If you’re driving along Pigeon Lake Road towards Bobcaygeon this weekend, and you notice from the corner of your eye a massive pair of blue polka-dotted pair of underwear hanging off the side of a barn, you are not seeing things. Globus Theatre has unveiled the biggest pair of undies in the world — at 70 feet wide and 40 feet tall — to promote their latest production Knickers! A Brief Comedy.

Written by Sarah Quick and directed by James Barrett, Knickers! was first performed at Globus Theatre in 2007 and, in the nine years since, the show has taken on a life of its own. Published by Playscripts Inc, a publishing firm based in New York City, Knickers! has been performed throughout Canada and the United States, and has even had performances in New Zealand.

A story of four women banding together to help their community in times of struggle, Knickers! is distinctively Canadian but has universal themes of economic depression, hope and friendship.

Knickers! revolves around the fictional Northern Canadian town of Elliston Falls, which is in the midst of an economic and social crisis. When the paper mill closes after decades of employing half of the town’s residents, the mass job loss trickles down to affect the entire community — putting the town in a state of financial and emotional ruin.

In an attempt to turn things around, local politicians brings in a worldly tourism advisor, Amanda (Sarah Quick), who quickly finds herself overwhelmed by the job ahead of her, as well as the social apathy and hostility of the townspeople to an outsider who doesn’t understand the workings of their town.

Joining the local Weight Watchers group, Amanda befriends three lifelong residents of Elliston Falls — Mary (Nikki Duval), Terri (Jeanine Profeta), and Barb (Tina Morcau) — who have all been directly affected by the plant’s closing. As Amanda gets to know the women and their stories, the four bond together to find a solution to their town’s problem … and that solution comes in the form of custom undergarments.

Can a wild idea by four regular women create an industry big enough to save an entire community? Elliston Falls’ future is riding on the success of women’s panties.

Knickers! is uplifting summer theatre that succeeds on multiple levels. As a collective cast, Nikki Duval, Jeanine Profeta, Tina Moreau and Sarah Quick play real women who are relatable to the audience. They are not extraordinary women in extraordinary situations, as much as they are ordinary women who face hardships head on to better the world in which they live.

They are not glamorous or heroic, but they are likeable and strong. They represent the women who are in our homes and our workplace — our wives, our sisters, our mothers, and our neighbours. These are women who drink beer, eat chips, and gossip, but also have true emotions and hardships that they share in personal monologues and with one another.

Knickers! is also a distinctively Canadian production. From the dialect to media references to geography, the show is as Canadian as maple syrup and a plate of poutine. Although it may go overboard once in a while, I can understand how theatre groups south of the border would find this a charming aspect of the show, and it does give local audiences a chance to laugh at our national quirks.

But where Knickers! really hits home is the fact that it’s still as relevant today as it was when Globus first performed it in 2007. Everyone who has lost a job, looked for a job, or had to struggle on minimum wages, can relate to the stories and the emotions that the characters in Knickers! emote from the stage. Their story is very much our story.

Knickers! is a feel-good comedy about four women who follows through on a crazy idea, changing lives and pulling a community back from the brink of despair. It’s a story that gives the message that you can’t make your world better by just sitting around and talking about it. You have to get up and take action, take risks, and make things happen.

Knickers! A Brief Comedy runs from July 27th to August 6th at Globus Theatre at the Lakefield Arts Barn, with dinner available before evening performances. For more information and tickets, call the Globus box office at 705-738-2037 or visit www.lakeviewartsbarn.com.

Anyone who’s married knows full well the magic that transpires when husband and wife are on the same page. After all, it’s that same magic led to their union in the first place.

But take that commitment to each other to a whole other level where it’s on full display for thousands to witness and experience, and the magic that results is impossible to ignore.

On June 24, 2006, Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland married, each bringing successful solo musical careers to the union. In fact, Doucet had produced Chicago-born and Burlington-raised McClelland’s 2004 album Stranded In Suburbia. Working together professionally was not something new. It was a no-brainer that the couple would eventually bring their talents to bear as a duo act.

