Persistence Theatre
  • Home
  • Opportunities
  • Raise Her Up - The Gosling Statue
    • Statue Supporters
    • Armine Nutting Gosling Statue project updates
    • Purchase Statue Miniature
    • Project Newsletter Apr 2024
    • Donate to #RaiseHerUp
  • The Nest
  • About Us
    • About
    • Staff & Governance >
      • Board Bios
    • In The News
  • Donate
    • Join the Ceiling Breakers Circle
    • Donate to PerSIStence
    • Persistence Supporters
  • Past Projects
    • 2017-2018 >
      • Isle of Demons (Sept 2017)
      • Pink Tie Gala (2017)
      • Offensive to Some (Dec 2017)
      • Women Playing Hamlet (Feb 2018)
      • Isle of Demons (April 2018)
      • Play Workshops
    • 2018-2019 >
      • Pink Tie Gala (2018)
      • Original (Nov 2018)
      • Offensive to Some (Jan 2019)
    • 2019-2020 >
      • The Abortion Monologues (2019)
      • Pink Tie Gala (2019)
      • The Haunting of Margaret Duley >
        • Teacher's Guide
        • Workshops with Edward Daranyi
      • Working with Respect Conference
    • 2020-2021 >
      • Original (2021) >
        • Programme
      • Offensive to Some (2021) >
        • Programme
      • What Hangs in the Balance (2021)
      • I AM A GENIUS DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW ME? (2021)
    • 2021-2022 >
      • Votes for Women 100
      • Pink Tie Gala (2021)
    • 2022-2023 >
      • The Abortion Monologues (2022)
      • 2022 Pink Tie Gala
    • 2023-2024 >
      • Stolen Sisters
      • Rainbow Tie Gala
      • Precariously Placed: Pandemic Monologues from the Edge
    • 2024-2025 >
      • Today I...
      • Year of the Arts Women's Play Festival >
        • Reviews & Recaps
        • Opening Night
        • Night Two
        • Night Three
        • Night Four
        • Night Five
        • Night Six
        • Night Seven
        • Night Eight
        • Night Nine
        • Night Ten
        • Night Eleven
        • Closing Night
      • Goodbye Glass Ceiling - An Election Night Celebration
      • 8th Annual Pink Tie Gala >
        • Pink Tie Gala Programme
  • Blog
  • Contact & Location

Reviews & Recaps from the Women's Play Festival

Night Four at year Year of the Arts Women’s Play Festival featured A Retrospective of plays performed by Rising Tide over the years.

9/21/2024

0 Comments

 
I can’t say for sure but, growing up in Conception Bay South, it’s highly likely a Rising Tide production was my first exposure to theatre. I’m sure many others can say they same.

Founded in 1978, Rising Tide Theatre has a long and storied history as one of the province’s premiere production companies. They were the “it” team for many, many years, living up to their name; if a rising tide lifts all boats, then perhaps it’s fair to say this company were an integral part of the wave that led to the numerous professional companies we see in the province today.

They certainly were pioneers in the province’s community pageant scene, starting the New Founde Land Pageant in Trinity in 1993. Today, the company offers a full season of theatrical performances at their own space, the Rising Tide Arts Centre, on Green’s Point. According to their website, the Centre is “a focal point for the 20,000 annual visitors who are drawn to the unique blend of art, entertainment and history.”

Rising Tide commissions and produces many new works, some of which were featured in the dramatic reading on Friday night. Performers Bailey Jackson and Amelia Manuel joined Artistic Director Mallory Clarke and Founder/ Senior Producer Donna Butt on stage. The talented foursome shared scenes from a variety of works, including A Tidy Package (by Amy House and Berni Stapleton – see night three!); an adaptation of Eyes of the Gull (by Margaret
Duley
); Stars in the Sky Morning (created by Rhonda Payne and Jane Dingle); and more.

I especially enjoyed the inclusion of two songs: “Heaven in Harbour” by Carolyn Fowlow and “Good Woman” by Mallory Clarke. Both Mallory and Amelia have beautiful voices that blended perfectly in these performances. Why “Heaven in Harbour” is not better known is a mystery; it’s a love song to English Harbour and captures the love of this place in the way “Saltwater Joys” does for so many.

