Blyth

Image courtesy of Allan Avis Architects

Theatre under the stars

The Blyth Festival is moving ahead with an ambitious outdoor stage project at the natural amphitheatre at the Blyth Campground.

In an interview with The Citizen, Festival Artistic Director Gil Garratt said that while a professionallyengineered outdoor stage will hopefully allow the Festival to move ahead with outdoor productions later this summer, he hopes it will be bigger than that. Not only can the stage be part of the Festival picture moving forward, but it could also serve as community infrastructure rarely seen in Huron County for musical performances or community celebrations like the Rutabaga Festival, Barn Dance Jamboree Weekend, the reunion of the Huron Pioneer Thresher and Hobby Association and more.

After months of development, the details of the outdoor stage proposal were finally approved at a meeting of North Huron Council in late May.

When the process began last year, Garratt said there were thoughts that outdoor shows may be produced in 2020. However, that was in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic when no one thought it would still be ravaging the world more than one year later.

He did say, however, that the Festival has a unique history with outdoor productions like The Outdoor Donnellys and Many Hands, so he felt that, with the safety advice available at the time, it was a natural step for the Festival.

When the Festival first proposed the idea, it was part of a five-year plan. Garratt said that he and his team at the Festival saw the development of an outdoor performance space not just as a way to ensure the Festival would be ready to respond to any threats like COVID-19 in the future, but as an opportunity for years to come.

With a permanent outdoor stage, Garratt said he could see a future in which the Festival offered a full season in Memorial Hall, complemented by productions designed to be performed on the outdoor stage as well as at the Phillips Studio.

One of the first things he had to consider in terms of design was accessibility; ensuring everyone could see a show at the outdoor theatre space, so they needed to bring an architect on board. Garratt said the Festival maintained a good relationship with architect Jason Morgan of Allan Avis Architects, so he tapped Morgan to help with the project. Bringing him on board was made possible, Garratt said, thanks to support from Community Futures Huron, the Trillium Foundation and fundraising from donors and members.

The design has gone through a number of versions, Garratt said, as he was involved from the beginning. At one point, there was talk about performing out of a shipping container on the back of a truck. However, together they have come up with something much more professional and permanent, though shipping containers will still play a role.

He also said an integral part of the space will be connecting to nature and being under the beautiful Huron County sky with the treeline and Greenway Trail, part of the Goderichto-Guelph Rail Trail system, in the background. In fact, several trees have already been planted at the

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Image courtesy of Allan Avis Architects

Blyth

Dawn of a new day The sounds of history

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space with the help of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority with more to happen at the site in the coming months.

Essentially, Garratt said, the stage will look like a giant patio, approximately 40 feet squared in a diamond shape towards the audience. Audience members, he said, will be in a semi-circle in front of the stage, wrapping around three quarters of the diamond stage, which includes two levels to aid the Festival’s shows.

Garratt said he drew inspiration from other outdoor stages, including the one in High Park in Toronto, on which he has previously performed as part of Shakespeare in High Park.

Audience members, as the pandemic wears on, will be physically distanced outdoors, Garratt said. However, in the future, when COVID-19 is hopefully a thing of the past, the expectation is that the space will be able to accommodate hundreds.

As time goes on, Garratt said he anticipates that the Festival will commission and produce plays with the outdoor space in mind, designing shows specifically to be produced outside as part of the season.

To keep up to date with the possible 2021 season, visit the Festival online at blythfestival.com

Very few people are lucky enough to turn their passion from a hobby to their livelihood and Gary Clayton is one of that rare breed. He has always loved antiques and has spent a lifetime refinishing them. In 1988, while living in Walkerton, he found a niche market in restoring beautiful antique floor model radios. By 1992, he was busy enough to need a storefront and founded The Olde Tyme Radio Centre in a former hardware store right on the busy main street of Belgrave.

The business has grown over the years and the collection now consists of more than 700 radios on the property, as well as 400 car radios and some 300 speakers hanging in the rafters. As well as restoring radios and gramophones to sell, Gary is sought after by many enthusiasts and says his “bread and butter” is repair and restoration work for others. He does all of the work to rebuild any make or model, including refinishing the cabinets and rebuilding the interior works, drawing from his inventory of over 25,000 tubes.

The store has two showrooms and a well-maintained website that goes beyond radios to include organs, clocks, furniture, televisions, record players and gramophones and telephones. There is even a page online for “this and that”, as Gary has a keen interest in everything old.

The collection must be viewed to be appreciated. In pre-COVID19 times, Gary and his wife Nellie would set up at various car and antique shows and he hopes that he can soon continue that tradition. In the meantime, the shop is open (subject to provincial health regulations) but Gary recommends that you call ahead to be sure. 9 Queen St (Hwy 4), Belgrave. www.oldtymeradio.ca 519-357-4304.