6 to 12, Tide of Hope will be performed for school groups on Wednesday, May 15th at 1 p.m., followed by a public performance — which is also a fundraiser for Trent Valley Archives — at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 16th. Due to public demand, a second public show has been added at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15th.
Tickets for the public performances are $40 for assigned cabaret table seating or $30 for regular assigned seating, and are available online at tickets.markethall.org/tide24. Suitable for audiences aged 12 and older, the play runs for around 95 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.
For the May 15th school performance, teachers can book classes by emailing trentvalleyarchivestheatre@gmail.com, with admission costing $250 for a class of 25 students or more (including free admission for the teacher and up to four volunteer chaperones). More information, including educational resources, is available at sites.google.com/view/tvatheatre/.
Tide of Hope was written by award-winning playwright Ed Schroeter, a Trent Valley Archives volunteer and retired teacher who was a driving force behind the Peterborough Museum & Archives’ Heritage Pavilion Stage series in 2001, transforming it into a school tour company from 2003 to 2005. Greg and Mary Conchelos took over the Heritage Pavilion Stage series from 2005 to 2011, producing school tours and environmental theatre, while Schroeter continued to write scripts for them.
“We used to tour three productions every spring and fall, performing at more than 120 schools from Pickering in the west to Havelock in the east,” Schroeter recalls.
Schroeter was also artistic producer of Arbor Theatre and, in 2004, was inducted into the Peterborough Pathway of Fame for his contribution to the dramatic arts.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor for Tide of Hope.
