Third time’s a charm for County cottager Alyssa Diamond, who will see her new Highlands-themed play Rusticals and Cidiots debut on CanoeFM next week.
The production is a collaboration with John and Rita Jackson, who both star in the feature and present it during their twicemonthly ‘Radio Playhouse’ slot on Canoe. Part one will air March 5, with a second act pencilled in for April 2.
“Without giving too much away, it’s all about city folk coming into rural Haliburton and all the interesting scenarios that creates,” John Jackson said. “Listeners will be able to identify with a lot of the issues the play addresses, things like shortterm rentals, shoreline rules. It brings all of those things into focus.”
Diamond, who lives in Toronto, penned the piece last summer after participating in the Rural Rogues playwriting course in Haliburton. The group, launched in 2017, enjoyed the play so much they committed to turning it into a live-action production. Jackson, a long-time member, said there was going to be a performance in Glebe Park, but they couldn’t get a cast together in time.
The Rogues pivoted, planning a show at the Haliburton Highlands Museum, only for spacing constraints to scupper things again.
“The author was obviously very disappointed the show didn’t get its run… so Rita and I thought, ‘why don’t we put it on the radio’,” Jackson said.
It took approximately six weeks of edits for Jackson and Diamond to transition the play for the airwaves.
“It’s quite a different dynamic. You lose the visual dimension and all the nuances that go with it – the props, the set, the audience participation. So, you have to try and recreate those components in some other way using voice,” Jackson said. The biggest change is the introduction of a narrator, played by Norma Bingham. “She will help fill in the blanks.”
The Jacksons will bring the Clarke family – or the Cidiots – to life, with Rita playing Claire, John taking on the role of Connor, and Gracie Griffiths playing their daughter, Chylee. The Rusticals will be performed by Kate Butler, playing Andrea, Doug Tindal, playing Ted, and Jordan Kovacs, their teenage son, Ted. Bylaw officer Jarvis Laidlaw will be played by Bob Stiles.
The first act will air for an hour and will cover the Clarkes arriving at their new cottage for the Victoria Day long weekend, where they’re greeted by their neighbours, the Brooks family.
“We get into all the friction that’s quickly established, these new city folk arriving on the lake and disturbing the local family who have had their little spot forever and all the shenanigans around that,” Jackson said. “Then things happen during the course of the summer and we arrive back for part two around Labour Day, when the Clarkes are shutting up the cottage to go back to the city.”
Jackson said a phone interview with Diamond, discussing her inspiration, will air prior to the first act.
It will be the first “live” performance of the year for Radio Playhouse, albeit pre-recording at Canoe. Those shows are typically booked for the first Wednesday of the month, airing at 6 p.m., with the third Wednesday dedicated to classic pieces from the 1930s-50s, Jackson said.
He noted Rural Rogues are hoping to put on an in-person showing of Rusticals and Cidiots at Glebe Park this summer. For more information, contact kbutler@ haliburtonhighlandsmuseum.com.
