THE BIRDS AND THE BEES Set for Blyth Festival

What do love, lust, bee keeping, and the artificial insemination of turkeys have in common? Find out as the Blyth Festival presents The Birds and the Bees, a hilarious, raucous, new comedy with huge, honeyed, heart. Written by Mark Crawford (who gave us the 2014 season hit, Stag and Doe), and directed by Ann Hodges, The Birds and the Beeswill have you rolling in the aisles from June 22 to August 6 in Blyth's Memorial Hall. Reserve your seats by calling the Box Office at 519.523.9300, Toll Free 1.877.862.5984 or online atblythfestival.com.

It's nearly time for the last-ever annual Turkey Days Festival. The excitement in town is palpable, and Gail is on the committee. A retired empty-nester, Gail has been quietly raising bees in solitude, all alone, completely unaccompanied. Unexpectedly, her grown daughter Sarah returns home; it seems twenty years of artificially inseminating turkeys has taken a toll on Sarah's love life, and she and her husband are through.

As both women set about putting their lives back in order, and reacquaint themselves with living under the same roof, they are visited by an eager, athletic, strapping, young grad student named Ben who has come to study the declining bee population... but things get... well... a little extra-curricular.

Throw in a meddlesome neighbour, a little internet dating, and the last pair of tickets to the final Turkey Days Dance of all time, and you have a racy recipe for relentless laughter.

Starring in this hilarious comedy and making her Blyth debut is veteran stage and TV star Nora McLellan (Orphan Black, Killjoys, X-Files, Shaw and Stratford Festivals) as Gail. Beloved Blyth Festival actor Marion Day (Innocence Lost: A Play About Steven Truscott, Beyond The Farm Show, Hometown, The Book of Esther, Harvest, Kitchen Radio) plays Sarah and John Dolan (I'll Be Back Before Midnight, The Ginko Tree, Against the Grain, Courting Johanna) returns to the Blyth stage as Earl the neighbour. Young Christopher Allen makes his Blyth debut as the irresistible Ben.

Playwright Mark Crawford's Stag and Doe has received seven other productions since its premiere at Blyth in 2014 making it one of the most-produced new Canadian plays of the decade. Mark's second play, Bed and Breakfast, premiered in 2015 at the Thousand Islands Playhouse and will play at Montreal's Centaur Theatre next spring. Also in 2017, Carousel Players presents the world premiere of his play for young audiences: Boys, Girls, and Other Mythological Creatures.

Director Ann Hodges was last in Blyth in 2012 when she directed Beverley Cooper's The Lonely Diner; Al Capone in Euphemia Township. A hugely celebrated director, Ann has directed at theatres across Canada and directed the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 North American Indigenous Games. She has just been nominated for a 2016 Dora Award for "Outstanding Direction" of the musical Grey Gardens in Toronto.

The designers that brought us Our Beautiful Sons: Remembering Matthew Dinning are teaming up again to design The Birds and the Bees: Designing the set and costumes is Gillian Gallow (Vimy, Pearl Gidley) who is nominated for a 2016 Dora Award for her "Outstanding Costume Design" for Human Cargo's The Road To Paradise, long time festival favouriteRebecca Picherack is designing the lighting, and Verne Good is the sound designer. 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 Season Media Sponsor CTV.

Photo by Terry Manzo