After its successful inaugural production Tide of Hope this past May, Trent Valley Archives Theatre is bringing more history to life in May 2025 with a sequel called Crossing Over.
Like its predecessor, the subject matter of Crossing Over is the 19th-century emigration of over 2,500 poor Catholic families from Ireland to what is now eastern Ontario, initiated and administered by 19th-century Upper Canada politician Peter Robinson.
The production is one of several events taking place in 2025 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the arrival of the Irish settlers to Peterborough County and Kawartha Lakes in 1825.
While Tide of Hope was set in Ireland and based on the life of David Nagle, an Irish land agent who was forced to flee to Upper Canada when Irish rebels branded him a traitor, Crossing Over is set on the John Barry, the last of the nine Peter Robinson emigrant transport ships to leave Ireland — and the ship Nagle and his wife were on.
Crossing Over was written by Tide of Hope playwright Ed Schroeter and Tide of Hope director Gerry McBride, with Peterborough historical researcher Don Willcock as the script consultant.
Although it is a fictionalized account of the John Barry’s perilous six-week journey across the Atlantic, the play draws upon a detailed journal of the voyage by ship surgeon William Burnie.
According to Burnie’s journal, the John Barry sailed out of the harbour of the seaport town of Cobh on the south coast of County Cork on May 25, 1825. Destined for Quebec, there were 253 men, women, and children on board.
Of the nine Robinson settler ships that crossed the Atlantic, the John Barry experienced the worst voyage. The passengers, already weakened by malnutrition and disease, lived in cramped and unhygienic conditions and had to adjust to shipboard rations that included food items which they were unfamiliar with — and in some cases even threw overboard in the belief they were being poisoned.
The ship regularly encountered bad weather, with male passengers forced to pump water out of the ship several times a day, and disaster struck when the ship ran aground 200 miles east of Quebec City, terrifying the passengers. During the voyage, 15 people died from illness and other causes and were buried at sea, and 15 babies were born.
“This story of tremendous courage in the face of the unknown is narrated by John Keleher, an experienced seaman and Peter Robinson settler,” reads a description of the play, which features some of the immigrant families that were on the John Barry, including the Hagertys, Nagles, Owens, Regans, Ryans, Slatterys, Sullivans, and Youngs.
“Prepare yourself for the ride of your life — storms, seasickness, scarlet fever, family feuds, petty larceny, plots and counterplots, rotting potatoes, mutiny, and the lash,” the description promises.
The play will be staged for four performances from May 29 to 31, 2025 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough, with evening performances at 7:30 p.m. and a Saturday matinee performance at 2 p.m. Suitable for audiences 14 and older, Crossing Over runs for around 80 minutes with a 20-minute intermission.
In response to audience feedback from Trent Valley Archives Theatre’s inaugural play, co-producers Mary and Greg Conchelos said the theatre company is changing the performance schedule for Crossing Over to move the matinee to Saturday and to stage an additional show on Saturday evening.
“We hope these changes will better accommodate our audience,” the Conchelos said.
Like Tide of Hope, Crossing Over is a fundraiser for Trent Valley Archives, an award-winning organization which works to the identification and care of documents relating to people, places, and events connected to the Trent Valley.
Tickets are $30 ($40 for cabaret table seating) and are available now in person at the Market Hall Performing Arts Centre box office from noon to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, by calling 705-749-1146 or emailing boxoffice@markethall.org, or online at tickets.markethall.org/robinson25.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor for Crossing Over.
