With 2025 being the bicentennial of the Peter Robinson emigration of thousands of Irish settlers to the Kawarthas region, it’s only fitting that a real-life seanchaí will be narrating Trent Valley Archives Theatre’s original historical play Crossing Over this spring.
When announcing the 19-member cast of the play, the theatre company has revealed that Peterborough’s own Hugh Foley will perform in one of the play’s leading roles. Foley will take on the character of John Kelleher, a Peter Robinson emigrant and former Royal Navy sailor who tells the story of the John Barry, one of the nine Robinson emigrant transport ships that crossed the Atlantic 200 years ago.
Himself a descendant of the Robinson settlers, Foley is best known as the seanchaí of Foley’s Irish Pub, a show combining storytelling and live music that has run every year for the past decade in the lower-level lounge of Showplace Performance Centre in downtown Peterborough. Foley also wrote the book Tales From a Seanchaí, a collection of short stories from Ireland and beyond, with many of the tales gathered during Foley’s frequent trips to the Emerald Isle.
For those unfamiliar with the term, a seanchaí (usually pronounced shan-uh-khee) is a traditional Irish storyteller and oral historian. Coming from the Gaelic word seanchas, meaning old tales, lore, or tradition, the seanchaí was a highly respected figure in Irish society, preserving history, mythology, folklore, and genealogy through oral storytelling.
They played a crucial role before written records became widespread, especially during times when Ireland’s culture and language were suppressed. The tradition of the seanchaí lives on through modern storytellers, poets, and performers like Foley who continue to share Irish folklore and history in pubs, festivals, and cultural events.
“The seanchaí was the one who kept alive the past of Ireland by telling the tales of Irish heroes, battles, saints, and so on,” Foley told kawarthaNOW in 2020. “It was such an esteemed profession back in the day that the seanchaí held the same rank as the clan chief. Today, a seanchaí is often just part of a pub’s entertainment.”
Crossing Over, a sequel to Trent Valley Archives Theatre’s inaugural production Tide of Hope last May, runs for four performances from May 29 to 31 at Market Hall Performing Arts Centre in downtown Peterborough.
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, the play is a fictionalized account of the John Barry’s perilous six-week journey across the Atlantic.
Schroeter says he is delighted by director Drew Mill’s decision to cast Foley in a leading role.
“Hugh is uniquely qualified for the role thanks to his talent, experience, disposition, and genealogy,” Schroeter says.
While Crossing Over is a work of fiction, it draws upon a detailed journal by ship surgeon William Burnie of the voyage of the John Barry, which 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, with 253 men, women, and children on board.
Of the nine Robinson settler ships, 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.
Crossing Over focuses on two of the Irish families who were on the John Barry. When wealthy English landowner Lord Kingston confiscates their tenant farm after they fall behind in their rent, the Ryan family feels incredibly lucky to be selected for Robinson’s assisted emigration program. Once aboard the ship, the family crosses paths with David Nagle, an Irish land agent and rent collector who confiscated their farm on Lord Kingston’s behalf and is fleeing Ireland with his wife after Irish rebels branded him a traitor.
Eddy Sweeney, who appeared in the lead role of Charlie Edwards in the Peterborough Theatre Guild’s production of Mary’s Wedding in November, will perform the role of “the comically hapless” Nagle, with Abby Koshka playing his wife, “the ambitious and sensible” Mary.
Nathan Govier, who played Lord Kingston in Tide of Hope, will perform the role of the Ryan family’s patriarch Patrick. Robyn Hawthorne will play his “passionate but dutiful daughter” Elizabeth, who takes on the burden of running the family when her mother dies and when Patrick falls ill. Jack Steinberg and Kaza Hesselink will play the roles of Elizabeth’s brothers John and Tim Ryan, who were cited as troublemakers in the journal of ship surgeon William Burnie.
“They are destined to get into all kinds of trouble,” Schroeter confirms, adding that the two characters “are most likely to steal the show and the hearts of audiences.”
Lucas Pronk will reprise his role as Peter Robinson from last year’s Tide of Hope. Pronk, who most recently appeared in the Anne Shirley Theatre Company’s production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory at Showplace Performance Centre, will also appear in the chorus as John Hagerty.
Ashley Parker will play William Burnie and Millbrook resident and Crestwood high school student Sianna Gaulton will play the “spunky imposter” Johanna Hagerty.
Rounding out the cast is the seven-member chorus, which is comprised of performers in the play. Under musical director Michael Ketemer and vocal director Elaine Day (who also appears as Bridget Owens), the chorus includes Justin O’Brien (Ship’s Master Cpt. Peter Roche), Robert Thornhill (Kalla Tahon), Zoe Shufelt (Frances Young), Adrianna Malloy (Eliza Young), Lily Faulkner (Honora Young), Cathy Brand (Catherine Hagerty), and Lucas Pronk (John Hagerty).
Crossing Over will be performed at 7:30 p.m. from Thursday, May 29 to Saturday, May 31, with an additional 2 p.m. matinee performance on May 31.
Tickets are $40 for assigned cabaret table seating or $30 for regular assigned seating and can be purchased by phoning the Market Hall at 705-749-1146, emailing boxoffice@markethall.com, or visiting markethall.org.
Proceeds from ticket sales will support the Trent Valley Archives, a non-profit charitable organization that houses an extensive and growing collection of local historical resources and makes them available to the public. The organization also encourages local and family history research, operates a facility, and raises awareness of local history through historical tours, events, publications, and presentations.
In advance of the world premiere of Crossing Over, Trent Valley Archives Theatre will be sharing some of the historical facts behind the play at an April fundraising event held in partnership with Right to Heal PTBO.
“Behind the Curtain: Historical Highlights and Music of the Voyage of the John Barry” takes place from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 13 in the former St. Andrew’s United Church) at 441 Rubidge Street in Peterborough. Script consultant Don Willcock will speak about some of the historical figures who were on board the John Barry, and musical director Michael Ketemer will perform period Irish music.
Tickets for the fundraiser cost $30 for adults and $15 for students (with a valid student ID), and include the presentation, music, and light refreshments (a cash bar will also be available). Proceeds from the event will support both Trent Valley Archives Theatre and Right to Heal PTBO. Tickets can be purchased online at eventbrite.ca/e/1276613367949.
kawarthaNOW is proud to be a platinum media sponsor for Crossing Over.