…And, for the record, I’m moving to Trinity for the sea air; Donna Butt looks and sounds fabulous.

Saturday promises to be a packed evening with international themes. The Festival is featuring the voices of two African-born playwrights, both living and working in St. John’s. Beauty Behind the Norms by Nicole Obiodiaka explores female empowerment in a deeply patriarchal Nigerian community. Aya and The Masquerades, written by Karen Monie and produced by White Rooster Theatre tells the story of a young Cameroonian girl who goes on a journey to find a magical settlement full of promise.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    About Susan Bonnell 

    Susan Bonnell is Vice-President of Theatre CBS and an active community theatre performer and director in the St. John's area.

    Recently, she wrote and directed Duckish, an adaptation of Tom Dawe's ghost and fairy stories for Theatre CBS. In 2023, she was awarded Best Actress at the Provincial Drama Festival for her portrayal of Annie in Calendar Girls (St. John's Player's). This winter, she is directing A Christmas Story for TCBS. Susan is the Director of Public Engagement and External Relations for NL Health Services.

    She is proud to have been a small part of the herstory for Persistence and is looking forward to sharing her reflections on the Year of the Arts Women’s Play Festival.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    September 2024

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed


Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

St. John’s is home to a rich, diverse, and vibrant urban Indigenous community. Located on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Beothuk, the lands and waters in and around the City have traditionally served as a gathering place for the Mi’kmaq. The broader region of Newfoundland and Labrador continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. We honour and pay respect to the past, present, and future caretakers of these territories.

We also must acknowledge the labour theft extracted from people of African descent, used to build European wealth and economies globally, and in the Canadian nation state, including Newfoundland and Labrador’s shipbuilding and cod fishery industries, through the violence of trans-Atlantic enslavement.

We thank both First Light and the office of the Vice-Provost of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism at Memorial University for crafting and sharing these words that provide us with important perspectives.

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Picture
  • Home
  • Opportunities
  • Raise Her Up - The Gosling Statue
    • Statue Supporters
    • Armine Nutting Gosling Statue project updates
    • Purchase Statue Miniature
    • Project Newsletter Apr 2024
    • Donate to #RaiseHerUp
  • The Nest
  • About Us
    • About
    • Staff & Governance >
      • Board Bios
    • In The News
  • Donate
    • Join the Ceiling Breakers Circle
    • Donate to PerSIStence
    • Persistence Supporters
  • Past Projects
    • 2017-2018 >
      • Isle of Demons (Sept 2017)
      • Pink Tie Gala (2017)
      • Offensive to Some (Dec 2017)
      • Women Playing Hamlet (Feb 2018)
      • Isle of Demons (April 2018)
      • Play Workshops
    • 2018-2019 >
      • Pink Tie Gala (2018)
      • Original (Nov 2018)
      • Offensive to Some (Jan 2019)
    • 2019-2020 >
      • The Abortion Monologues (2019)
      • Pink Tie Gala (2019)
      • The Haunting of Margaret Duley >
        • Teacher's Guide
        • Workshops with Edward Daranyi
      • Working with Respect Conference
    • 2020-2021 >
      • Original (2021) >
        • Programme
      • Offensive to Some (2021) >
        • Programme
      • What Hangs in the Balance (2021)
      • I AM A GENIUS DOES ANYONE HERE KNOW ME? (2021)
    • 2021-2022 >
      • Votes for Women 100
      • Pink Tie Gala (2021)
    • 2022-2023 >
      • The Abortion Monologues (2022)
      • 2022 Pink Tie Gala
    • 2023-2024 >
      • Stolen Sisters
      • Rainbow Tie Gala
      • Precariously Placed: Pandemic Monologues from the Edge
    • 2024-2025 >
      • Today I...
      • Year of the Arts Women's Play Festival >
        • Reviews & Recaps
        • Opening Night
        • Night Two
        • Night Three
        • Night Four
        • Night Five
        • Night Six
        • Night Seven
        • Night Eight
        • Night Nine
        • Night Ten
        • Night Eleven
        • Closing Night
      • Goodbye Glass Ceiling - An Election Night Celebration
      • 8th Annual Pink Tie Gala >
        • Pink Tie Gala Programme
  • Blog
  • Contact & Location