The Producer's Desk - Theatre Royal, Barkerville

2012-01-29T11:21:00.000-08:00

Newman and Wright Theatre Company

Theatre Royal, Barkerville

2 Job Postings for 2012 - FOH and SM

Most of the cast of Theatre Royal in period attitude. Richard Wright photo.

Job title: Front of House/Box Office Manager

Job location: Theatre Royal, Barkerville Historic Town (near Quesnel, BC).

Name of organization: Newman and Wright Theatre Company

Length of job: seasonal full time position: May 15-30th, 2012 – September 3rd, 2012 (14-16 weeks).

Job requirements: Newman and Wright Theatre Company is looking for someone with a working knowledge of computers, cash registers, book-keeping and who has excellent skills in dealing with the general public. The ideal candidate will be energetic and highly motivated, outgoing, well mannered and excited about the prospect of working at an historic site (Barkerville). The successful candidate will be required to wear a 19^th century costume (provided).

Job description: includes (but is not limited to) the following duties: audience services; daily till reconciliations; simple bookkeeping (basic knowledge of Excel an asset).

Note: This position may be required to make front of house announcements and give short interpretive talks throughout the season, so abilities as a public speaker or actor are also an asset.

Accommodation: provided in the town of Wells (near Barkerville); monthly fee for utilities.

Rate of pay: to be negotiated based on skills and experience.

Note: This is an employment position, as directed by Revenue Canada. Deductions will be taken for EI, Canada Pension, etc.

Submission deadline: February 10, 2012.

Please submit cover letter and resume to the following:

Richard Wright, producer

Email: wright@theatreroyal.ca

Tel: 250-994-3340

Amy Newman, co-producer

Email: aln@plankroad.ca

Tel: 604-255-3465

Maya Meron, 2011 Box Office Manager. Richard Wright photo

Job title: Stage Manager/Technical Director

Job location: Theatre Royal, Barkerville Historic Town (near Quesnel, BC).

Name of organization: Newman and Wright Theatre Company

Length of job: seasonal full time position: May 8, 2012 – September 3, 2012 (17 weeks).

Job requirements: Newman and Wright Theatre Company is looking for a qualified Stage Manager (non-Equity). The position will require someone with excellent communication and organizational skills. In addition, a cool head and upbeat attitude are excellent qualities for this position. The ideal candidate will be energetic and highly motivated, outgoing and excited about the prospect of working at an historic site (Barkerville). Lighting knowledge is a definite asset.

Job description: includes (but is not limited to) the following duties: lighting design, organizing rehearsal schedules; recording blocking information; assisting with set construction; maintaining a prompt book; running lighting and/or sound cues; setting-up/breaking-down of sets; giving actors call times/notes; maintaining daily show reports, etc. Additional experience with musical productions is an asset. The ability to work quickly and with flexibility under pressure is required.

Accommodation: provided in the town of Wells (near Barkerville); monthly fee for utilities.

Rate of pay: to be negotiated based on skills and experience.

Note: This is an employment position, as directed by Revenue Canada. Deductions will be taken for EI, Canada Pension, etc.

Submission deadline: February 10, 2012.

Please submit cover letter and resume to the following:

Richard Wright, producer

Email: wright@theatreroyal.ca

Tel: 250-994-3340

Amy Newman, co-producer

Email: aln@plankroad.ca

Tel: 604-255-3465

Board-walk pre-show at Theatre Royal, Barkerville, 2011.
Amy Newman, Brendan Bailey, Alison Jenkins, Danette Boucher. Richard Wright photo.

The 2012 Costume season for Theatre Royal, Barkerville begins

2012-01-28T17:03:00.000-08:00

Costuming is always an issue for Theatre Royal

Floor level - A dancer's view of looking for shoes - Amy Newman

So here I am looking for a new pair of tap shoes for our Theatre Royal, Barkerville shows.
It makes for a good example of why Canada still trails in the laws of supply and demand. I have spent hours online and out and about, trying to find a new pair of dance/tap shoes.
Eventually, I came to the decision to just go ahead and order a new pair of Capezios, as they are tried and true. I know the fit, the sizing, etc. as I have been wearing Capezios all my life for performing in shows. I looked into getting regular street shoes made into tap shoes because I found a pair of lovely, sturdy, not too high, dress shoes that would be beautiful. But after discussion with a shoe repair guy yesterday, I found that it would cost an additional $100 or so to convert. That on top of $100 for the shoes and I was looking at $200 plus. No dice. Too much money.
I have also been haunting the thrift stores for the past few months. Sometimes you can get lucky and find something suitable. Mind you, it's such a specific type of shoe that I was looking for.... Last night (after many hours out on this errand and online) I went ahead and ordered these beauties.

Online photos of the Capezio shoe.

Because they are not the standard Capezio character shoe, they are virtually unavailable in Canada. Even dance shops in Toronto don't stock them. OK, so I hunt online for them.
After price-shopping different dancewear sites in the U.S., I accidentally hit upon the best price available from – wait for it –Amazon.com. Just makes me shake my head. They are common enough in the US that you can buy them from Amazon? And yet they are virtually unavailable across this massive country of ours. Go figure.
This style of character shoe (called "Manhattan") should come in at about $80 CA (with taps included, already "installed"; also including duty/taxes, etc)
a great price, compared to the $110–$125 it would cost to have them ordered through The Dance Shop or even from other boutique dancewear sites in the US.

It gets me out of the extremely used pair of tap shoes which I have been using off and on for the past 10 years. Those shoes were old when I got them from my sister Sue ages ago (someone had given them to her and she passed them on to me). The new tap shoes should be here in about 2/3 weeks. I can't wait!

Now, on to looking for costumes for our new WCFB Radio Show.

Voice Use and Costumes at Theatre Royal, Barkerville

2012-01-19T10:40:00.000-08:00

On Voice Use, Workshops and Costuming

Amy Newman in Barkerville in another of her costumes. Richard Wright photo.

For actors, singers, musicians and dancers at Theatre Royal, in Barkerville, B.C. it is safe to say that our work is extremely demanding (both physically and vocally) and one must have a well-tuned and well-trained voice (instrument) to withstand our rigorous show schedule, which runs from early May until the end of September. Whenever I have particular questions and concerns regarding my voice, I go to Shelagh Davies, a registered speech and language pathologist who specializes in vocal issues for performers.

The Theatre Royal cast 2011. Richard Wright photo.

For over 20 years in her practice in Vancouver, Shelagh Davies has helped people overcome vocal injury and reach their full potential as professional voice users. She is internationally recognized for her work with the voice and its disorders. In 2008, she was awarded a grant by the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists to undertake a clinical research project. Shelagh is a Clinical Associate Professor in the School of Audiology and Speech Sciences at the University of British Columbia.

I have known Shelagh for many years and consider her a mentor to me in my work at Theatre Royal in Barkerville, whether it be for a back-to-basics vocal “tune-up” or to work on specific repertoire for our shows. The expertise Shelagh offers is highly valuable and it is not an overstatement to say that she has saved my bacon on numerous occasions with her techniques, encouragement and advice. (Of course, half of the year I am not in town to seek her help in person, so many a time we have discussed issues over the phone, me in Barkerville, Shelagh in Vancouver.)

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to assist at a workshop for graduate students in The School of Audiology and Speech Sciences at the University of British Columbia with Shelagh Davies. It was a natural step for me to offer Shelagh my services as an actor at her workshop. My appearance allowed Shelagh to show the students someone working as a “professional voice user” in show business. I was also on hand to answer questions regarding voice and performance and how the demands of the work play out in the real world.

I prepared a few short monologues and songs to illustrate my work as a performer. I took speeches (which I had written) from a few of our past productions at Theatre Royal for this purpose. In choosing material, I looked for the most challenging and contrasting moments vocally to display to the class. I also did my best to choose moments that would stand on their own, for people who have no idea about Barkerville or the Cariboo Gold Rush, so that it would be entertaining as well as educational.