On July 27th at Del Crary Park in downtown Peterborough, Whitehorse, the Juno Award-winning result of that roots/folk rock musical coupling, will headline Peterborough Musicfest at 8 p.m.

It was in 2010 that Doucet and McClelland committed fully to recording and performing together as Whitehorse, releasing their self-titled debut album the following year.

“The fact that we play music together is what enables us to be together,” reasoned Halifax-born Doucet in a 2015 www.montrealrampage.com interview with Jean-Frederic Vachon.

“We’re both musicians and if we weren’t playing together, we’d be apart all the time. I know a lot of musicians and it’s challenging to be on the road all the time when your better half is at home.”

And so it was that being apart as solo artists do their own thing wasn’t an option, much to the benefit of fans of the immense talent each brings to the table as equal partners in Whitehorse.

“The obvious advantage, musically, is that we spend so much time together, we understand each other on an intrinsic kind of level where sometimes things don’t have to be said,” added Doucet.

“In a lot of artistic partnerships, there’s a certain amount of translation that has to be done, where you have to describe where you’re hoping this is going to go or where it came from. I think that in the case of Melissa and myself, we have a pretty innate understanding of what that is.”

Whitehorse’s second album, 2012’s The Fate Of The World Depends On This Kiss, truly bore the fruit of the couple’s musical journey as one. Shortlisted for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize, the album’s release also saw Whitehorse headline its first show at Toronto’s Massey Hall, resulting in the release of The Road To Massey Hall, an EP of cover songs that pays homage to artists who have performed at the historic venue.

But as much as Whitehorse’s second album turned heads and perked up ears, it was 2015’s Leave No Bridge Unburned that truly vindicated their decision to strike out together. A long-listed nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize, the 11-track album reaped a 2016 Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year.

“We started writing bright, happy, major key songs when we started this record,” recalled Doucet.

“And then Gus Van Go, who was our producer, heard the songs and he said, ‘No, I like Whitehorse the way it is. It’s dark and I want to keep it dark.'”

But, as will be experienced in Peterborough, it is Whitehorse’s live show as a two-member “band” that truly sets it apart.

“There’s a great potential for train wrecks in our live show; it’s very common for us to go off the rails,” admitted Doucet.

“There’s just two of us in the band and yet we play a lot of instruments. We play drums, bass, keys, percussion and guitars. And we use loops but in a way that might be unorthodox: Melissa is the engineer and operates the looping machine, and I’ll play drums. We’ll record drum passages and she’ll play bass. I’ll switch to guitar and she’ll switch to keyboards.”

“A lot of people who use technology in pop music, whether it’s using loops or playing to sequencers, there’s not much risk involved because there’s a safety valve. If something goes wrong, you can have a spare loop in back-up on your machine and push a button and it plays a perfect loop. We have no safety technology.”

“If we try and it’s really terrible, we’ll stop it. We’ll stop the song in the middle and say, ‘Sorry, we gotta try this again, that’s just too horrible.’ But when it goes well, it’s really spectacular. And when it doesn’t work, the train wreck is equally spectacular.”

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“Sweet Disaster” – Whitehorse

“Devil’s Got a Gun” – Whitehorse

“I’m On Fire” – by Bruce Springsteen, performed by Whitehorse

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Peterborough Musicfest is presenting 19 free-admission concerts during its milestone 30th anniversary season, each staged Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Overseen by general manager Tracey Randall and staff, a board of directors, and numerous volunteers, Peterborough Musicfest’s stated mission is to “provide diverse, affordable live music to enrich cultural and economic prosperity in our community.”

For more information on this concert and/or the 2016 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or phone the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.

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For the past number of years, a huge part of my summer highlights have included visiting the Lakeview Arts Barn in Bobcaygeon to see productions put on by Globus Theatre. Located at 2300 Pigeon Lake Rd, just a short but scenic half hour drive from Peterborough, Globus Theatre delivers one of the best theatrical experiences in the area.

