Vision—Debut Performance
Debut Performance of Vision
On Saturday night, we
proudly present, for the first time, a work commissioned by the
festival and created by playwright
Bev Brett. Bev is artistic director of St. Ann's Bay Players. Her
acclaimed work Out the Meadow,
produced by professional company Forerunner Theatre in Halifax,
recently garnered her a nomination for a Merritt Award for
new plays.
This piece is her new dramatic adaptation of Vision, one of Alistair MacLeod's renowned short stories. Vision is included in Island: the Collected Stories (McClelland & Stewart 2000).
About Alistair MacLeod
Alistair MacLeod, Officer
of the Order of Canada, is one of this country's most celebrated
authors. He won the 2001 International IMPAC Dublin Literary
Award for his novel No Great Mischief,
which remained on national bestseller lists for more than a year,
and the 2009 PEN/Malamud Award for Short Fiction.
He is an inspiration to all writers, and his stories are recognized as some of the best in the world. They have been called stunning, unique, and life-affirming. He has been compared to both Faulkner and Chekhov.
"… MacLeod clearly has a distinctive literary voice… His writing is seamless, rather like a Heifetz CD or a Sinatra or Fitzgerald song…" — The New York Times
"Every story is touched with the beauty and truth of genius" — The Irish Times
About the Performance
The festival is delighted to have received Alistair's permission to create and stage this piece. Vision is a remarkable story that focuses on the complexities and abiding mysteries at the heart of human relationships. It is "a fiery, passionate story of family secrets that plays on the contrast between physical sight and blindness, and the magical, mythical da shealladh... the second sight." (Lynn Crawford, Metro Times).
Says Bev, "I love the gritty reality of a stark view of the old days and life on a farm, the way people really are in all of their passions, pain, and desires, combined with a misty romanticism and humour."
"I love the story... on a fishing boat on the last day of lobster season, a fisherman tells his son his family story—the story of a day when, as an 11-year-old, he and his brother take a trip to visit their grandparents in the community of Canna, twenty miles away, and end up at the home of a blind woman."
"The story has incredible moments of insight... it is also very funny at times. It explores the idea of sight and blindness, what people choose to see and not see, what they cannot help but see."
The production is a "dramatic presentation," combining some elements of a traditional play with narration, storyteller-style. The actors are kept busy playing different characters, donning different hats and costume pieces, the whole, with lights and a soundscape, creating a world. Bits of Gaelic conversation and song run throughout.
The Players
Those who have attended Bev's locally-produced plays will recognise some names; visitors to our festival will recognise some faces! Yes, it's a small world out here, but obviously a pretty talented one. These are the players, pictured below, who will bring Vision to life:
- Wayne Plant
- Carol Kennedy
- David Papazian
- Joey Burroughs
- Gary Walsh
- Mary Ann Wilson
After the Performance
After the presentation,
after we've caught our collective breaths, listen to the music
that will soon fill our island during the Celtic Colours music
festival. Enjoy Rocky Shore,
a group of skilled musicians who ably represent Cape Breton's unique
sounds. The Readers' Market and cash bar will be open, and table
snacks will be provided.
