While staging the same production in back-to-back summers isn’t all that rare for 4th Line Theatre, it is a reflection of the quality of the work chosen for another run.
That said, the fact that Wild Irish Geese saw each performance of its August 2025 world premiere sell out sure didn’t hurt its case for a return this August to the Winslow Farm near Millbrook.
Written by Peterborough playwright and actor Megan Murphy, Wild Irish Geese relates the story of 2,024 Peter Robinson emigrants in 1825 — their hopes and dreams, and their anguish over leaving behind in Ireland the only life they knew for the uncertainty and challenge of building a new life in a strange land.
The brainchild of prominent Upper Canada politician Peter Robinson, the emigration “experiment” saw nine ships make the ocean crossing from Ireland, making landfall at Quebec City before their human cargo proceeded by river and land, via Kingston and Cobourg, to their new home in and around Scott’s Plains, later named Peterborough.
With last year seeing a number of events held to commemorate the bicentennial of the Robinson emigration, the timing was perfect for the premiere of Murphy’s play. Now, 4th Line Theatre is banking on the momentum of that year-long commemoration carrying over for the play’s August 4 to 29 run.
On Wednesday (July 22), 4th Line hosted a media day at the Winslow Farm for the remount of Wild Irish Geese, which saw some of the actors performing scenes from the play on the set of the current production, Leanna Brodie’s Schoolhouse, which closes on Saturday — including Murphy herself.
“This is my first big play, so I feel honoured,” says Murphy of the remount, adding “I owe a great debt of gratitude to all of the (Robinson emigration) descendants who came last year in droves. It was amazing how many came.”
“We had the front of house manager, when she gave her little speech off the top, ask how many people are descendants. Every single night, a minimum of 10 hands (went up). Some nights were like 50 hands. The night that the whole Hickey clan came was hilarious. I felt so much pressure.”
Tasked with writing the play some six years ago by 4th Line Theatre founder Robert Winslow, Murphy jumped into the creative process with both feet, not only meeting with several local Robinson descendants and going through bins of material provided by them, but also going to Ireland for a fuller understanding of the Robinson emigration story from a different perspective.
As a bonus, with a few minor exceptions, the entire original cast is back for the second coming of Wild Irish Geese. That includes Murphy, who’s reprising her role as the play’s seanchaí — a traditional Irish storyteller.
“I come from a long line of Irish storytellers, so I was like ‘This kind of makes sense,'” says Murphy of her narrator role.
“I love that I get to break that fourth wall. I love talking to the audience. I feel like I’m the host and everyone has come to my big house and I’m like ‘Welcome to my farm.’ There’s something kinetic about this experience, and about theatre, and about being in a space with people. It’s a thing we missed during COVID.”
Murphy says the original script is being adhered to for the most part, but “there have been changes.”
“In fact, last night I made a few more, so we came in this morning a little early to work on a couple of scenes,” she says. “We’ve had time to go into the little details and the minutiae, and find more of the nuance.”
Also among the returning cast members is veteran actor M. John Kennedy, who portrays Peter Robinson. This is his third 4th Line play, having previously appeared in The Great Shadow (2022) and The Tilco Strike (2023).
“I think he was genuinely interested in helping people and making the world better,” assesses Kennedy of his character.
“One of the things that’s mentioned at the end of the play that Meg wrote is he oversaw a bunch of further ways of emigration but also went well over budget. The government asked him to pay the money back out of his own personal account, which he did. He was very interested in trying to make this a more viable place to live. He really did want to give these people a chance at a better life.”
Asked what drew him to the story, Kennedy says there were a few things, including his connection to one of the Robinson emigration families.
“My mother’s family came over on the boats in 1825,” he says, noting his father’s family followed suit later during the Irish Potato Famine.
“When Meg was working on the script, I was involved in the first read-through. The script is such an excellent combination of the emotional story of the characters but, like many other shows at 4th Line, there’s humour and fun. We need that as way in, even if it’s just to relieve the pressure of the stress of this story.”
“It’s a beautiful story,” Kennedy says. “It’s also the story of my people. There was no hesitation. I love being here at 4th Line. It’s a good time all around.”
And then there was the opportunity to rap. That’s right. Rap. Not once but, as part of this restaging, twice.
“I think one thing that theatre does better than anything else is go ‘Alright, we’re going to do this thing but also this thing’ … this sort of magic realism that we get to see.”
Also returning to the Wild Irish Geese fold, as director, is 4th Line managing artistic director Kim Blackwell. She says this is the eighth time a play has been staged in back-to-back seasons.
“We just feel when a show sells out, there’s a real appetite for it,” she says.
“In a practical sense, the actors all know their lines, we have the costumes, and we have the sets. Almost 10,000 people saw Wild Irish Geese last summer. We’re hoping some will want to come back and see it, and that we tap into new audiences that have heard about it.”
“Megan is such a beloved person and personality in our region,” Blackwell adds. “She’s such a gem. People really adore her. I think people will want to see her again.”
Blackwell notes that one principal actor in a secondary role and one volunteer actor weren’t able to join the production, “but everyone else is back. It’s like coming back to summer camp.”
She says the return rate speaks volumes.
“I think it says a lot about the play. I think it says a lot about the experience we had together last year. They all love Meg, and love the play.”
“We only have two weeks to get the remount up,” Blackwell points out. “It’s a very fast process, but we’re digging a bit deeper. Fresh eyes and fresh people — we’re finding things inside of it, which I think will be beautiful for audiences.”
Sponsored by Pyle Wealth Advisory – CIBC Private Wealth Wood Gundy with support from The Hickey Family Bursary, Wild Irish Geese features a large cast, with Paul Crough, Sebastian Sage, Lindsay Wilson, Indigo Chesser, and Darragh O’Connell among those reprising their 2025 roles.
Behind the scenes, assistant direction is by Mandy Roveda, musical direction is by Justin Hiscox, costume design is by Bonnie Garland, choreography is by Monica Dottor, original set design is by Michelle Chesser, fight direction is by Edward Belanger, Indigenous story consultation is by Patti Shaughnessy, sound design is by Steáfán Hannigan, and intimacy direction is by Greg Carruthers.
Performances run at 6 p.m. Tuesdays to Saturdays from August 4 to 29, with preview performances on August 4 and 5 followed by opening night on August 6, and an added Monday performance on August 24.
Tickets are $55 for adults and $48 for children and youth ages 5 to 16, with a discounted price of $42 for both adults and youth on preview nights, plus fee.
Tickets and gift certificates are available by phone at 705-932-4445 (toll-free at 1-800-814-0055), online at 4thlinetheatre.on.ca, and at 4th Line Theatre’s box Office location at 9 Tupper Street in Millbrook.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a media sponsor of 4th Line Theatre’s 34th season.