One of only a handful of professional theatre companies in The Kawarthas, Globus Theatre can lay claim to producing the most professional theatrical productions per season, with five shows throughout July and August. Housed in a massive old barn that has been beautifully renovated into a theatre and event space with restaurant and bar, Globus Theatre has gained the respect and loyalty of not only myself, but hundreds of yearly subscribers and theatrical professionals who return every summer.

Fronted by artistic director Sarah Quick and her husband artistic producer James Barrett, Globus Theatre and the Lakeview Arts Barn has become a labour of love for the couple. Lakeview Arts Barn provides a stable base of operations of Sarah and James, who met each other on the theatre circuit.

“We met working in touring companies,” says Sarah, who originally comes from England. “I toured in Canada, and James was in different companies in Winnipeg. I’d continue to tour, and come back to James once in a while. So when we wanted to settle down in life, we thought that we would set up a theatre on a permanent basis. Initially we rented a theatre for two years. But when this place came up we decided to invest in the future of our theatre company’s future and we bought it.”

Originally a working cattle barn, the building’s original owner Fabien O’Neil renovated the space into a dance hall in 1967. After Sarah and James bought the property, they opened it as a theatre space in 2006.

“Fabian built this amazing location for big dances, weddings, and celebrations,” says Sarah. “When we bought this space, it was a dance hall people would regularly come to — pretty much every weekend there was a function here. When we built the black box theatre, we wanted to make it comfortable from day one.”

“What I love is that this was a social hub farmers came to, which takes away the whole pretentious feeling of going to the theatre,” Sarah continues. “You’re just going to the theatre at the barn. Everybody feels that they can come and see what we put on because it’s a comfortable space.”

One of the Lakefield Art Barn’s most popular features is the dinner option that accompanies every evening performance. Although you don’t need to come for the dinner to see the show, you can have a decadent meal before the show in the restaurant area with the purchase of a dinner theatre ticket.

“The dinners have really enticed people in to see the theatre,” Sarah observes. “That’s an attractive part of what we do. You can have dinner beforehand and not have to worry if you’re going to have to rush to the theatre. It’s made it a very social evening for people. They can bring their friends or their family or have a date night. It’s added to the experience.”

One of the other attractive features of Globus Theatre is the variety of shows the company puts on every summer. Carefully selected by Sarah and James, each show offers something different for the audience but is always of the highest caliber.

“Artistically, we want to have a nice mix for the subscriber,” Sarah says. “Generally speaking, we want a Canadian comedy, a comedy maybe from a different country, a drama, something that’s got a musical bent, a historical play, and a modern play. We want a variety, so that you’re not doing the same thing over and over again.”

This year, Globus has already produced Buying the Moose by Canadian playwright Michael Wilmont and brought back musician Leisa Way for Sweet Dreams: A Tribute to Patsy Cline.

For their next show, James and Sarah have a huge undertaking in mind. From July 27th to August 6th, Globus will be relaunching one of Sarah’s most successful original plays, Knickers: A Brief Comedy.

Recently published by a New York publishing company, Knickers has been produced in theatres all over Canada and the U.S. and has even seen a production in New Zealand.

“It’s a feel-good story about one of those towns that has hit rock bottom, with characters who decide they are going to work together and get it sorted out,” Sarah says of the play. “The themes are relevant. And it’s a great female story. More and more people are looking to do plays about female characters because there aren’t enough of them. This is still a male-dominated industry, so this is four strong women on stage getting the job done.”

To promote the show, Globus is doing something extremely groundbreaking. On Tuesday, July 26th, Globus is aiming to enter the Guinness Book of World Records by unveiling the biggest pair of underwear in the world.

A publicity stunt unlike anything to ever hit the area, the idea came to James last fall.

