Perth Through the Ages, part of Perth’s Classic Theatre Festival, has actors in period costume presenting a play as the audience walks through town with them.
I took today’s Canada 150 photo close to home: It’s a 2015 picture from The Maid and the Merchant, one of the outdoor theatre presentations put on each summer by Perth’s Classic Theatre Festival as part of its “Perth Through the Ages” series.
It’s sort of hard to describe Perth Through the Ages without experiencing it; the festival calls it “a historic theatrical walking play,” and that about sums it up. In a nutshell, you walk through and around historical sites in downtown Perth in the company of actors recreating famous scenes (real and imagined) from the town’s history.
Each year, it’s a different tale, but it usually involves a bit of humour, a bit of romance and a bit of fighting (I love the expression on this actor’s face as she rolls up her gloves for battle). The lovingly preserved homes and businesses in downtown Perth make a wonderful backdrop.
This year’s production, A Nation Lost and Found, focuses on the state of mine of Perth residents (Perthians? Perthites?) on the eve of Confederation in 1867. The characters will be mulling over everything from the Fenian raids and the dispossession of Canada’s Indigenous peoples to the fallout from the 1837 rebellions of a past generation.
The festival also runs an evening ghost walk throughout the summer, as well as a summer season of three plays in its indoor theatre.
Perth Through the Ages is a really fun way to learn about local and Canadian history. Generally, the shows are very suitable for kids, but check in advance (the 2015 show had a pregnancy-related plot that might have been disturbing for younger children). And don’t forget to wear good walking shoes, a hat and sunscreen.
Throughout July and August 2017, I’ll be posting one photo a day that I’ve taken somewhere across Canada, in celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary. Want to see more photos in this series? Type “Canada 150 photo” in the search window on the right-hand side of this page.
