Canada Archives - Salcombe Art

22 May 2017 In Art, Postcard from ...

Postcard from Niagara-on-the-Lake: Me and My Girl!

Anyone who visits Canada is bound to visit Niagara – but we also made a special trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake and enjoyed Me and My Girl at the Shaw Festival Theatre.

The town is delightful and was bathed in sunshine. We resisted the option of a ride around in a pony and trap (see featured image above), and walked instead from our hotel to the theatre.

The Shaw Festival

According to their website: In 1962, in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, lawyer and playwright Brian Doherty parlayed his love for the work of Irish playwright Bernard Shaw into a summer theatre festival, producing eight performances of Don Juan in Hell and Candida in the Court House auditorium. In this singular act of passion for theatre and culture, the Shaw Festival was born.

The grounds of the theatre include a beautiful garden with occasional statues. It’s the perfect place for a stroll before a show, in the intermission, or afterward.

There are more works of art inside the theatre. At the top of a sweeping staircase, under a magnificent chandelier, this selection of ‘busts’ caught our eye.

The show: Me and My Girl

The show was spectacular. As well as the wonderful costumes, the energetic choreography and clever set, the cast entertained us throughout – clearly enjoying every moment themselves.

George Bernard Shaw’s wit shone through with some lovely one liners, and had us laughing out loud.

The following morning, while tucking in to pancakes and maple syrup, we happened to see the star of the show Michael Therriault.

We had the opportunity to thank him for a wonderful performance, and to congratulate him on his Cockney accent.

He recognised immediately that we hailed from the UK and it turned out he, like us, once lived in Surrey.

Small world?

Where is The Shaw Festival?

The Shaw Festival theatre is located at 10 Queen’s Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0 CANADA

If you’d like to see the show Me and My Girl, it’s on until 15 October. You have plenty of time to book your seats!

This post is one of my POSTCARD series, sharing all things ART with you when I go travelling. It’s the second one for this particular trip. Watch this space!

15 May 2017 In Art, Exhibition

Postcard from Cobourg, Canada: Betrothed!

This week, Anne and I were privileged to be invited to a private viewing of an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Northumberland here in Cobourg, Canada. Betrothed: A Marriage of Photography and Weddings is on until Sunday 18 June, so there’s plenty of time to schedule a visit.

Betrothed: A Marriage of Photography and Weddings

Stephen Bulger and Catherine Lash have been collecting authentic wedding photographs for more than 15 years and this exhibition celebrates the invention of photography, as witnessed through photographs of wedding ceremonies..

Cutting the cake!

This fascinating and unique collection, as well as showing how fashions have changed, contains examples of the various print types that form photography’s history.

Each wall of the gallery focuses on a particular theme: the dress; celebrities (such as Ringo Starr and Elizabeth Taylor); portraits; group portraits; strange and unusual weddings.

It was sad to see that so many of the smiling couples are not longer betrothed, and many of them, of course, have passed away. However, that one happy moment captured by the camera demonstrated many times over that the majority of marriages start out with the best of intentions!

In addition, there are examples of the decorations used on wedding cakes and, in true wedding breakfast tradition, a beautiful cake was ceremoniously cut and shared among those present.

So, with over 500 original photographs, this collection is a social history containing records of customs and ceremonies from around the world.

Where is the Art Gallery of Northumberland?

The Art Gallery of Northumberland is at 55 King Street West, Cobourg, Ontario K9A 2M2

When is the gallery open?

Wednesday – Friday: 10am – 4pm
Saturday: 12noon – 4pm
Sunday: 12noon – 4pm

This post is one of my POSTCARD series, sharing all things ART with you when I go travelling. It’s the first one for this particular trip. Watch this space!