4th Line Theatre in Millbrook will mark its 35th anniversary next summer with two world-premiere Canadian plays and a season-long celebration of the legacy of late founder Robert Winslow.
On Monday (October 26), the outdoor theatre company announced its 2027 season at the Winslow Farm will feature Waiting for Gainey from June 29 to July 24, followed by The Legend of Pearl Hart from August 3 to 28. Both plays were developed through 4th Line Theatre’s play development program.
The milestone season will be the company’s first since Winslow died unexpectedly on September 12. The playwright, actor, director, and artistic leader was 73 and had remained actively involved with 4th Line until his death.
“This 35th anniversary season is a love letter to new Canadian theatre and to our founder, Robert Winslow,” said 4th Line managing artistic director Kim Blackwell in a media release.
“I can’t think of a more fitting way to honour Robert than to premiere two new Canadian plays developed through the play development program he was so instrumental in creating.”
Blackwell said the company could have celebrated the anniversary by remounting Winslow’s plays, but that approach would not have reflected the forward-looking philosophy he brought to the theatre.
“He believed passionately in developing new Canadian voices, taking chances on new work and giving playwrights the extraordinary canvas of the Winslow Farm on which to tell their stories,” she said. “These two world premieres are a celebration of everything he believed theatre could be.”
Winslow founded 4th Line Theatre in 1992 on the family farm he had inherited two years earlier. The company’s first production was his play The Cavan Blazers, which established an approach 4th Line has followed for more than three decades: researching Canadian history and local stories and bringing them to life through large-scale outdoor productions using Winslow’s farm itself for the outdoor stage.
In keeping with the wishes of Winslow and his wife Janette Froncz Winslow, the company will continue creating and producing theatre at Winslow Farm.
“There is something both heartbreaking and hopeful about celebrating our 35th anniversary without Robert here beside us,” Blackwell said.
“We are not simply preserving Robert’s legacy; we are building upon it. The greatest tribute we can offer him is to keep creating ambitious, original Canadian theatre, to welcome new generations of artists and audiences to the farm, and to ensure that the extraordinary place he imagined 35 years ago continues to thrive long into the future.”
The season will open with Waiting for Gainey, a comedy written by Paul Braunstein and Courtenay Stevens and directed by Blackwell.
With the title a reference to Peterborough native and NHL legend Bob Gainey, the play is set in the world of minor hockey and follows young players chasing their dreams of making the big leagues and the parents willing to make sacrifices — and sometimes go to extremes — to help them get there.
While described as “a funny, fast-paced and deeply Canadian love letter to hockey,” the play will also examine the pressures, sacrifices, and darker side of the game.
Waiting for Gainey held particular significance for Winslow, as a lifelong hockey fan and devoted supporter of the Montreal Canadiens. He was playing in a hockey game in Peterborough before he died.
“Robert was so excited about Waiting for Gainey,” Blackwell said. “His love of hockey, and particularly the Montreal Canadiens, was legendary.”
“He understood the passion, the humour and the sometimes ridiculous lengths Canadians will go to for the game. He was looking forward to sharing this story with our audiences, and I know he would have loved seeing the world of hockey come alive in the barnyard.”
The second production will be The Legend of Pearl Hart by acclaimed Canadian playwright Maja Ardal. Directed by Anita La Selva, the play tells the story of Pearl Taylor, who was born in Lindsay in 1871 and became one of the most famous female outlaws of the American West.
After moving west, Hart fell on hard times in Arizona and, with a companion known as Joe Boot, robbed a stagecoach in 1899. The robbery and Hart’s gender generated widespread media attention. After initially being acquitted of robbery, she was subsequently convicted of interfering with the U.S. mail and imprisoned at Yuma Territorial Prison before being pardoned in 1902.
4th Line audiences received an early look at The Legend of Pearl Hart in January, when excerpts were presented at the company’s annual Breaking Ground public reading in Peterborough. Winslow was among the actors participating in that reading, and he had intended to appear in the full production during the 2027 season.
“Robert was tremendously excited about The Legend of Pearl Hart and was really looking forward to being onstage in this production,” Blackwell said.
“He loved the theatrical possibilities of this story: the horses, the adventure, the larger-than-life characters and, most importantly, the chance to bring another remarkable Canadian story to audiences.”
Blackwell said that while it is “heartbreaking” that Winslow won’t be in the production, “his spirit will be very much a part” of it.
The 2027 season also features a family connection between the two world premieres. Waiting for Gainey co-playwright Braunstein is the son of Ardal, meaning mother and son will each have a world premiere staged at Winslow Farm during the anniversary season.
4th Line will formally begin marking its 35th anniversary on Friday, June 4 with a special celebration of Winslow’s career as a playwright, director, actor, and artistic leader.
A 35th anniversary season launch gala will follow on Saturday, July 3, bringing together artists, audiences, donors, volunteers, and community members.
“This season is about celebrating Robert, but it is also about celebrating the thousands of artists, volunteers, donors and audience members who have made 4th Line Theatre what it is today,” Blackwell said. “Robert’s greatest gift was not simply the theatre he created, but the community he brought together.”
Additional anniversary events will be announced in the coming months.
Waiting for Gainey will run Tuesdays through Saturdays at 6 p.m. from June 29 to July 24, with previews June 29 and 30, opening night on July 3, and an additional performance on July 19.
The Legend of Pearl Hart will run Tuesdays through Saturdays at 6 p.m. from August 3 to 28, with previews August 3 and 4, opening night on August 5, and an additional performance on August 23.
Gift certificates for single tickets, season subscriptions, and charcuterie boxes go on sale Monday, November 2 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.
