Blyth Festival to Present MARY'S WEDDING, 8/5-9/12

This summer, Blyth audiences have the chance to see one of Canada's most beloved plays of all time: Mary's Wedding by Stephen Massicotte. Two time winner of the Betty Mitchell Award, and recipient of the 2000 Alberta Playwriting Competition, Mary's Wedding has been seen and celebrated all over the English speaking world in nearly a hundred productions... but never before in Blyth. Directed by Gil Garratt, Blyth's Artistic Director, Mary's Wedding stars Sophia Walker as Mary and Eli Ham as Charlie and plays in Blyth Memorial Hall from August 5 to September 12. Tickets are available by calling Blyth Festival's Box Office at 519.523.9300, Toll Free 1.877.862.5984 or online at blythfestival.com.

Young Mary Chalmers is getting married in the morning, but tonight in her dreams, Charlie is coming to see her one last time. Tonight, they will dream it all again: how they met in a summer rainstorm, how he taught her to ride a horse, how her mother tried to stand in their way, and how Charlie answered the call to join the Canadian cavalry in the fields of France. A love story set in the last days of our nation's innocence.

Blyth's Memorial Hall was itself built as a living cenotaph to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of Canada's armed forces. Mary's Wedding celebrates the heritage of the building, while simultaneously painting a vivid and charming portrait of young love on the home farm.

Playwright Stephen Massicotte is an award-winning writer whose plays include The Oxford Roof Climber's Rebellion, The Clockmaker, Ten Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher About Evolution, and The Boy's Own Jedi Handbook, among others. His film projects include The Dark and Gingersnaps Back: The Beginning. A native of Canada, Mr. Massicotte currently resides in New York City.

Director Gil Garratt is no stranger to Festival audiences having been involved with Blyth since 1999, including 13 consecutive seasons as an actor, director, co-creator, and the director of the Young Company. In addition to his long tenure with Blyth, Gil has worked steadily across Canada and abroad, most notably playing leading roles at the National Arts Centre, Neptune Theatre, and Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. He spent 2012/13 as a resident emerging director at Canadian Stage in Toronto.

Eli Ham made his Blyth debut in last season's hit Stag and Doe, playing the Stag himself and was seen earlier this season as one half of the fugitive minstrel team in The Wilberforce Hotel. He is a veteran of the Stratford Festival, Humber River Shakespeare, The Grand Theatre, and numerous other companies throughout Ontario.

Sophia Walker made her Blyth Festival debut earlier this season in The Wilberforce Hotel as Milly Steward. After graduating from Ryerson University Sophia was a company member at the Stratford Festival where her roles included Charmian in Antony and Cleopatra, Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, and Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream, to name a few. She was recently seen as Esther in Intimate Apparel at London's Grand Theatre.

Creating the setting for Mary's Wedding are Kenneth MacKenzie (set and costumes), Rebecca Picherak (lighting), and Lyon Smith (sound). Chantal Hayman is the Stage Manager and Neha Ross is the Assistant Stage Manager.

Blyth Festival acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the 2015-2017 Season Sponsor Parkland Fuels/Sparlings Propane and 2015 Season Media Sponsor CTV.

Mary's Wedding is generously sponsored by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 420 and the Legion Ladies Auxillary to Branch 420 (Production Sponsor) and The Rural Voice (Media Sponsor).

The Blyth Festival is a professional theatre that enriches the lives of its audience by producing and developing plays that give voice to both the region and the country. The theatre produces a repertory summer season of exclusively Canadian theatre, with an emphasis on new work. Blyth Centre for the Arts, including the Blyth Festival, was founded in 1975.