“I woke up in the middle of the night thinking of a way to celebrate us doing the show again,” James says. “The play mentions a roadside attraction of the largest pair of knickers in the world. So I thought we should do it.”

With material donated by Doug Ruggles from Triden Distributing and sewn together by the staff of Lakeside Sewing — which creates boat covers for Buckeye Marine — the underwear is able to hold approximately 150 adults and has a crotch length of 16 feet.

“I had no idea what the dimensions would be, but then I went and found out the dimensions that we had to beat,” James says. “The current largest pair of underwear is 20 metres wide by 12 metres tall. That’s about 65 feet wide by 30 feet tall. So we’ve created a pair that is 70 feet wide by 40 feet tall.”

A colossal pair of underwear is difficult to top, but Globus will be bringing things up a notch with Stones in His Pocket from August 10th to August 20th. Directed by James last November in Toronto for the Irish Stage Company, the production was highly endorsed by theatrical legend Colm Wilkinson who brought it to the attention of the original playwright Marie Jones.

While visiting Toronto earlier this year, Marie Jones met with James and actors Mark Whelan and Stephen Farrell to discuss the show. Mark and Stephen will be coming to Bobcaygeon to reprise their roles in this funny but emotional drama.

“It’s theatrically very different,” Sarah says. “It’s funny, but it has its sad moments as well. It’s a real insight into human behaviour. It’s about a Hollywood film being filmed in a little village in rural Ireland. So there are all these characters that have never left their little town and then these two Hollywood producers come in.”

“They basically take over the whole town,” James adds. “Some people love it for the money aspect of it, and some people feel that they are stealing their culture. It’s a great script and we’ve got some great actors.”

For their final show of the summer season, Globus is producing Funny Farmers by Kevin Riordan from August 24th to September 3rd.

“Funny Farmer talks to our audience,” says James, who plays one of the two farmers. “There is an old farmer and a young farmer who has never farmed before.”

“The younger farmer wants to go off the grid and go all organic and he doesn’t use a tractor,” Sarah adds. “It’s current, relative and Canadian. Even if they’re not a farmer, everybody in our audience knows a farmer or is related to a farmer. While using comedy, it talks about the difficulties that farmer’s face and how important their job is. I love it when a comedy has a message and a heart.

“That’s what we want,” James echoes. “We want a show that has heart. Shows can be light, but we like when people can take something away.”

Although the Globus season runs from July to August, James and Sarah keep busy with the barn all year long. The space is still used throughout the year for weddings, celebrations, and dances, and Sarah and James host other events such as their Murder Mystery Dinners (November 24th to 26th), an annual New Year’s Eve dance, and their hugely popular Christmas Pantomime Show. This year’s pantomime will be Little Red Riding Hood, which runs December 8th to 18th.

“It’s huge,” says James of the pantomime. “Sarah’s been doing them since she was very young and she said she wanted to continue do them. For any kid that wants to be a part of it, Sarah will write them a part.”

“In the last few years the schools have started coming, so last year we had over 1,000 children come to see the show,” Sarah adds. “It’s such a great introduction to theatre, because it’s so energetic and captivating and loud and zany and interactive. Most of the kids never have been to the theatre before.”

A true labour of love, Globus Theatre at Lakeview Arts Barn is a comfortable and classy space that offers some of the best theatre in the area. But, as Sarah explains, professional theatre in a town like Bobcaygeon offers an even bigger message to people who want to be involved in the arts.

“Having a professional theatre in an area like this validates the idea you can have a career in the arts,” Sarah says. “It’s not just a hobby — you can actually have a career as well. In professional theatre, people are getting paid either on the stage or back stage designing lights or sets.”

“It’s a nice industry to work in. It’s not an industry that makes a lot of people rich, but it’s a wonderful lifestyle.”

“We love what we do, but it’s a lot of hard work rehearsing and operating the restaurant,” James adds. “We both find it very exhausting; some days it’s very overwhelming.”