Right away I began to think about what I should wear. If I was going to present myself in the context of the 1860s Gold Rush period, then I must appear in appropriate attire, I thought. Hmmm. All of my 19^th costumes are in storage at the theatre for the winter, so it would have been a little tricky getting one sent down in order for me to wear it. Richard is back home in Wells now; however, I knew it could prove difficult for me to give him directions about which dress to pick up from Barkerville – and to ship it down here in time for the event – that all seemed so silly to me, next to the idea of creating a brand new dress!

With just six days to go before the workshop, I set to work thinking: what would I make? What pattern should I use? And what can I put together quickly? 19^th century women’s clothing is not the first thing that comes to mind when you are trying to construct a complete outfit in under a week.

The creative juices were flowing as I opened up one of my old storage trunks of fabric. As I looked through the pile, I found a partially cutout bodice from last year. The fabric itself had been purchased some years before and last spring I tried to get it made at last, but no dice. This looked promising. Then I continued through the pile and found more fabric, which would match up beautifully with the bodice fabric. Great. It was actually an old bed sheet and bed skirt, which had been sitting in that trunk for about five years.

The bed skirt was a maroon velveteen with pleats. Perfect for the bottom of the skirt. The ivory-background-with- red-and-green-leaves patterned cotton (the old bed sheet) would do well for the body of the skirt and for pieces of the bodice. The final fabric I added to the project was a gorgeous piece of russet-coloured raw silk I had bought for another costume project that I never ended up doing; it had also been sitting in the trunk for a while. That would work for contrast sections of the bodice.

After cutting, measuring and sewing like a mad fiend for the rest of the week (and staying up until 3:00 and 4:00 in the morning), I had the outfit ready to wear for Saturday’s event – except for one important point: I had had no time to put in the buttonholes and hand-sew the buttons. So, I decided to pin myself into the bodice and hope for the best! Here are the results below:

Amy's new costume, after the buttons were sewn on. Photos by Amy Newman.

As for the workshop, it was a wonderful learning event for the students and a pleasure to be part of. In addition to my involvement, Shelagh had a wonderful singer/songwriter named Melisa Devost on hand to talk to the students about her experiences of being a touring musician and music teacher. The demands on the voice when one wears different hats can be as challenging as being strictly a performer. Her insights were of great value for the students to hear and her lifestyle as an artist is different enough from mine to create a full picture of the pressures we all encounter as professional voice users.

Shelagh gave the students lots of hard science surrounding voice use for performers and then interspersed that with up close and personal demonstrations using me as the guinea pig, which I was most happy to do.

A highlight for me came after I had done my performance bits and was fielding questions regarding the work and its load on the voice. One of the students asked me about one of the characters I had portrayed (a man) called James Kelso, a miner from the 1860s.

Prelude to her question: the voice I use for this character is actually based on a real person, a wonderful Barkerville interpreter named Dave Brown. Dave runs the interpretation programming at the Cornish Waterwheel and has a particularly memorable vocal quality that I try to mimic every time I pull out the character of James Kelso (or really any male miner for that matter!).

The voice when I produce it for Kelso, is gravelly, gritty – and while quite humorous to listen to, is tremendously taxing vocally; it would be impossible for me to produce this particular vocal quality in a “healthy” manner. The only way I can do it is for a very short time. If I were to try and perform as this character with this voice for an extended period, I would do harm to my voice most certainly. And this is precisely why I wanted to demonstrate his voice: to show the students what it is like to be a professional voice user in the real world.

The student’s question was: “How hard is it on you to produce this voice? Would you recommend using your voice in this way to other actors?”

I answered with a decisive: “No. Not at all!” I looked at Shelagh as I qualified my response. “I remember when you and I talked about this character when I first created it some years ago.” (Shelagh nodded as I turned back to the class.) “Shelagh’s advice to me then – and it would be the same now – was that since Kelso only appeared for about 3 minutes in the show, it would probably be just fine to use my voice in this way. I decided to keep Kelso as a “bit player” only.

“It is certainly not the kind of voice use I would ever recommend to anyone, especially someone with little training or experience who doesn’t know his/her own limits vocally. You need to be an experienced performer in order to take on risky vocal techniques – and even then, they are just that: risky.”

With our schedule at the theatre, we cannot afford to take too many risks with our voices, so there is continuing dialogue with regard to show material choices vs. healthy voice use. It is a tightrope walk at the best of times. I never forget Shelagh’s words to me on this subject: “Amy, you and your troupe at Theatre Royal are vocal athletes. Your performance schedule is one of the most vocally demanding I know!”

Once the workshop had concluded, Shelagh and I discussed how it had gone. She was delighted with the event, saying, “With a few words you created a total character and place and mood and I know the students enjoyed it. You showed them the magic of an actor, and what’s possible with just the body and the voice. It made a huge difference having you there; it brought to life all that dry technical stuff. Now if they ever work with an actor or singer they will have a totally different baseline than what they had before coming to this workshop.”

Melisa Devost, Amy Newman and Shelagh Davies.

All of us at Theatre Royal look forward to working with Shelagh in the future as we struggle to bring the best of Gold Rush theatre to our audiences.

Shelagh Davies can be found at: http://www.shelaghdavies.com/
Melisa Devost can be heard, seen and contacted at: http://www.melisadevost.com/

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Happy New Year from Barkerville

2012-01-02T15:43:00.000-08:00

Have a Happy New Year

From the cast and crew of Theatre Royal, Barkerville

For Richard's new blog on Van Dusen gardens in Vancouver go to:

http://richardtwright.blogspot.com/

The Christmas Revelers, from Theatre Royal, Barkerville

2011-12-29T15:31:00.001-08:00

Amy Newman and The Christmas Revelers, presented to you by

Newman and Wright Theatre Company, Theatre Royal, Barkerville

The Christmas Revelers, 2011; Amy, Chris, Brendan, Alison - Richard Wright photo

“What do you do in the off-season from Barkerville?”

At Theatre Royal, many people ask me this question. The answer?

“I entertain at the holiday time with my a cappella caroling quartet, Amy Newman & the Christmas Revelers”.

For the past 12 years The Revelers have entertained such clients as Burnaby Village Museum, Grouse Mountain Resorts, Hart House Restaurant and Newport Village, to name a few. In addition, we perform at many retirement residences throughout Vancouver and the Lower Mainland.

The Revelers began in the year 2000 and since then, has employed 20 performers. In recent years this holiday work has been offered to Theatre Royal cast members. A season at the theatre in Barkerville is a wonderful way to audition prospective singers for the work at Christmas time.

Work for The Revelers begins as early as July, when I first begin putting out feelers to my singers from the previous year, to see if they wish to return. If all goes well, I won’t have to replace anyone. Happily for me, I only had one new singer join The Revelers for 2011.

Brendan, Amy and Alison at Theatre Royal, summer 2010 - Marcello Sequeira photo

Brendan - Richard Wright photo

It was a pleasure to invite talented singer/actor Brendan Bailey (from this past season’s Theatre Royal cast) into the fold. He joined our most excellent alumni member Alison Jenkins, who sang with The Revelers in 2009. These two, along with Vancouver singer/songwriter, Chris Harvey, (in his 3^rd season of caroling) and me, became the Christmas Revelers of 2011. We also had another Reveler (and Theatre Royal alumni) “old-timer”, Nick Fontaine join us for a few gigs, when Chris was unavailable. With this crew on board, I knew I could look forward to a loyal, happy and hard-working team.

Nick - Photo by Amy Newman

Once I have the “cast” in place, it’s time to paste myself to my Mac and start contacting clients. Most of this work is done after Labour Day, when the season is winding down at Theatre Royal and I can devote extra time to this necessary part of the job. Once we finish our season at Theatre Royal at the end of September, I head down to the Coast for the fall and winter season.

