Every Thursday, we publish live music and performance events at pubs and clubs in Peterborough and The Kawarthas based on information that venues provide to us directly or post on their website or social media channels. Here are the listings for the week of Thursday, April 18 to Wednesday, April 24.

If you’re a pub or club owner and want to be included in our weekly listings, please email our Nightlife Editor at nightlife@kawarthanow.com.

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

– Isaac Asimov’s “Three Laws of Robotics”

Beginning Thursday, April 18th, The Theatre on King (TTOK) in downtown Peterborough invites audience to enter the futuristic world of Isaac Asimov in Escape from I. Bot.

Adapted from Asimov’s short story “Escape!”, Escape from I. Bot was written and is directed by local artist Eryn Lidster and features Kaitlyn VanKoppen, Addison Wylie, Bradley Boyle, Dan Smith, and Derrek Bell blasting off into their own mystery in space.

First published in 1945 in an issue of Astounding Science Fiction under the title “Paradoxical Escape”, Isaac Asimov included the story under his original intended title “Escape!” in his 1950 hallmark sci-fi anthology I, Robot. It tells the story of the attempt of robotics company U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc. to enter the space race by developing the first successful hyperspace drive.

Led by Dr. Susan Calvin (Kaitlyn VanKoppen) and her assistant Dr. Robert Levan (Addison Wylie), the spaceship is built by a supercomputer named Isaac (Bradley Boyle), who has a whimsical personality and a childlike mind. Upon the spacecraft’s completion, two inspectors, Powell (Derrek Bell) and Donovan (Dan Smith), enter the ship and find themselves unexpectedly blasted into hyperspace by Isaac.

As the pair struggle to survive, Dr. Calvin is tasked with getting the men back while determining why supercomputer Isaac seems to have broken the First Law of Robotics (“A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm”) by knowingly sending the inspectors to their apparent deaths. What follows is truly a journey with an unexpected end.

“Escape!” is an interesting Asimov story to bring to the stage, and Eryn Lidster and her company create an imaginative and visually interesting production. Filled with comedy, fun characters, and tons of intrigue, there is a sort of over-the-top whimsy to the show that keeps in the spirit of the pulp sci-fi that inspired it.

While watching Escape from I. Bot, I was often struck by the narrative and visual sensibilities of classic era Doctor Who, which in its golden age was beloved by fans for its imaginative plots yet cheap production values.

The relationship between Dr. Susan Calvin and Dr. Robert Levan in many ways mirrors that of classic Doctor Who characters as well.

In Dr. Susan Calvin, Kaitlyn VanKoppen plays a woman whose scientific mind is so advanced that she relates more to machines than to people. Her dialogue is filled with so much techno babble that she often doesn’t make any sense.

Her joys come from solutions and discoveries, which is when she actually shows any sort of humanity or excitement. Albeit likable, she is not always relatable.

Thus, Addison Wylie’s function as her assistant Dr. Robert Levan is — much like the Doctor Who companions of yore — to have someone for Dr. Calvin to talk to, translate the techno babble into a language the audience can understand, and be relatable. The dialogue between the two characters is often at risk of going over the audience’s heads, but somehow maintains enough reality for the audience to grasp.

If Kaitlin and Addison are the brain of the show, Dan Smith and Derrek Bell as the two men lost in space are the heart. The actors play Powell and Donovan a classic comedic duo, with Derrek as a brash and mouthy wise guy and Dan as a cold and calculating genius.

Together, they create a sense of comedy and drama as the two men hurtle through the vast unknown to an uncertain fate. However, no matter how dire the circumstance, Derrek and Dan always manage to bring a sense of comedy to their scenes, allowing the production to never get heavy handed.

The most inspired casting in the show is Bradley Boyle as the robot Isaac (called “The Brain” in Asimov’s original story), who becomes the audience favourite. His first time ever on stage, Bradley steals each scene he is in with his child-like innocence, his sense of irony, and his expressive nature.

Trapped in a static computer construct complete with working arms and monitors, Isaac again reflects the look and feel of classic Doctor Who with his ridiculously campy yet still somehow sophisticated-looking contraption. Bradley brings a ton of personality to the stage, and his performance is the highlight of the show.

One of the special aspects of Escape from I. Bot that makes the show stand out is the creative use of projection with a pair of original films brilliantly created by Adam Martignetti.

The opening film is a creative and hilarious commercial introducing the audiences to US Robots and Mechanical Men, Inc., and the second, longer film becomes a creative and haunting centrepiece to the production that adds to the mystery of hyperspace and the fate of the men in space.

Beautiful and well done, Adam’s film work is an inspired idea that really works.

I also want to give Eryn Lidster another shout out for her creation of the fantastic set. Simple yet complex and sophisticated yet campy, the set brings together the era of cheap sci-fi and the sleekness of higher-budget productions into a delightful mishmash that comes together beautifully.

A rotating space cone puts the inspectors into a claustrophobic state, increasing their desperation and discomfort, while the scientists drink coffee from a sleek space-aged dinette set. Meanwhile, Isaac is more of a set piece than a prop or character in his large immobile state. It’s an extremely inventive set that moves and surprises the audience.

An inspired and fun production, Escape from I. Bot runs from Thursday, April 18th to Saturday, April 20th at The Theatre on King (171 King St., Peterborough). Performances start at 8 p.m., with an additional matinee at 2 p.m. on Saturday. Tickets are $15 at the door or pay what you can.

