Mark Crawford's BED AND BREAKFAST Set for Run at Blyth Festival

Mark Crawford, the playwright of last year's wildly popular The New Canadian Curling Club, will once again bring his unique brand of laugh-out-loud observations of small town life to the Blyth Festival stage with Bed and Breakfast - this time, Crawford also stars in the show, alongside his real-life partner, actor Paul Dunn.

Crawford's play about Brett and Drew, a young professional couple who leave the big city to run a bed and breakfast in the tiny tourist town where Brett grew up, runs Sept. 11 to Sept. 28 at Blyth Festival.

The play is a slap-down drag 'em out comedy about being truly "out" in small town Ontario; a heartfelt knee-slapper about the secrets that we keep and the sometimes-challenging joy of choosing a place to call home.

"Our audiences love Mark Crawford's humour. His connection to the Blyth Festival audience is truly something special. At this point, more than 20,000 people have attended Mark's plays at Blyth. The whole community gets it. And this will be a special treat to see him and Paul Dunn do the show together. It's a total tour de force, with the two of them playing more than 20 characters. It's just amazing," said Garratt, who is the artistic director of the Blyth Festival. "This play is a fantastic conclusion to our 45th Season."

Crawford's past plays to premiere in Blyth include the 2016 smash hit The Birds and the Bees, and 2014s Stag and Doe, two of the most produced plays in Canada since they premiered.

Crawford last appeared on the Blyth Festival's stage in Vimy, and most recently performed in Ed's Garage at Port Stanley Festival Theatre. Paul Dunn originated the role of Drew for the premiere of Bed and Breakfast at Thousand Islands Playhouse and has reprised the role at various theatres since. Dunn also spent seven seasons at the Stratford Festival.

The creative team for Bed and Breakfast is: Ashlie Corcoran, director; Krista Colosimo, associate director; Dana Osborne, set and costume designer; Rebecca Picherack, lighting designer; and John Gzowski, sound designer. Stage management by Michael Barrs and apprentice Zach Grosh.

Blyth Festival acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the Government of Ontario, Season Sponsor Sparlings Propane, Season Media Sponsor CTV, Season Hospitality Sponsor, Cowbell Brewing Company, and New Play Development Sponsor Bruce Power. Media sponsor is Goderich Signal-Star.

As part of its 45th Season celebrations, the Blyth Festival is also hosting the Deeper Roots Series, a curated series of free talks, panel discussions, presentations, receptions and artist talkbacks, across the whole season, each of them tailored to complement some of the themes and ideas springing out of the shows themselves. On Saturday, Sept. 14 at 4:30 pm, moderator Rick Sickinger, the cultural development officer for the County of Huron, will lead a panel of entrepreneurs in discussion of LGBTQ Community as Entrepreneurs and on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 4:30 pm, Gil Garratt, the artistic director of the Blyth Festival, will interview Crawford and Dunn. These events take place in the Festival's Lower Hall.

Deeper Roots is sponsored by NWMO and the Township of North Huron, in partnership with the Huron County Economic Development Department. Media Sponsor is The Rural Voice.

Image credit: Kelly Stevenson