I continue taking bookings through October (and into November as well), when most clients have made up their minds about whether or not they are able to hire us. None of our clients have ever declined to hire us due to our product. We bring a dynamic and exciting feel to our work and the entertainment we bring to audiences is energetic and full of fun, besides being lovely to listen to.

When November comes around, it’s time for the rehearsal process to begin. This year, as Brendan was the only new member, he had the most work to do, in learning all of the material: over 50 individual songs. With his customary skill and dedication, Brendan learned all of his parts in only a few weeks.

Chris - Richard Wright photo

He and Chris switched off being the bass, so this created a heavy workload for Chris, as well, who is usually the tenor of The Revelers. This year, he had to sing the bass parts for half the material we perform. What a challenge it was for him to re-learn material he already knew, but in a completely different voicing. Chris worked hard at becoming a bass man and succeeded beautifully.

Alison and I have known this material for a long time. And anything Alison doesn’t know she can sight-read like a shot, so our material is a snap for her. She even was the de-facto Musical Director for a couple of rehearsals, since she could run all of us through our parts (on brand new material) far easier than I could. (While I have many skills, sight-reading quickly is not one of them!) Alison is the most experienced choral singer of the group, having been in choirs since she was a child. That, along with her skills as a musician, makes her a highly valuable member of both The Revelers and our Theatre Royal troupe at Barkerville.

Alison - Richard Wright photo

I have a good deal of experience as both a soloist and in backing up others on harmony parts (which I often make up, as does Alison), so it made sense for Alison and me to switch back and forth between the soprano and alto parts in our music. This allows us both to play at being the harmony, back-girl and the soprano DIVA – which any self-respecting singer with even a touch of ego will jump at.

This group of performers made for a fun and happy rehearsal process, with lots of input from all, with regards to arrangements and voicings. Some of the songs we arrange ourselves, while others already exist in SATB (soprano/alto/tenor/bass) a cappella format.

We had our first booking in mid-November at GardenWorks, a wonderful garden centre in Burnaby. Our first job of the season is always particularly exciting – it is our first “show”. We find out if our material is working as it should; it is a chance to gauge audience reaction to our performance – in this case, it is the shoppers at GardenWorks who come to their Christmas Open House, who watch and listen to us as they move through the store. The Revelers have been performing at GardenWorks since the first year of the group’s formation. (I worked in the GardenWorks chain for many years – but that is another story.)

We perform all of our music a cappella, that is without accompaniment, so we are an easily transportable show for our clients. We dress in sumptuous 19^th century costumes, which I design and in the case of the ladies’ pieces, construct as well.

“Where do you get such beautiful dresses?” someone asks after a gig.

“You cannot find gowns like this on the racks anywhere that I know of,” I answer. “So I make them myself.”

Amy - Richard Wright photo

Amy's Reveler's bodice.

Our main body of work begins at the end of November and continues until Christmas Eve. This year we had close to a full slate of bookings, which for The Revelers is anywhere from two to four hours of singing per day. We do not accept more work than this, as it is necessary to protect the singers voices.

The singing and speaking voice is an instrument of the human body and as such, is subject to fatigue. Too much singing/speaking can cause vocal fatigue and while some tiredness is to be expected over a month-long run, one must be vigilant in protecting the instrument. Because our performances are such high energy, I think of each booking as a show, so doing two or three shows a day is plenty.

As singers, we look upon sickness with a particular blend of fear and hatred. For most people, getting a cold is annoying and uncomfortable, but one (perhaps) takes a day or two off work and carries on. For singers performing this kind of work, there are generally no subs for us. If we get ill, we continue to perform.

Sickness did hit most of The Revelers this season, with varying degrees of discomfort for each of us. For me, I get a cold and it goes almost immediately to my throat. Everything swells up and I am often completely unable to sing. Obviously, this cannot happen when others are depending on me.

This year, I tried a home remedy that had worked in the fall at Theatre Royal when I was hit by a nasty virus. I went to bed each night with hot and cold compresses across my throat to assist in healing and keeping down swelling. (After all, the instrument is a muscle, so treat it is one.) In my case, the cold “compress” was actually a bag of frozen berries and the hot compress, an electric heating pad. I did 10/15 minutes each for a couple of hours every night during the worst period of the cold and it worked; I was able to sing. I may not have had my full range, but I had enough to pull my weight and make a good sound when necessary. It’s a tricky business, this.

The Christmas Revelers performed at many venues in 2011 for various clients. For example, one Saturday we began singing at 9:00 a.m. for a new event organized at Port Moody’s lovely outdoor mall, Newport Village. We were on site and ready to go as pancakes were flipped and toys were collected for distribution later on in the season. It was a wonderful event and we look forward to entertaining again there next year. Another event which is a great deal of fun for us, is the Hyack Christmas Parade of Lights in New Westminster. We entertained a huge crowd after the parade finished and the event was a wonderful success, as always.

It is always a joy to perform at Burnaby Village Museum. Because it reminds me so much of Barkerville (in miniature), it makes me feel as though I have come home – except that there is usually no snow. This year, the Village is celebrating 40 years as a heritage site and offered free admission for all visitors during their holiday celebrations. The streets were packed as The Revelers gave their all for the captive audience. One day, we simply took requests for our entire set; how delightful it was to see the looks on children’s faces as we sang and they interacted with us during our comic rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.

The Christmas Revelers at Burnaby Village Museum - Richard Wright photo

Another of our favourite locations to perform is at Grouse Mountain. Like Burnaby Village Museum, The Revelers have been a part of their seasonal entertainment for the past ten years. It is always such an experience to take the Skyride up to the Peak Chalet and sing in front of the fireplace or the stunning (and massive) Christmas tree and watch the faces of the families and their children as we perform favourites like “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” or “Jingle Bells”.

On our last performance date up at Grouse, a woman came up to us and said, “My son recognized you from Burnaby Village Museum. You were there last night, weren’t you?” We all couldn’t get over the fact that her little boy remembered us!

The Revelers at Grouse Mountain Resort - Richard Wright photo

Interspersed throughout the caroling season, The Revelers travel far and wide entertaining seniors. From our home base in East Vancouver, we drove out to Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and even Mission, as well as south to Surrey and Langley, in addition to the many retirement residences here in Vancouver, to perform for seniors.

Sometimes it’s a concert situation; other times we may entertain as roving carolers of old must have done, when a special holiday meal is celebrated. We always feel welcome when we perform for seniors, since they are the ones who grew up with the old-fashioned carols of Christmas which are our specialty. Tunes such as “Ding Dong Merrily on High”, “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” are always a hit. By the looks on their faces as they sing along with us, we know we have made a difference by bringing the sights and sounds of the season to them.

Out of all the venues and clients from 2011, perhaps my favourite performance of the year was the concert we did in Qualicum Beach at The Old Schoolhouse Art Centre. We were part of their winter season of performances and it took a whole day to do this gig what with the addition of the ferry travel in addition to the driving. It was the Revelers’ first road trip and we had a fabulous time. The concert went very well – all of us were really “on” and at the end the audience gave us a standing ovation. I thanked them saying, "Gee, I'm sorry we don't have an encore number. 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' was going to be it, but we didn't know if we would get an encore or not – so you've already had it!" They laughed at that as they finished clapping and it was a great end to a fun-filled, exciting event for us.

We finished our last gig at 6:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. All were weary from a long month of work, but well satisfied with their work (and getting paid for it, helps) and the compliments we had received from so many people whose lives we had brightened with our songs of the season.

For more information on the Revelers click on the Christmas Entertainment on the Theatre Royal Home page.

