A slice of Peterborough’s history is on display at what is currently known as the Peterborough Alternative and Continuing Education facility downtown. Once the site of PCVS (Peterborough Collegiate and Vocational School), PACE is host to Give ‘Em Hell, a play by Peterborough native Madeline Brown and directed by Aaron Jan, and is a co-production with 4th Line Theatre and Prairie Fire, Please. A moving story of student activism in the face of their beloved school closing, Give ‘Em Hell is inspirational and full of passion. With a mixed cast of professionals and teens all giving spirited performances, Give ‘Em Hell will make you want to be one of the Raiders in Action too!

Give ‘Em Hell is accompanied by an exhibition from the Peterborough Museum and Archives, showing photos, news articles, and genuine protest signs and T-shirt’s from the PCVS student protests. I was so glad that they included the exhibition, as it provides context and grounding for the production.

L-R: Lion Addison, Edith Burton, M. John Kennedy, Jalen Brink, Ziqin Chen. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

As previously mentioned, Give ‘Em Hell is based on the real events experienced by students at PCVS in 2011, when the school board decided to shut down their school. The building was built in 1827 and was the first school in Peterborough, later becoming their Arts High School. The students were to amalgamate into other high schools and the board was hoping to be able to move their arts programming into one of the nearby schools which was newer and more accessible. The students were hurt, feeling that their statuary was being taken away from them, and so they formed the Raiders in Action. The play takes place over the course of the school year and they went bigger and bigger with their protests. The tenacity of these teens is nothing short of amazing, and certainly made for an intriguing plot for Give ‘Em Hell.

The Cast of “Give ‘Em Hell”. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

Melanie McNeill and JB Nelles’s set and costume designs were a perfect extension of the actual setting; to get to the auditorium you have to walk through the hallways of PACE, and the functional lockers on stage are a natural continuation of that space. The moveable middle section which becomes the water tower was very well done, including some nifty tricks with the lighting! The costumes immediately evoked the setting of the play, from the knit beanies to the oversized purses and bags, it was like looking at my own wardrobe all over again!

The cast of Give ‘Em Hell gives enthusiastic performances; you can tell everyone on stage is having such a great time bringing this story to life. Jalen Brink and Isabelle Siena star as Breaker and Bode, and they certainly give standout performances amongst the teens. Brink shows great emotional range on stage and brought a tear to my eye at the end of the play. Siena likewise gives Bode an impressive range, and makes us feel for her every step along the way. Lion Addison’s surfer dude accent as Breaker’s brother Jace immediately bought me back to the “cool guys” in high school. Ella Cunningham and Eloise Harvey also give energetic performances and make their characters of Moberly and Bailey very memorable. Rounding out the teens in the cast are Edith Burton, Jessie Williams, and Ziqin Chen who each give delightful performances and make the Raiders a true team. Jeff Dingle’s performance as Breaker’s Imaginary Rick Mercer was hilarious; his vivacity and comedic timing were perfect. Both Sarah Lynn Strange and M. John Kennedy played multiple characters throughout the performance. Strange’s School Board Trustee, who was purely mumbling save for a few choice comprehensible words, was hysterical. Kennedy’s Clifford Barney is immovable but also understanding, making him impossible to purely dislike. However it was Kennedy’s motivation speaker part that had me laughing all the way home. You can feel the respect and excitement this cast has for bringing Give ‘Em Hell to life, it radiates from every moment and makes it such a joy to watch.

M. John Kennedy and Isabelle Siena. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

I was able to travel to Peterborough with a group organized by Theatre Direct, and I feel that it would be remiss not to mention how perfect it was that we travelled there in a school bus. Like the teens in the story, we invaded the downtown businesses for lunch before heading back to PACE/PCVS for our performance of Give ‘Em Hell and it all just felt correct. I also want to thank Theatre Direct for organizing everything on Sunday; it made seeing this great show all the more fun!

You’ll certainly want to make it out to Peterborough to check out Give ‘Em Hell before they close next weekend! They’re doing some school performances during the week, with public performances again this weekend. For more information and tickets, visit: https://theatredirect.ca/give-em-hell/

Cast photo from “Give ‘Em Hell” by Dahlia Katz.

Thank you to my Patrons:

B. Kinnon, D. Moyes

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