“But with that said, we love what we do and each year we are increasing our audience. We feel that it makes the world a better place to be exposed to great theatre. We certainly strive towards that.”

I see a lot of good theatre in the Kawarthas, but believe me when I say that Globus Theatre is among the best. It has friendly people, approachable actors, professional productions, and a wonderful staff in a beautiful performance space.

If you’ve been meaning to take the trip to Bobcaygeon to visit the Lakeview Arts Barn, take the time this summer to take the drive out and see a great show. You won’t be disappointed, because James and Sarah always deliver something special.

For more information about Globus Theatre and the Lakeview Arts Barn, visit their website at www.lakeviewartsbarn.com. For tickets, contact their box office at 705-738-2037.

All photos courtesy of James Barrett and Sarah Quick / Globus Theatre.

In 2014, when Wendy Van Monsjou, Systems Analyst at General Electric, learned that one of the historic buildings on site was to be demolished, she sprang into action.

Wendy got permission to have photographer Wayne Eardley create a series of photographs to document and remember the space.

The project expanded from there to include and more of the plant than just the buildings slated for demolition.

Documentation and visual art come together in Wayne’s work and, whether he is shooting places or people, one comes away with a sense of beauty and of reality artfully reflected through the lens of the camera.

Wayne studied architecture and architectural photography as part of his photographic arts program at Ryerson University. He subsequently worked at Image Works for prominent Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, making him more than qualified for the job.

Wayne has accordingly captured striking images and also created a visual record of the plant for future reference.

GE mysteriously named the project Caribou. Wayne was quick to clear up the mystery, explaining that the name Caribou was chosen to represent Canada, as Caribou are considered a quintessential Canadian animal. The operation here in Peterborough is the oldest GE operation outside of the United States.

Project Caribou depicts the architecture and inner workings of the buildings and also includes a series of portraits of people working there in 2014. A selection of these pictures is currently on display on the upper ramp at the Art Gallery of Peterborough.

Built in 1891, at the inception of what was then known as the Peterborough Works, these structures sustained over 100 years of manufacturing. One can imagine the thousands of workers employed over the last century, and wonder at the many stories that could be told about General Electric over the years.

In fact, GE has done more for Peterborough over the years than merely provide steady jobs. During slow times, GE employed workers to help build the Peterborough Golf and Country Club and also donated the land on which Trent University was built. It is no surprise then to hear that the company used to be referred to locally as “Generous Electric”.

A shot of the old orange door leading up to the crane operator’s seat leaves us with a sense of emptiness, but also of curiosity about the past. The fact that some of these places are now demolished or repurposed lends further poignancy to the pictures.

An empty warehouse, once used to manufacture small AC motors, becomes a haunting luminescent space as it is repurposed for modern use.

Wayne has a special interest in portraiture and has been working for the last 30 years on an ongoing photography project called Relative. This series of portraits depicts a wide variety of people from around the world shot on a simple white background. To find out more and see the pictures for yourself, visit www.wayneeardley.com.

Of course, Wayne also took the opportunity to include a human element in the Caribou series and photographed hundreds of current employees as well as the selected buildings. Below is a portrait of Brian Toth, a long-time employee who had worked for GE for 25 years at the time the picture was taken.

All prints are available for purchase. The full collection of photographs and much more of Wayne’s work can be seen online at www.wayneeardley.com.

The pictures are all “chromogenic light prints” printed using an archival colour printing process which, as Wayne was quick to mention, was invented by Graham Nash of Crosby Stills Nash and Young!

First time for fame and riches; second time for sheer joy.

That, in the simplest sense, sums up the journey that brings 1980s new wave/rock band The Box to the Fred Anderson Stage as the milestone 30th anniversary season of Peterborough Musicfest rolls on.

Still fronted by lead singer and guitarist Jean-Marc Pisapia — he formed the band in Montreal in 1981 — The Box has in its arsenal a bevy of hit songs. For those who remember, “Closer Together”, “Ordinary People”, and “Crying Out Loud For Love” come to mind quickly. But come 1992, the ride was seemingly over as the band broke up, citing exhaustion after months of touring.