Juno award-winner Ron Sexsmith is often described as a songwriter’s songwriter.

That’s because Sexsmith, who will be performing at Peterborough’s Market Hall on Tuesday, April 23rd, has had his songs covered by famous musicians including Elvis Costello, Feist, Rod Stewart, Nick Lowe, Emmylou Harris, k.d. lang, and Michael Bublé. In some cases, the songs penned by Sexsmith have gone on to become hits for those musicians, including Bublé’s version of “Whatever It Takes” and Feist’s version of “Secret Heart”.

It’s also because other famous musicians — including Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Ray Davies, Steve Earle, and Sheryl Crow — have expressed their admiration for his music and songwriting talent.

But while his music is critically acclaimed and while he has a loyal following of fans, Sexsmith has never quite reached the heights of commercial success of other Canadian singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell or Sarah Mclachlan. It’s not by choice.

“I could never figure out how to take what I’m doing and make it so that people can get it,” he say in a 2017 interview with Steve Klinge of Magnet Magazine. “I always wanted hit records.”

Ironically, the tune “Radio” from his latest album, 2017’s The Last Rider, received considerable airplay in Canada. In the song, Sexsmith longs for the golden age of radio and laments the state of the music industry: “Time was when people could move you / With just a voice and a song / I wish all those hacks would go back to where they belong.”

VIDEO: “Radio” – Ron Sexmith

“I never feel quite established,” the 55-year-old Sexsmith admits to Klinge. “I always feel like any minute now I might have to go back to my job as a courier or something.”

That courier job is a reference to his early music career.

Born and raised in St. Catharines, Sexsmith enjoyed creative writing as a child and got into music by playing lead guitar in his high school band, and started his own band when he was 14 years of age.

VIDEO: “Saint Bernard” – Ron Sexmith

By the time he was 17, he was playing regular gigs at the pub at Brock University and the Lion’s Tavern in Port Dalhousie, where he gained a reputation as a “one-man jukebox” for his ability to play any request.

In 1985, he became a father for the first time (he now has two grown children, Christopher and Evelyn) and moved to Toronto where he worked as a courier during the day while continuing to pursue his musical career. He formed the band The Uncool and self-released two cassettes, Out of the Duff followed a year later by There’s a Way.

He continued performing while maintaining his day job as a courier, but didn’t release his next album until 1991’s Grand Opera Lane, credited to “Ron Sexsmith and the Uncool” and recorded by Blue Rodeo’s Bob Wiseman.

That record helped land him a recording deal with Interscope Records, and he released his critically acclaimed self-titled debut in 1995. Since then, he has released 13 more albums, every year or two, with 2017’s The Last Rider being his most recent.

Sexsmith has been nominated a staggering 15 times for the Juno Awards, winning three times: Roots & Traditional Album of the Year in 1998 for Other Songs, Songwriter of the Year in 2005, and Adult Alternative Album of the Year in 2014 for Forever Endeavour.

Despite all that critical acclaim, commercial success has remained elusive for Sexsmith.

“I think the lack of commercial success has been more annoying to the folks around me,” he says. “I sometimes get people saying ‘Why aren’t you playing stadiums?’ Well, it’s certainly no mystery to me why I’m not. It’s just not that kind of music.”

VIDEO: “Can’t Get My Act Together” – Ron Sexsmith

The discrepancy between Sexsmith’s songwriting prowess and commercial success may be due in part to his self-effacing manner, his introspective lyrics, and his distinctive singing style. His songs are often described as “melancholic”, a label he doesn’t care for.

“I’ve been sort of pigeonholed as a balladeer which I never really understood,” he says. “Maybe I’m not as convincing when I try to ‘rock out’ sometimes. At home I listen to mostly ’50s radio. I think my sound has always been a combination of the folk singers and British Invasion artists I’ve always admired.”

The pursuit of commercial success is the subject of a 2010 award-winning documentary called Love Shines, which follows Sexsmith as he attempts to turn his niche following into mainstream success by recording his album Long Player Late Bloomer with legendary producer Bob Rock.

VIDEO: “Love Shines” Documentary Trailer

Along with the release of The Last Rider, 2017 was something of a milestone year for Sexsmith.

He made his literary debut with the short novel Deer Life, a quirky and dark fairy tale that follows a charming but hapless boy named Deryn Hedlight who accidentally gets on a witch’s bad side (Sexsmith is working on a musical version of the book).

He also moved from his long-time home in Toronto to Stratford with his wife, musician Colleen Hixenbaugh.

VIDEO: “Can’t Get My Act Together” – Ron Sexsmith

“It sort of looks like Downton Abbey,” he says of his Stratford home, in an 2017 interview with Sarah Greene of NOW Magazine.

“It’s far off the road, it’s got this stately driveway lined with trees on both sides. And it has this cool addition off the garage that looks like a swingin’ Burt Bacharach party room, with a fireplace and wall-to-wall carpeting. Joel Plaskett and his band were here the other night until four in the morning.”

Sexsmith last performed at the Market Hall in Peterborough in 2012, when he played a free show to make up for an earlier concert where he performed while suffering from laryngitis.

Tickets for the April 23rd show at Market Hall are $38 for an assigned seat ($48 for an assigned cabaret table seat), and are available at the Market Hall box office, by phone at 705-749-1146, or online at markethall.org.

After his Market Hall concert, Sexsmith is heading to Orillia where he will be headlining the Roots North Music Festival on April 26th and 27th.