The world premiere of Pearl Gidley by Cambridge-area playwright Gary Kirkham opens at the Blyth Festival July 30. The play was inspired by the story of former Blyth resident, Miss Pearl Gidley.
Kirkham says that it was the name that first caught his attention, but after hearing Miss Gidley's story, he knew that it could be a play. "I had to create a play worthy of her story," he says.Pearl Gidley takes place in the Gidley boarding house when elderly Pearl and her sister Edith take in a mysterious new tenant-a young Vietnam veteran from the U.S.A. Despite Pearl's objections to opening their home to a young man who they know nothing about, Pearl cannot contain her curiosity about his past. Note by note, they draw each other's stories out in this quirky story of unlikely friendships.Pearl Gidley is Kirkham's second production at the Blyth Festival inspired by local women. His 2007 hit, Queen Milli of Galt, explored the story of an 80-year old woman from Galt, Ontario who claimed to be the wife of Edward VIII.Videos