Theatre by the Bay isn’t resting on its laurels as the company caps off an award-winning 2021 and heads straight into the new year with a full slate of shows with many different themes.
The Barrie-based theatre company has announced the lineup of shows for the 2022 season, which includes the first-ever local story musical, a scandalously humorous farce set in the world of Barrie’s municipal politics, and the return of a sold-out favourite from four years ago.
Artistic director Iain Moggach says the excitement among the shows' cast and crew is at a peak with live crowds coming back.
“With many virtual performances over the last two years and just a little bit of time in front of a reduced audience, it feels great to see a lineup where we can have people out to enjoy the shows,” Moggach tells BarrieToday. “Everyone here is just so excited to feed off the emotion of a live audience.”
The season kicks off Feb. 17-20 with The Lost Heroes of Oro, written and directed by Alinka Angelova. The musical is inspired by the establishment of the Oro African community.
“It is drawn from a really interesting part of Black Canadian history and features the Oro African Church, which many people in the community may have been driven by but not known much about,” Moggach says. “This will be much like a workshop presentation that we have been working on and we’re very excited about this important story.”
A Scandal For All Seasons premieres in August and is being called “a fictional sexy farce set in the world of Barrie’s municipal politics.”
“This is our first, fully original farce and has nothing to do with history, but is very funny and set in city politics and the 0.1 per cent and their super-mansions on the bay,” Moggach says. “It's very racy, very raunchy and very different from some of the other stuff we have done in the past.”
The 2018 hit Mary of Shanty Bay will return in September to October with slight additions to the script. The story describes the early 1800s life of Mary O’Brien and how she and her husband, Edward, built what is now Shanty Bay, despite it being a relatively untouched wilderness.
“Bringing this play back was a combination of this deserves to be done again and also our audience’s reaction to it. It had sold out before it opened and people were very excited about it in 2018,” Moggach says. “A happy love story is exactly what our community is going to be looking for after what we’ve all been through the last two years.”
In 2018, it showed at St. Thomas Anglican Church in Shanty Bay, which has a small building down a quiet side road.
Moggach says Theatre by the Bay is exploring different options for the location of Mary of Shanty Bay as the hall was very small.
“While that added a great quality to the production, we are looking into some alternatives. And at this point in time, I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up and say too much about the conversations that we’re having,” he says. “But obviously we recognize the significance of producing that show on that site.”
Among a full season schedule there is the the Simcoe County Theatre Festival, which starts in June at the Five Points Theatre in downtown Barrie. The festival will provide opportunities for local artists to write, direct and perform their own original one-act, approximately 45-minute play.
Plus, with workshops and networking opportunities provided throughout the week, the festival will be the place to be for emerging talent in the Simcoe County area.
“This is the first one of its kind in our region, which is obviously extremely exciting. I think it really fits a need in the community which is that there are no spaces for emerging artists to try stuff out, to learn new skills,” Moggach says.
If art and theatre is supposed to push the envelope through truth and entertainment, Moggach admits he realizes the responsibility Theatre by the Bay has to the community.
“Something I bring up, especially when it comes to our historical work, is that we are not a historical society that puts on plays. We are a theatre company and as a group of artists, it is our responsibility to probe and push and make people question while also making art that is meaningful and significant,” he says. “In that space, I find that is where the best art emerges.”
Theatre by the Bay is also expanding its virtual performances this year. The company’s website is being overhauled to include a membership portal where members can access exclusive content and, when the time is right, member-only events.
Additionally, the theatre company is bulking up its educational programming with the launch of the Theatre Master Class series. Featuring some of the biggest names in Canadian theatre, artists from across the world will be able to purchase classes on areas of theatre creation such as producing, directing, design, and production management. Programs like the Indie Producer’s Co-op, the Emerging Director Project, the Barrie Theatre Lab, Spark Sessions, and the Professional Workshop Series are also set to continue in 2022.
Theatre by the Bay will also be releasing a documentary mini-series that chronicles its 20 year history, its evolution, and future.
Ticket and show information for the 2022 season is available at the company's website by clicking here.
