A huge milestone for a community hub in the town of Antigonish that has been entertaining audiences for decades.

Theatre Antigonish is celebrating its 50th Anniversary.

To celebrate this achievement, the company is gearing up for their first show for this season, Hector the Spectre Steals the Show.

It’s a new comedy co-written by Artistic Director Andrea Boyd and local playwright Laura Teasedale about a ghost and everything he gets up to when the theatre company puts on a play about ghosts from a different part of campus.

Boyd tells our newsroom; it is a play within a play and has so many layers.

“It’s like a love letter to our theatre and to the people who create theatre that it just felt like such a good time to actually stage it. It’s funny because it’s Theatre Antigonish putting on a play about Festival Antigonish putting on a play.”

Boyd says the play was originally written during the pandemic and has been listened to on podcasts but is now making the shift to the stage and that process has been comical.

“When Laura Teasedale and I wrote this play …we’d sit in my sunroom and laugh because we were like ‘we can do anything we want because it’s going to be on the radio'”.

“Now, we’re going…’Ok, how do I stage this?’…but we’ve done some rewrites. We’ve also added a few more parts so there can be more people involved.”

Long history

Theatre Antigonish formed in 1974.

It came to life after the theatre department that was once at Saint Francis Xavier University, closed.

Over the years it has brought over 150 shows to the stage involving more than 2,250 actors and 1.650 production team members.

Boyd says, there have been several people involved in the company’s leadership- she, herself, has been in her role for eight years.

“So, it’s been quite a journey with different visions, different people coming through.”

When asked, how have things changed, Boyd says it really comes down to what kind of plays they perform.

“When I look at some of the programming from the earlier years [it] trended probably towards a little bit more [of a] classical approach to theatre, which makes sense for the time periods. Personally, I always look for things that feel contemporary and relevant for our audiences today.”

Boyd adds that she loves Canadian theatre and supporting female artists.

Bursting with pride

Hector the Spector Steals the Show involves people of all ages ranging from high school and University students to community members.

Boyd says everyone is very, very, very proud that they are in their 50th season.

“It’s a multi-generational cast, all of whom love our theatre and love what we do. So, it is really a joyful place to be.”

She says, she has so much respect and gratitude for everyone involved.

“I see the bonds that are forming and the lifelong friendships that are forming and I see it happening right in front of me…and that is also magic.”

Boyd adds, after all these years, the community is still showing a lot of enthusiasm for Theatre Antigonish and is packing the house.

What’s to come

Other events to commemorate Theatre Antigonish’s 50th anniversary include a play called A Belly Full, that will take the stage in the winter.

In addition to that, there will be a Gala performance in April involving those who have been involved with the company for decades to bring to life some old roles and scenes, once again.

Hector the Spector Steals the Show runs November 27-30 at the Bauer Theatre.