Merry Christmas from Theatre Royal, Barkerville

2011-12-23T12:08:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all

from the Theatre Royal Cast and Crew

Amy Newman

Richard Wright

Robert Ahad

Brendan Bailey

Danette Boucher

Ted Harrison

Alison Jenkins

Matt Quick

Barkerville, B.C., Victorian Christmas

2011-12-12T18:12:00.000-08:00

For images of Barkerville's Victorian Christmas go to:

For a photo album of Barkerville's Victorian Christmas go to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtwright/

Post just before is an explanation of a GoPro Hero cam on a pole on a horse. Another way to get a different perspective, and one that needs some refinement next weekend. Thanks to Glen and Maureen of Barnard's Express, Barkerville, for helping with this.

Richard's new photography blog

2011-11-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

For Richard's new photography blog go to:
http://richardtwright.blogspot.com/
There you can sign in as a follower, follow by email or share on Facebook.
There are two post so far.

The Newman and Wright news is that we will be back at the Theatre Royal next year with the same cast, but all new shows. Stay tuned.

Vancouver Opera in the Schools at Theatre Royal, Barkerville

2011-10-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

Check out this item about the Hansel and Gretel performance that we hosted at the Theatre Royal on September 24th.
A little behind the scenes look.
http://www.entertainmentblogs247.com/2011/10/13/how-we-roll-in-barkerville/

Hansel & Gretel at Theatre Royal, Barkervill

2011-09-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hansel & Gretel come to the Theatre Royal

September 24, 2011, 7 pm

Hansel & Gretel, the classic fairy tale, will appear on the Theatre Royal stage this fall. Once again, on September 24, Newman & Wright at the Theatre Royal in Barkerville are hosting the Vancouver Opera in the schools, this year bringing a darkly fantastical, fast-paced and enchanting production of Engelbert Humperdink’s classic opera version of the Grimm Brothers’ fable.

“This is our last evening performance for the 2011 season”, says Theatre Royal producer Richard Wright, “so it is fun to go out with some thing different.”

The evening will begin with the Theatre Royal’s one-hour fall show, Gold Rush Nuggets, then an intermission, followed by the one-hour performance of Hansel and Gretel.

This brand-new production features four energetic young opera singers, one nimble-fingered pianist, a Gothically gorgeous self-contained set and a full complement of dramatic costumes and props. The production is sung in English.

Young fans of Lemony Snickett and Edward Gorey will be charmed by the striking, Edwardian- inspired set. “In the age of Harry Potter and Twilight, young people today appreciate a darker aesthetic,” explains Stage Director and Librettist Amiel Gladstone. “[Designer] Drew Facey and I wanted to create something modern, but with references to a sort of Gothic or Edwardian period that may have only existed in our imaginations. This seems to be a perfect match for the Hansel and Gretel story: a struggling family living on the edge of a dark wood, inhabited by a witch or ogre creature who baits children with a candy house.”

“Theatre Royal fans will remember that a couple of years ago we brought in the “Barber of Barkerville’”, says Wright. “It was a sell out, despite a blizzard that night. We are expecting the same this year, so book your tickets early.”

Entrance to Barkerville is free after 5pm so there is no charge for site entry. Restaurants in the area such as the Bear’s Paw in Wells, will be open and hosting special evenings. Dinner and the show make a great evening out.

Call the theatre at 250-994-3225 or 250-994-3340 for tickets or information.

-30-

Theatre Royal Barkerville and lederhose

2011-08-29T21:29:00.000-07:00

In this year's "Gold Rush Revue" at the Theatre Royal we present an old classic that was performed on the stage of the Theatre Royal in 1871, Septimus Winner's "Der Deitcher's Dog", written in 1864.
"Der Deitcher's Dog", or "Oh Where, oh Where Ish Mine Little Dog Gone", is a text that Winner set to the German folk tune "Im Lauterbach hab'ich mein' Strumpf verlorn", which recorded massive sales during Winner's lifetime.

The first verse of "Der Deitcher's Dog" is particularly noteworthy as its first verse has become a popular nursery rhyme and is familiar to most of us.

Oh where, oh where has my little dog gone?
Oh where, oh where can he be?
With his ears cut short, and his tail cut long,
Oh where, oh where is he?

This year the song is lead by Brendan Bailey. We put him in our best "lederhose" - a pair of cotton shorts as we found that real leather Barvarian lederhose were beyond our costume budget. We did check them out when Amy and I were in Germany and Austria this spring but decided to pass.

Now, the Gold Rush Review opened on June 18th, to uproarious applause of course. And away we went and each day at 1 pm Brendan would dance and cavort his way across the stage and through the audience looking for his lost dog.

Richard Wright photo

But - Brendan was sad, as not only had he lost his dog to a sausage factory but his "lederhose" were less than spectacular.

Then, on August 25th a parcel arrived from Solms, Germany, just a few miles from Butzbach and Nieder-Weisel where Amy and I had visited the home of Katrina Haub, a Barkerville hurdy gurdy dancer (who Amy portray's in the same show.).

Inside was a beautiful pair of "lederhose", and a letter which read:

Dear Theatre;

We had the pleasure to watch the opening of your new theatre season on June 18th. The Revue was so funny we had tears in our eyes.

But there was one thing we were not satisfied with: The pants your dear German dog owner were wearing were far from authentic! And so to support your theatre please feel free to accept these Lederhosen as our gift to you!

Yours Bede Schild

Christian Schulz

What a fantastic gift! We were all so excited Brendan put them on in front of the whole cast - they fit beautifully - and he used them in the next and all subsequent shows.

Thank you so much folks! This was a wonderful gift and will remain an important part of our costume department.

It is this kind of support that keeps us all going.

We are so pleased you enjoyed the show. Tears of laughter are our greatest reward.

Thanks from the whole cast.

Richard and Amy

Now Brendan is a happy dog owner - or former dog owner.

Richard Wright photo

Barkerville Sports Day, August 2011 - Theatre Royal

2011-08-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

Great coverage of Sports Day in Barkerville in the Quesnel Cariboo Observer - the weekend the Royal Engineers Living History group were in town.

Part of Newman & Wright's Theatre Royal ongoing participation in events and Barkerville marketing.

Photos by Richard Wright

Barkerville -Trusting Google Maps causes near tragedy

2011-08-10T10:53:00.000-07:00

For several years we have been trying to get Google maps to correct an error that shows a shortcut from Purden Lake on Highway 16 to Barkerville. We receive no response. Now the route has resulted in a near tragedy.

Similarly the directions function of Google shows that it takes 1 hour and 50 minutes to drive from Quesnel to Barkerville. In fact the 80 km takes 1 hour. These are dangerous errors that need to be corrected.

Check out this story from Opinion 250.

Trusting GPS Got Man into Off Road Trouble

By 250 News

Tuesday, August 09, 2011 11:05 AM

Wells, B.C.- The use of a GPS could have turned into tragedy for an Edmonton man.

A 45 year old Edmonton man was heading to the Lowhee Campground near Wells last Friday when he checked his GPS and discovered an alternate route to the campground.

He turned off highway 16 on to Purden Lake road, a poorly maintained logging road.

Early Friday evening his 2010 Hyundai Sante Fe high centred and he was stuck in an area where there is no cell phone service. He slept in his vehicle, and was able to work the vehicle free on Saturday morning. In an effort to turn around and head back to the highway, the vehicle once again got stuck. He spent the next 24 hours hauling gravel from a nearby river to try and give his wheels some traction.

He was getting nowhere, and started building an SOS sign with hopes if there was a search underway for him he could be spotted.

After two nights in his vehicle, stranded and without food, he was located by a local hunting guide who was checking on remote hunting cabins. The man was reunited with his family Sunday night.

RCMP are reminding travellers not to rely solely on a GPS unit and computer generated map programs. While alternate routes may seem enticing because they appear to be shorter, too often the suggested routes are on roads that are not well maintained or are not recommended for vehicle traffic. The routes are often remote and outside of cell phone service areas.

RCMP recommend travellers advise family or friends of their intended travel routes and anticipated arrival times, and that they use a highway map and stick to major routes and highways which are open to all types of vehicles.

