Tuesday, October 8 at 6pm (on the main stage)

Tom Thomson, Birth of a Legend

Written by Terry Oliver. Directed by Tony Cain

Thomson left us a legacy of some of the finest iconic works of art symbolic of Canada’s True North, Strong and Free. When he died, barely forty years old, his work had only just begun and was destined to achieve international fame. Thomson’s colleagues, friends, and fellow artists, A Y Jackson and Lawren Harris spoke affectionately about Thomson and portrayed him as affable, generous, and humorous. He was known as a keen outdoorsman, an expert canoeist, and a born naturalistic painter. In some circles, Tom Thompson is considered a romantic paragon of Canadian artists. He created a technique some referred to as Canadian Expressionism.

Yet, some stories hint at a good deal of mischief in his short life than we know about. The image of Thomson’s angelic uprightness seems uncomfortably incomplete. Winnifred Trainor, Thomson’s secret fiancee spoke of their planned marriage in the autumn of 1917. Martin Belcher, a German sympathiser and friend of Winnie believed that Thomson had no intention to marry and took advantage of her. There were anecdotes of rivalry between the two men.

There are several stories of romantic liaisons with the ladies, Annie Fraser, wife of the owner Shannon Fraser of Mowat Lodge. Shannon was in debt to Thompson at the time of his death. The painter Francis McGillvray had a close relationship with Tom for several years.

Terry Oliver’s research on Thomson’s personal life throws some light on the artist’s final days and his mysterious death of which there has been no new evidence. The value of Thomson’s work doubled in the five years after his death and continues to double every few years since.

Cast

• Tom: Orion Marcano
• Winnie: Rebecca Elliot
• Eddie Fitzgerald: Didi Tipping
• “Fitz” Fitzgerald: Dominic Fox
• Lawren Harris: Luke Bell
• Fred Varley: Mike Gosselin
• A Y Jackson: Ian Ofukany
• Walter Bockman: Mike Gosselin
• Agnes Wallace:Kara Flanagan
• Recruiting Officer:Peter McNab
• Marie (prostitute):Kara Flanagan
• Antionette (prostitute):Didi Tipping
• Mabel:Emme Sait
• Olive:Janie Morris
• Narrator:Danda Humphreys
• Standby/understudy:Emme Sait