All-Canadian Enigma Portrayed in All-Original Production
By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
While the mystery of Tom Thomson’s death continues to fascinate, Shipyard Kitchen Party have written a folk-music retelling of the passing of that all-Canadian enigma that they’re calling Tom Thomson’s Wake.
Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre ushers in March with this top-to-bottom all-original production, with shows March 6 to 8.
The action is set two years after the painter’s mysterious death. His mentor, friend and lover gather to share memories of Algonquin Park’s most famous resident. Along with high-definition imagery of Group of Seven, there’s that original folk-music score by Shipyard Kitchen Party (creators of The Newfoundland Songbook).
The Shipyard Kitchen Party crew are John Eaton, Sacha Law and Jason Murphy.
Murphy, being from St. Johns, Newfoundland, beings the Celtic flavour.
Law is from Scotland – “She brings a bit of Celtic flair,” Murphy said.
Then there’s Eaton, who’s from Scarborough – or, as Murphy puts it, the east coast of the GTA. His Uncle Paul, however, is with a well-known Newfoundland band.
“He is a fine composer as well, and a great all-round musician,” Murphy added.
The story begins on a July morning in 1917, when Thomson set off in his canoe and virtually vanished until his body was recovered eight days later.
“It was a lake he knew well – he painted it frequently. He paddled the area extensively. But he was never seen alive again,” Murphy related.
“It remains a mystery, and that contributes greatly to his mystique and people continuing to be interested in his work.
“He only painted professionally three years, and he left behind very little to explain his work except his work itself. His death at the peak of his powers and so early in his career under mysterious circumstances, the lack of written materials we can look to to understand the man – people never tire of talking about it.”
The show features all original music except for one traditional Irish song worked into the show. Murphy termed it folk music with a bluegrass feel, Celtic with a backwoods gospel flavor.
“Lots of guitar, mandolin, fiddle – the kinds of instruments you might have found in a logging camp Tom Thomson might have frequented back at that time.”
The production includes a cast of three and five musicians.
The characters include another Group of Seven artist, AY Jackson, Tom Thomson’s artistic mentor and good friend. Winnie Trainor is a young woman from the Huntsville area who had a close connection with the artist – some say platonic, some say romantic. And Larry Dixon is a local guy who worked a lot of odd jobs around Canoe Lake – “kind of a stand-in for the park itself, the wild untamed nature,” Murphy noted.
“The characters are talking to Tom’s family, giving their version of the Tom they knew. They all have different perspectives on what made Tom tick and what caused Tom’s end. Between the three, they paint their own picture of the man and what happened to him and what his work really means.”
Tom Thomson’s Wake is at the Capitol for four shows – March 6 at 7:30 p.m., March 7 at 2 and 7:30 p.m., and March 8 at 2 p.m. Check the Capitol website for tickets.