Theatre Royal, Barkerville - Bernadette's Gold Rush Escape

2011-07-13T10:48:00.001-07:00

Check out this article in the Quesnel Observer.

http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_cariboo/quesnelobserver/community/125450703.html

Theatre Royal, Barkerville Gala June 18

2011-06-12T10:06:00.000-07:00

Join us at the Theatre Royal Gala, Saturday, June 18.
$30 includes admission to Barkerville, 3 shows at the Theatre Royal and the evening reception. Call 250-994-3225 for tickets or information.

Theatre Royal, Barkerville. May 2011 Photos

2011-05-27T09:39:00.000-07:00

For a selection of rehearsal and show photos from this season's Spring show, Rough But Honest Miner, taken by Richard Wright go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardtwright/

The Rough But Honest Miner: Music in Barkerville and the Cariboo Goldfields 1860-1881

2011-05-15T09:42:00.000-07:00

Teaming Up the Cariboo Road

Here comes Henry Currie, he’s always in a hurry

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

He makes his horses go, through the dust and through the snow

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

You should see him sprintin’, to the ball at Clinton

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

He makes the ladies prance, just like his horses dance

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

When you hear that whip a-poppin’, you bet he’s got a load.

When you hear that sweet voice singin’

“Stand up rowdy on the Cariboo Road!”

Pete Egan as a rule, to his horses he is cruel

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

He beats them with a rail, puts fire in their tail

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

Old Pete he looks so wicked when you ask him for a ticket

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

At the sight of half-a-dollar, he will grab you by the collar

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

When you hear that whip a-poppin’, you bet he’s got a load.

When you hear that sweet voice singin’

“Stand up rowdy on the Cariboo Road!”

The driver’s on the deck, with a rag around his neck

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

While the swamper’s in the stable makin’ sure the teams are able

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

When the roads are in a mire then the freighters earn their hire

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

But they can beat the weather, when they all pull together

Teamin’ up the Cariboo Road.

When you hear that whip a-poppin’, you bet he’s got a load.

When you hear that sweet voice singin’

“Stand up rowdy on the Cariboo Road!”

When you hear that whip a-poppin’, you bet he’s got a load.

When you hear that sweet voice singin’

Stand up rowdy on the Cariboo Road!”[i]

When miners rushed to the gold discoveries of Cariboo in the early 1860s, they hacked and hollowed, tumbled and tunneled, forever changing the physical landscape.. Creeks were diverted, pits hydrauliced, camps slapped up and towns built that still survive today.

The miner's trails were followed by a multitude of merchants, from suppliers of goods to saloonkeepers, gamblers, prostitutes, artists and musical producers. Together these people also created a culture which for the most part has been unrecognized, uncelebrated. A significant part of that culture was music and songs performed and written in towns like Camerontown, Richfield, Antler Creek, Mosquito Creek, Quesnelle Forks, Quesnelle mouth and Barkerville.

So, where is Cariboo? The Cariboo is the south central portion, the interior, of British Columbia, a province on Canada’s west coast. The province of BC is larger than Austria, Germany and France combined - throw in England and you are about right. The Cariboo region is about 300 kms by 75 kms – 22,500 sq kms. A little smaller than Austria. Austria has eight million people. The Cariboo - 67,000. From the seaport and capital of Victoria where gold seekers began their journey, to the goldfields of Cariboo is 900 km, the same as Innsbruck to London, England. And in the early years of the gold rush they certainly did not take a stagecoach driven by Henry Currie – they walked for weeks.

The Cariboo is bunchgrass country, cedar river valleys, spruce and redtop swamp meadows, pine and balsam-root foothills and fir and bear grass mountains. There's gold there. We call it God's country. It's actually a state of mind.

If you were to visit the old mining camps of Cariboo today, you would not likely hear the old songs. You would more likely hear bluegrass, or old time fiddlers, or a blues band. What we have come to call bunchgrass music and culture is there, but you have to look for it. It will come from leather-beaten faces and work-worn hands, from people dressed in work clothes and felt packs, folks who had taken a day from cattle ranching or logging to sing a few songs at the pub or a local festival, from a mandolin players with the same number of fingers on two hands that most people have on one, or a guitar player with raw knuckles or a sliced hand.

From these folks you might hear some real Cariboo music, but not the old songs. When we sing the old songs at the Theatre Royal, which we operate in the historic town of Barkerville, songs like "Teaming Up the Cariboo Road" the question is often:

"Where did you get these songs?" We think this is a polite question. -- Where did we get them? Where did they come from?

Richard has been writing about the Cariboo since 1970 and gradually from journals, letters, diaries and newspapers a few file cards with notes on musical references grew to a bundle. That bundle of cards became an electronic database. A few years ago he produced a CD "Rough But Honest Miner" and a book, "Castles in the Air".

You won't hear most of these songs very often. They have been buried, like the gold that inspired them. But the songs are there, hidden away in old documents, such as John Clapperton's journal, where he records at Loch Lomond House on the Cariboo Road in 1864 that " At night we heard some good Scotch songs; I was much pleased with the rendition of 'Friendship has brought us a’ togither'., and 'Aye she turned the spinning wheel.' Had there been bagpipes with the singing, I believe we would all have been as nimble as cats." [ii]

A most recent discovery, and musical mystery, are a couple of lines from an 1862 letter by Cariboo miner Doug Bogart, who writes:

“The only consolation I had on nights when we all were tired was to sit down and sing to them, ‘sad was the day we went away, a hunting of the gold’ and one of Ross's Clerks, would sing, ‘we did not find it was a sell until we got to Forks of Quesnelle, look way to Cariboo’.”

Where are the rest of the words? Was the last song sung to the tune of Dixie?:

“We did not find it was a sell,

Until we got to the Forks of Quesnelle,

Look way, Look way, Look away to Cariboo.”

The rhyme and meter might make us think so. Perhaps we'll never know.

You see the problem is this. We can find music hall, theatre songs and some parlour songs in newspaper reviews, advertisements and announcements for theatres and saloons. We have James Anderson's book of poems and songs. Anderson was educated at Scotland's Dollar Academy. He came from a landed-family with several estates. Yet in 1863 he inexplicably left a wife and year-old son and an extensive family estate in Clackmannanshire to search for Cariboo gold. He stayed 9 years. Anderson became the miner’s poet laurete. He was their voice.

We have his writings and we have some manuscript collections, even a few pieces of BC gold rush sheet music such as the "Fraser River Mines Schottische". But except for a few instances such as Bogart's letter and the odd diary we do not have notes of what folks sang around the campfire or the reading room table.

It is like a few of us getting together tonight to swap ballads or jam. Who will write down what we sing? Likely no one. So, our knowledge of the music of Cariboo is limited and biased at best.

James Anderson after his return to Scotland. Richard Wright collection.

The Cariboo music scene of the 1860s-80s, which centered on Barkerville, was vivid and lively. The Anglican Rev. Reynard of St. Savior's church had a small band or orchestra that played for various events. Miner Samuel Drake was pressed into service when Reynard heard him whistling the Messiah while he worked on a gold claim.

Reynard's "band" or "orchestra" was made up of whatever instruments he could borrow or beg or whatever a miner happened to have. In 1870 he wrote "the band consists of a clarinet, two flutes, cornet and bassoon. I preside at the piano." Their repetoire was mainly light classics and sacred music. Reynard also wrote music for the orchestra and for some of the songs or poems Williams Creek residents wrote, such as Talisen Evans who wrote under the bardic name Tal. O Eifion. He wrote:

O, give me a Cot.

O, give me a cot on the slope of a hill,

'Neath the shade of an old oaken tree,

By the side of a sparkling and roaring rill,

Within sight of the deep briny sea;"

The music Reynard wrote has not survived--or should we say has not yet been found. Not surprisingly, it is from clergy such as Rev. Reynard or Cariboo’s Bishop Hills that we learn which hymns were popular. For example Hills records on August 19, 1862, at the funeral of John Emmory:

“At the conclusion I delivered an address endeavoring to make the occasion profitable to all present – after which the hymn “O God our help in ages past,” and The Blessing," were sung.

