Dear Reader,

I am writing from the shore of Lake Erie, having made my way from Lake Huron just a few days before. While the travel was tough, it’s nowhere near the hardship faced by Henry and Jane Johnson in Emma Donoghue’s new musical The Wind Coming Over the Sea. Directed by Blyth’s Artistic Director Gil Garratt, The Wind Coming Over the Sea brings Canadian history to the stage with toe-tapping songs to boot!

Just picture it, Reader: the stage has been converted into the belly of a ship, with bunks and portholes in the wooden façade. Ken Mackenzie’s design includes white sails emerging as the ship sets sail from Ireland to Canada; you can practically smell the briny ocean breeze which fills them. What’s even more exciting is that there’s also the option to sit on the stage: it gives the feeling of an overfull ship of immigrants while also providing a unique experience for those brave enough to climb aboard!

There’s more than just the wind coming over the sea in Donoghue’s first musical, there’s plenty of people as well. Beginning in 1848, at the height of the potato famine, The Wind Coming Over The Sea documents the voyages of a young couple, Henry and Jane Johnson, as they traverse the Atlantic to the promise of Canada. Told through the real letters they exchanged, just as I’m writing to you now, there’s nothing spared in the telling of this story. Faced with crushing debt and having spent time in debtors prison, Henry takes off from Ulster, Ireland looking for a new life on the colonies. Faced with one closed door after another from New York all the way to Montreal, Henry is never able to settle anywhere for long. Eventually, Jane and their two children, Alex and Mary, also brave the crossing together with some of her family, fully expecting Henry to be awaiting their arrival at Quebec Quay. When he doesn’t arrive, it’s unclear if the family will ever be whole again.

Dear Reader, if you have an easily queasy stomach, the mid 1800’s might not be for you. The Wind Coming Over the Sea doesn’t shy away from any of the brutal realities of crossing the sea or life in North America. Sea-sickness becomes the least of the worries for the characters as they encounter much worse disease both on board the ship and on land afterwards. Though some of these moments are turned into comedic ones, it’s easy to tell when things are getting dire.

Of course, Reader, there’s the matter of the music (I’m sure you’ve been dying to hear about it). It’s marvellous; The Wind Coming Over the Sea is described as a folk musical and the songs give that very feeling. I almost find it difficult to believe that they’re brand new, something about them felt lived in for generations. And it certainly isn’t difficult to get the audience clapping along, I’m sure most of our feet are already tapping without any prompting! Best of all, that music is played live on stage by the talented ensemble members Geoffrey Armour, Masae Day, and George Meanwell. Concertina, pan flute, harp, cello, violin: if you’d want it at a kitchen party or could fit it in your trunk to travel, it’s used to make the beautiful songs of The Wind Coming Over the Sea come to life.

The cast of The Wind Coming Over the Sea so clearly puts their all into this beautiful story. Landon Doak and Shelayna Christante play Henry and Jane Johnson. They play so well off of each other when they’re together and truly hold their own when they’re apart. Geoffrey Armour and Michelle Fisk play Jane’s parents, amongst several other roles, and they bring both humour and drama to the story. George Meanwell and Masae Day likewise shine in their various roles; they’re able to so seamlessly go from playing a song to delivering a heartfelt scene. It’s quite the thing to witness, Reader. Stealing the show, and our hearts, in the second act is wee’un Gloria Garratt, who does a fabulous job as the Johnson’s eldest child Alex.

The Wind Coming Over the Sea will have you singing and swaying along with the lilting tunes of the Emerald Isle. You’ll learn a great deal about their plights, dear Reader, along with how far we’ve yet to go in how we treat newcomers to our fair country. And now, as I’ve returned to my home near Lake Ontario, I marvel at how these ancestors of ours navigated such a different terrain and made our country what it is today.

With Love,

Janine

The Wind Coming Over the Sea runs on the Margaret Stephens Stage at Memorial Hall in Blyth until August 12. For more information and tickets, visit: https://blythfestival.com/the-wind-coming-over-the-sea/

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Cover Photo: Shelayna Christante, Masae Day, Michelle Fisk, Landon Doak. Set and Lighting Design Ken Mackenzie. Costume Design Meghan Choma. Photo Lyon Smith.

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