blyth festival theatre

The theatre is in a historic town hall, opened in 1920. It has been restored and modified to provide the home for a theatre company whose mandate is to present Canadian theatre. Many of the works are original, and the plays often use stories set in a rural Ontario context to consider broader social and personal issues. The company is always professional and many of the actors are familiar to people who know the Canadian theatre arts and television scene. The plays will vary in appeal to people. We have had season's tickets for over 15 years and have found that the majority of the plays are enjoyable and entertaining. Some are better than others (for example the recent produced "Billy Bishop Goes to War" is probably the definitive production of that play) and not all plays will appeal to all people - but that is the nature of the craft. The theatre itself is a proscenium arch style with reserved auditorium seating in comfortable theatre style seats. There is a small balcony. The main seating area of the theatre is accessible by elevator if needed. Because of the small size of the theatre, there is not really a bad seat in the house. Acoustics are excellent. On the main floor is an art gallery and an all-purpose room that can be used for dining or meetings. Before performances and at intermission there are refreshments available. Theatre is a very personal thing and nothing is guaranteed – however if you attend a performance at Blyth you will, for certain, get a Canadian play performed by professional Canadian actors supported by Canadian stage, lighting, costume, and sound directors. The price for a ticket is very reasonable and season subscriptions for four plays can cost as little as $95.00.

Blyth Festival has one major strong quality--all its Plays are Canadian. Unfortunately to achieve that it often commissions plays and some of these can reach the dizzying heights of mediocrity. We try to attend Plays each season but all too often we attend Plays of modest quality although, usually, performances are professional. Part of the problem for Blyth Festival is that it appears to have a series of--at times--over-extended Executive Directors--one we found (a male) to be downright objectionable so we boycotted the theater for three years until he departed. We also cancelled our donation. There is often, it would seem, an indifference to the patrons and attendees as if--because we are "artistes!" we need not deal with ordinary folks. This Season's best Play, in our view, is Billy Bishop Goes to War--well conceived and wonderfully performed. "Kitchen Radio" was quaint and the performers were very good. As for the rest...we'll urge others to speak.

Just saw "Kitchen Radio" and it was great. Each actor was so multi-talented and the play itself was had several themes. Well done!