The antithesis of the houses of worship, and far more popular, were the saloons and hurdy dance houses. Briefly, the hurdies were contract dancehall girls, mostly from Hessen, Germany, paid to dance with miners. Many stayed and married miners and merchants. The name is thought to come from the hurdy gurdy instrument, which they danced to in Germany. We have found no reference to the instrument being used in any North American gold rush.

For years many folks wondered what music they danced to. What was it really like? Recently a collection of 1864 love letters was found – from Robert Burrell in Barkerville to Miss McKenzie in Victoria. Remarkably, Burrell wrote in a style that we would now call “stream of consciousness.”

This is Sunday night and on the opposite side of the street there are no less than three Hurdy Gurdy or dancing houses in full blast - two of them are occupied by German dancing girls--four in each- and the third by Squaws [First Naions}. Just now the "Silver Lakes Varsovianna" is ringing in my ears and the noise and music is carried on every night till four and sometimes six in the morning.

If I am at all out of sorts I find it quite impossible to sleep -- The "King of the Cannibal Islands" has just struck up -- fancy such a place. .... It has been raining dreadfully all day -- there goes "Lucy Long",-- and I like it better than the hot days. I board now at the French Hotel at Richfield and walk up and down about half a mile twice and sometimes three times a day -- the "Sultan Polka" and the "Edinburgh Quadrille" at the same time from the from the White Hurdies -- and often stay up there all day.

Finally, we knew some of the music played in the dance houses by fiddlers such as Nelson, George Baillie and Frank Wigglesworth. The question now is what did these fiddlers play after the dance was over, and how did their own style, Baillie was a Scot for instance, affect the hurdy music?

The Hurdies of Barkerville, about 1864.

The goldfields culture was based on gold and the miners who came here in hopes of wealth. Miners who more often labored for wages and in many cases became destitute. On the mining claims men like James Anderson and J. Lawrence, an American ex-slave, were writing songs and poetry that give us a window into a place and time not otherwise seen.

Anderson’s popularity and encore performances at the Theatre Royal of the 1860s, with songs such as “The Rough But Honest Miner”, show that miners believed that he "got it right" with his descriptions of the mining processes. Yet he was also able to infuse his songs with the normally unspoken hopes and dreams, doubts and failures of miners as they “hunted after gold.”

Anderson took the tune and the phrase "Castles in the Air" from a song by James Ballantine, who borrowed the tune from the earlier "Bonny Jean of Aberdeen", a tune used at least 13 times in Scots songs. He turned this into his classic enduring gold rush song.

The Rough But Honest Miner

The rough but honest miner, wha toils night and day,

Seeking for the yellow gold, hid among the clay-ay

Hawkin’ on the mountain-side, what he does there _

Aa! The old "dreamer’s buildin' castles in the air".

His leather beaten face, an' his sair-worn hands

Are tell-tales to a' of the hardship that he stands;

His head may grow grey and his face full of care,

Hunting after gold, "With its castles in the air."

He sees the old channel, buried in the hill

Filled full of nuggets--so goes at it with a will-

For long weeks and months, driftin’ late and air'--,

Cutting out a door to his "castle in the air"--

He hammers at the rock, believin’ it’s a rim,

When ten to one ‘tis--nothing but his fancy’s whim

Sure when he gets through, he’ll find his home-stake there;

There’s miners more than one, built this "castle in the air".

He thinks his "pile" is made, and he’s goin’ home gin fall--

He joins his dear old mother, his father, friends and all

His heart e'en jumps with joy, at the thoughts of bein’ there,

There’s many a happy minute "buildin’ castles in the air.".

But hopes that promised high, in the spring time o' the year,

Like leaves o' autumn fall when the frost o' winter’s near.

So his buildin’ tumbles down with each blast o’ care,

‘Til there’s not a "stone left standin," of his "castle in the air."

"Toiling and sorrowing, on thro' life he goes;

Each morning sees some work begun, each evening sees it close"

But he has aye the grit, tho' his "tum-tum" may be sair,

For another year is coming, with its "castles in the air".

Tho' fortune may not smile, upon his labors here,

There is a world above, where his prospects will be clear

If he now accept the offer, of a stake beyond compare

A happy home for all, with a "castle in the air".

That was Anderson’s set up of the miner, his weariness, but his dream of a castle or at least a farm, in his home county. Now he tells us what a miner looks for and how he works:

He sees the old channel, buried in the hill

Filled full of nuggets--so goes at it with a will-

For long weeks and months, driftin’ late and air'--,

Cutting out a door to his "castle in the air"--

He hammers at the rock, believin’ it’s a rim,

When ten to one ‘tis--nothing but his fancy’s whim

Sure when he gets through, he’ll find his home-stake there;

There’s miners more than one, built this "castle in the air".

He thinks his "pile" is made, and he’s goin’ home gin fall--

He joins his dear old mother, his father, friends and all

His heart e'en jumps with joy, at the thoughts of bein’ there,

There’s many a happy minute "buildin’ castles in the air.".

But hopes that promised high, in the spring time o' the year,

Like leaves o' autumn fall when the frost o' winter’s near.

So his buildin’ tumbles down with each blast o’ care,

‘Til there’s not a "stone left standin," of his "castle in the air."

"Toiling and sorrowing, on thro' life he goes;

Each morning sees some work begun, each evening sees it close"

But he has aye the grit, tho' his "tum-tum" may be sair,

For another year is coming, with its "castles in the air".

Tho' fortune may not smile, upon his labors here,

There is a world above, where his prospects will be clear

If he now accept the offer, of a stake beyond compare

A happy home for all, with a "castle in the air".

Anderson also wrote what is likely the first labour poem of British Columbia, "The Song of the Mines", inspired by Thomas Hood's 1843 poem "Song of the Shirt”, which helped prompt changes in the English textile trade.

Song of the Shirt

With fingers weary and worn,

With eyelids heavy and red,

A Woman sat, in unwomanly rags,

Plying her needle and thread--

Stitch! Stitch! Stitch!

In poverty, hunger, and dirt,

And still with the voice of dolorous pitch

She sang the "Song of the Shirt!"

Anderson wrote:

Drift! Drift! Drift!

From the early morn till night

Drift! Drift! Drift!

From twilight till broad-day light

With pick and crow-bar and sledge

Breaking a hard gravel face;

In slum, and water and muck

Working with face-board and brace;

Main set, false set, and main set--

Repeated, shift after shift--

Day after day the same song--

The same wearisome Song of the Drift.

Anderson’s many songs and poems, give us insights into gold camp social aspects and the miners labourious work.

Similarly there was black poet Rebecca Gibbs, a Barkerville washerwoman who wrote extensively on social ills and miner's woes. She is perhaps best known for her poem Old Red Shirt.

A miner came to my cabin door,

His clothes they were covered with dirt;

He held out a piece he desired me to wash,

Which I found was an old red shirt ….

In the cold hard land of the gold creeks it might seem strange to think of miner's sitting down by candle light to write love songs, but love, tragedy and affairs were all part of life. A miner nicknamed Chips wrote "Lover's Lament" about his lost Annie, to the tune of the US Civil War song Katy Wells and a mine known "Mosquito", also the name of a camp, wrote about Mary, whom he tried to entice to live with him.

Oh, Mary, dear Mary, come home with me now;

The sleigh from Mosquito has come.

You promised to live in my little board house

As soon as the pap’ring was done.

The fire burns brightly in the sheet-iron stove

And the bed is made up by the wall.

But it’s lonesome, you know, these long winter nights

With no one to love me at all.

