Mt. Tabor Playhouse, Prince Edward County, Ontario

Leanna Brodie has never been onstage in one of her own shows before. But all that is about to change. The playwright, who penned the audience favourite Schoolhouse, produced by Festival Players in 2009, is excited about performing in her own piece. 

“I’m not sure what I expected, acting in my own play,” laughs playwright Leanna Brodie. “I can now see that the part of your brain that acts out stories is not the same part that makes them up from scratch! I don’t even think those parts of the brain know each other’s address! But I can tell you one thing: when I’m up there, talking to Roger or Abbee or Mark or Gord, everything gets very still in my head, because all of my attention is on them and on getting what my character wants from them. I’m not acting their parts, only my own. And that’s kind of wonderful, just being one piece of the story.”

The Book of Esther is a heart-warming play, challenging and humourous. June 1981. Toronto’s first Pride Day. The farm crisis. Charles and Di. Everything’s changing, including 15-year-old Esther, who has just run away from home. In this intensely personal exploration of the urban/rural divide, a stoic farmer, his conservative Christian wife, a middle-aged gay man in Toronto and a young street hustler are thrown together with one thing in common…Esther. Esther Dalzell. And yep…it’s a love story.

Joining Ms. Brodie on stage this summer are veteran Stratford actors, Gordon Miller and Roger Shank and newcomers/youngsters Abigail Fernandes and Mark Rotil. Director Brad Rudy, also familiar to Stratford and Blyth audiences, takes the helm.

For ticket and schedule information about the 2011 season visit www.festivalplayers.ca or call 613.471.1991/1.866.584.1991.

Tags: Festival Players, Local theatre, Plays, Prince Edward County, Theatre