Fast forward 12 years and Pisapia’s reforming of The Box with new members and the subsequent release of a new album.

“It was just fun to get back on stage again,” noted Pisapia in a 2014 interview with Keith Sharp of www.themusicexpress.ca.

“There was no pressure on the new members. They were playing for the fun rather than the performance, and as a band we are probably better players than we were in the 1980s when we did have all that pressure to achieve certain objectives.

“I have no expectations. I am not trying to achieve any specific goals. I see bands like Chicago, Journey and Foreigner out there playing. I still like performing. I still feel I have something to say, and the band I have now loves to play the hits and have a party with the songs.”

This second coming of The Box will be July 23 in Del Crary Park, much to the delight of those who danced their way through the big hair decade of pop music’s renaissance after the disco era. Pisapia, an early member of Men Without Hats (“The Safety Dance”, “Pop Goes The World”), was in the right place at the right time in terms of his creativity, resulting in the 1984 release of the The Box’s self-titled debut album, and its hit singles “Must I Always Remember” and “Walk Away”.

The following year brought sophomore album All The Time, All The Time, All The Time — 1989 Juno Award winner Sass Jordan was on backing vocals — and a Juno Award nomination for The Box for Most Promising Group (Idle Eyes won). However, it was Closer Together, released in 1987, that catapulted the band to a whole other level; an ascension aided by the hit singles “Ordinary People”, “Crying Out Loud For Love” and the title track.

“I actually got sick of listening to Closer Together,” said Pisapia to Sharp.

“That song was everywhere. You couldn’t escape it. Turn on the car radio, turn on Much Music, and there it was.”

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“Closer Together” – The Box

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However, it was “Ordinary People”, which melds the U.S. and Russian national anthems in its instrumental break, which created a publicity-inducing stir.

“That song labeled us a politically oriented band but you have to put yourself in the context of the time,” explained Pisapia.

“The Korean 007 airliner had just been shot down over Siberia, The Berlin Wall had yet to come down, then U.S president Ronald Reagan was calling Russia ‘The Evil Empire’ — things were pretty tense at that time. But all that song was saying was, `Look, we are ordinary people, we don’t care about your politics, we just want to live in peace.'”

The new decade saw The Box release its fourth studio album, The Pleasure And The Pain, but it was met with a sub-par reaction despite success for the single “Carry On”. That, and the band’s exhaustion after a preceding 18-month tour, saw The Box disband.

“It was not a happy time for me,” said Pisapia.

“But instead of spending time on the road, I was able to spend time with my family, helping to raise my two daughters which is something I will never regret.”

During that hiatus, Pisapia also developed a love and talent for painting, which evolved into his being a member of an artist collective in Mont Tremblant.

Pushed by his record label to reform The Box to satisfy requests for live shows, Pisapia did just that in 2004, resulting in the release of new album Black Dog There the following year.

“The difference between performing in the early eighties and performing now is that now all the pressure is off and we can perform just for fun,” said Pisapia. “Creatively, I still have something to say, so I still write new material but there is little incentive to record a new album. The way radio is right now it’s virtually impossible to generate airplay.”

And so live shows remain The Box’s outlet and that suits Pisapia just fine.

“When we reach the hit singles, that’s it, nothing but the hits, and that’s when the party gets started.”

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“Ordinary People” – The Box

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Peterborough Musicfest is presenting 19 free-admission concerts during its milestone 30th anniversary season, each staged Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Overseen by general manager Tracey Randall and staff, a board of directors, and numerous volunteers, Peterborough Musicfest’s stated mission is to “provide diverse, affordable live music to enrich cultural and economic prosperity in our community.”

For more information on this concert and/or the 2016 season, visit www.ptbomusicfest.ca or phone the Peterborough Musicfest office at 705-755-1111.

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