"Mary Come Home" is one of the most interesting songs to come out of the Cariboo gold rush. The 1864 tune is borrowed from Henry Clay Work’s "Father Come Home". The song illustrates several things about the time and culture and is one of the few songs to include Chinook phrases – a trade language formed from several aboriginal and European languages.

For instance: Mosquito was a town several miles northwest of Barkerville, and the pseudonym of the writer. At the time this song was written it was a new town with a rough road connecting to Barkerville. The author is wintering here so he is a partner or claim owner. Given his promises he is not too destitute to leave.

Mosquito is a prosperous miner with a house built of milled lumber. He is not in a brush tent, a canvas tent, a rooming house or a log cabin, all of which were more common. He has the money and the inclination to paper the walls-- and has a real bed. Mary, it appears, could make a worse choice.

So it continues for four verses.

A simple song with a ore car of cultural information.

At Barkerville's Theatre Royal there were the travelling music hall and minstrel shows such as Lafont and Ward's Troupe, the McGinty Family and the Potter Troupe. They introduced audiences to songs like "Listen to the Mocking Bird", "Do They Miss Me At Home," Stephen Foster melodies like "Hard Times Come Again no more" and many other songs popular during the Civil War and the following decades.

Another showman on the creeks in 1878 was none other than "Captain Jack" the poet scout -- John Wallace Crawford, a showman/cowboy/miner and sometime partner of William “Buffalo Bill” Cody. Crawford was a playwright, poet and showman famous in the North American west. He lived for two seasons in Barkerville travelling in his "show wagon" with a company of singers and actors. He wrote many poems and a few songs based on his Cariboo experiences. The Barkerville death of friends such as Thomas Pattulo was likely the initial inspiration for his poem "Only a Miner Killed", later to become "Only a Miner" then "Only a Cowboy" and still later Bob Dylan's hit "Only a Hobo."[iii]

Only a miner killed --oh is that all?

One of the timbers caved, great was the fall,

Crushing another one shaped like his God.

Only a miner lad under the sod.

The transmigration of songs from other countries and cultures is also evident in journals and letters, such as when overlander Robert McMicking writes down the words to "Yellow Rose of Texas" and "Happy are we Tonight" in his 1862 journal.

We can hear the British Royal Engineers singing songs from the Crimean War and other battle fields, the blacks singing of southern slavery, the Scots of their home land, the 24 Welsh Adventurers joining in vocal harmonies, and the German dancing girls and Austrian miners singing their own songs.

We find broadsheets of Civil War songs from saloons, sheet music collections quickly mailed up from the U.S. or "Pretty Polly Perkins from Paddington Green" shipped over from England. And those tunes are used for other songs.

In these documents we also learn of the instruments played: the bones, banjo, violin, bombardon, harmonium, cornet, melodeon, and the concertina, that did double duty by scaring off a bear.

“While I sit and write, the bones are sounding on one side, the fiddle on another, the banjo on another, the Cornocopean and Saric horn peal forth their notes together with 12 or 14 of the best singers that I ever heard.”

Dobson Prest, in camp at Fort Edmonton, July 22^nd, 1862, on an overland journey to Cariboo.

James Anderson finally left in 1871, like most miners and merchants, as gold production, the towns and the populations were waning. When the first cold winds of winter blew down the valley, he wrote:

Cold Cariboo, farewell

I write it with a sad and heavy heart;

You've treated me so roughly that I feel,

Tis hard to part.

T'was all I asked of thee,

One handful of thy plenteous golden grain,

Hads't thou but yielded, I'd have sung "Farewell!"

And home again."

But, time on time, defeat!

Ah, cold and cruel, callous Cariboo!

Have eight years honest perservering toil

No more of you?

….

The 1870s and 80s were the end of big gold strikes in Cariboo. And while gold rush material culture and social culture lived on, the music faded.

Some dance tunes from the saloons and hurdy houses were still being played by second generation Cariboo musicians at places like the Clinton Ball in the 1920s and 30s, but, no one was singing the songs of Anderson, Gibbs, Lawrence or Chips.

However, on the stage of the Theatre Royal in Barkerville you will still hear them. In some sense, however, we like to think that those old songs and tunes are reflected in the music we hear today in Cariboo pubs and living rooms, from the loggers, ranchers and cowboys who still make their own music. In them we hear the echo of gold rush voices.

The old music of the Cariboo gold rush exists on paper and in a few modern recordings, but as live music it has faded into the past.

This music and its cultural messages, its stories, like all traditional music, needs to be recognized, revived, and recorded. They are our cultural gems and an important part of cultural tourism.

Fortunately Newman & Wright Theatre Company are able to keep this segment of our story alive on the Theatre Royal stage in gold rush Barkerville, British Columbia, where travelers interested in the music of cultural tourism can still hear these wonderful old songs.

This is the second of two papers delivered by Richard Wright and Amy Newman at: On the Surface: The Heritage of Mines and Mining at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, in April 2011. It will be published in the proceedings of the conference. Attendance at the conference brought Barkerville and the Cariboo gold rush to the attention of a world wide audience and opened many doors for research and presentations for Newman and Wright Theatre Co.

[i] Collected by Philip J. Thomas

[ii] Clapperton, John, "Jottings from our First 7 Years in British Columbia." BCARS ECC53.3. May 13^th 1864

[iii] Miller, Darlis A., Captain Jack Crawford , University of New Mexico Press, 1993.

Also, Moses diaries, BCARS and BVHP

Copywrite 2011 Richard T. Wright

Cultural Tourism at Theatre Royal, Barkerville

2011-05-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

Richard Wright and Amy Newman presenting papers at "On The Surface: The Heritage of Mines and Mining" at the University of Innsbruck, Austria.

In gold rush towns around the world theatre was a social necessity, not a luxury. Miners working in dark, damp, dangerous shafts and drifts wanted, demanded and needed to be diverted. Gold extraction had just begun when theatre troupes and entertainers arrived on the creeks, and theatres and opera houses were soon being thrown up..

The gold rushes of the mid 1800s, from Georgia to California, Oregon and Montana in the US, to New Zealand and Australia and then the various rushes in British Columbia, resulted in not only a wealth of mining knowledge but also a gold rush society. Men from California imported their skills to BC, Cornish miners brought the Roman water wheel to California and BC and women from Australia and England set up saloons in BC. Over and over we find that many of these folks knew each other from previous rushes and formed a cohesive society.

These prospectors and seekers of wealth were pioneers, but they should not be confused with those who came to settle. They came to rip the earth apart, strip the wealth and head home to build a business or a farm.

Yet we find that the two buildings that were among the first to go up in gold rush town were a church and a theatre. Miners needed entertainment

Barkerville went through three development phases. The first was the pre-Cariboo road phase from 1860 to 1865, when transportation was by foot, with goods brought in by horses, mules and camels. Then in response to petitions and lobbying the colonial government agreed that a road was needed, a road to access the sudden and immense Cariboo wealth.

The road, engineered by a detachment of England’s Royal Engineers, took several years to build, but the route began a new phase of Cariboo development, one when travel was easier, with wagons and stagecoaches. Life was easier and richer. Barkerville’s Cariboo Amature Dramatic Association formed in 1865, three years after gold was first discovered on the creek, when a few folks got together in the Parlour Saloon to produce and perform musical variety shows and farces in the Parlour Saloon.

Then came the so-called great fire of 1868. On September 18, Barkerville burned to the ground in a matter of a couple of hours. But enough townsfolk wanted to stay that within hours rebuilding began.

A theatre rose from the ashes. They could have called it the Phoenix, like Florence Wilson’s saloon next door. The CADA decided that as the Parlour Saloon was gone it was time to build a real theatre. The problem was there was no money. Coincidently, with great 20/20 hindsight, the town decided to expand their fire department. Edward Howman, a civil engineer from England, came up with a plan – a single building to house the fire department and the theatre. The Fire Brigade on the ground floor, and the theatre on the second floor - an example of frontier ingenuity and within just a few months the edifice was opened.

The Theatre Royal, 1930s. Richard Wright Collection

The participants and the audience came from around the world. But CADA maintained its roots as an English theatre by dubbing it the Theatre Royal and closing each show with God Save the Queen. In England the name Theatre Royal meant the theatre held a patent from the king or queen, but no patent for the Barkerville Theatre Royal has been found.

The theatre presented a mixed bag of productions, from local songs and poems to popular ballads and music hall songs, melodramas and farces. Performances were held weekly, and in times of need it served as a community hall, an inquest court, a ballroom and a morgue.

This went well for several years. Unfortunately Williams Creek had formerly meandered from side to side in the valley where Barkerville was built. The creek rose higher than the main street as mine tailings were sluiced downstream and did not respect the miner’s dams and bulkheads. Periodically the dams would be breached and a slurry of gravel would turn the main street into a sluice trough. Each time the street and the creek rose higher and buildings had to be jacked up on stilts to escape the rising infill. This was not done at the theatre and after one particularly bad flood the bottom floor of the dual-purpose building was buried. The town’s population was waning and resources were few so the solution was to cut all the way around the building and jack it up. The second floor became the first, yet somehow the two organizations continued to share quarters.

By 1934 the building was collapsing and condemned. It was torn down and rebuilt as a community hall in 1937.

In 1958 the town of Barkerville was declared a provincial historic park and work began to restore the town to the specific year 1870. That meant moving, and in some cases radically altering, buildings historic to the period after 1870. That philosophy has since changed, but as part of this focus the community hall was re-purposed and re-constructed with a new façade designed to represent the 1870s Theatre Royal.

The re-created Theatre Royal has now, in 2011, been producing shows longer than the original - 50 years compared with 15 or so. The new Theatre Royal is writing a new history. Newman & Wright are the 6^th theatre company to operate in the theatre since it re-opened as a historic site in 1962.

The Theatre Royal, winter 2011. Richard Wright photo.

The historic Theatre Royal brought the culture of homeland to the remote gold fields. Theatre, whether it is the recreation of historic variety shows or dramas telling gold rush stories, is an important way to illustrate and complete visitors appreciation and understanding of any mining site.

Barkerville’s Theatre Royal stage is an opportunity to interpret the artistic, dramatic side of goldrush culture, a culture that brought British Columbia into confederation with Canada, that opened up the interior of the province with trails and roads, and sternwheelers, a landscape and culture that draws people back and back, and won't let others go.

This post is an abstract of a paper given by Richard Wright and Amy Newman at “On the Surface: The Heritage of Mines Mining”, in Innsbruck, Austria, April 2011. The full papers will be published in the conference proceedings.

The conference outreach for Barkerville and Theatre Royal was funded mainly by Newman and Wright Theatre Company, with the welcome assistance of donations from the Barkerville Heritage Trust, Friends of Barkerville and The Bears Paw Cafe in Wells.

Theatre Royal, Barkerville Travels to Austria

2011-03-23T20:02:00.001-07:00

Newman and Wright Theatre Co., Theatre Royal Barkerville travel to Austria

Richard Wright and Amy Newman ready for a British Music Hall show at the

Theatre Royal, Barkerville in 2010.

News Release

For more information contact:

Richard Wright 250-994-3340

wright@theatreroyal.ca

or: Amy Newman 604-255-3465

aln@plankroad.ca

The Theatre Royal of Barkerville fame will be represented at a world conference on the heritage of mining at the University of Innsbruck, Austria in April.

Amy Newman and Richard Wright, Barkerville producers and playwrights, have been invited to present two papers at “On the Surface: the Heritage of Mines and Mining.” Their papers will focus on: “The Importance of Theatre as Cultural Tourism in the British Columbian Gold Rush of 1860,” and “The Rough But Honest Miners: Music in the Cariboo Goldfields, 1860-1881”.

The three-day conference will represent 30 countries, with close to 100 academics, mining site authors and researchers giving 100 papers. Newman and Wright are the only ones being offered two, rather than one, presentation slots, and only two of four speakers from Canada.
“We think that says more about the perceived importance of theatre, music and cultural tourism than it does about us,” says Wright.

“It is a unique opportunity to tell the story of the Theatre Royal and its impact on Barkerville gold rush society to a world audience. It is a reaffirmation that what we had here specifically in Cariboo and generally in British Columbia, has importance and an impact around the world.”

“As great as it is to be offered the chance to speak the second benefit is that we will have the chance to hear speakers with diverse mining topics”, says Amy Newman, from subjects like, “Industrial Colonies in Algeria, the urban history of the mining town of Beni-Saf,” to “Absolute heroes: ethnography of socialist Yugoslavia mining aristocracy”, and from “Interpreting Mining Heritage in National Parks” to “Reinterpreting Chinese Mining Heritage in Australia.” The latter is of particular interest to Wright as he has written a book on the Chinese in Canada, “In a Strange Land”, and has a history of his own as a street interpreter in Barkerville.

For Newman it is an opportunity to hear stories from Japan to Tanzania and see how they flesh out the social structure of mining and how these stories might enhance presentations on the stage of Theatre Royal.

“Imagine”, she says, “over 100 papers on the heritage of mining, and only two on music or theatre, and those are from our own Theatre Royal in Barkerville.”

“We are anxious to hear about some of our favorite sites, like Dawson City, Yukon; Virginia City, Montana, and Australia; and to hear how other sites are managing the economic down turn, a shift in cultural tourism and the transition from mining to heritage,” says Wright. “And, it will be a significant forum in which to promote and introduce the 1860s Cariboo Gold Rush, just a year before the 150^th anniversary of Billy Barker’s strike on Williams Creek.”

After half a lifetime of researching gold mining and its social life, for Wright, the greatest outcome beyond this will be the door-opening contacts and exchanges between attendees, the fieldtrip to visit an Austrian silver mine, a chance to chat with folks about Welsh coalmines and share dinner with a Japanese researcher, or for Newman to talk with a Scottish researcher about the legacy of Scotland’s coalfields.

“It will be an exciting few days,” says Newman, as she puts the final stitches on her new 1860s costume she is sewing for the presentation. “Fitting my petticoat into the suitcase will certainly be a challenge.”

Not ones to let an opportunity for research slide by, Newman and Wright will use the journey to drop in on Germany and the province of Hessen, to visit the hometowns of hurdy-gurdy dancers who were in Barkerville. Ongoing research has identified some surnames, birthplaces and hometowns. The research will enhance this season’s drama “Escape to Barkerville” which Newman is writing. It will also be an opportunity for Wright to complete a photography and writing assignment on a newly discovered Celtic site in Hessen, Germany for an archeological magazine.

The conference attendance is supported in part by the Barkerville Heritage Trust, The Friends of Barkerville and Newman & Wright Theatre Company. As a follow up, Newman and Wright will be presenting lectures this summer focused on what they learned at this conference on the heritage of mines and mining.

One of the examples of theatre affecting audiences was the discovery of a photo of Catherine Parker during the 2009 season, while Amy was portraying Mrs. Parker on the stage of the Theatre Royal.

Winter in Barkerville, Dawson City, Wells, Hong Kong and Austria

2011-02-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

Sun halo near Bowron Lake.

Photo c 2011 Richard Wright

Well, it's time for a little catch-up from our snowy home here in Wells near Barkerville and the Theatre Royal. This Cariboo winter seems to have raced by (though it is still not over) in a series of journeys.

The Tarahne, beached in Atlin B.C.

Photo c 2010 Richard Wright

In the fall Amy and I drove north through the gathering winter to visit Dawson City, a gold rush town of a later period, the 1890s. We drove up the Stewart Cassiar highway, a new route for Amy and a nostalgic one for me. Years ago when I was filming CBC TV Klahanie shows, I made several trips up here to produce films on Bighorn Sheep, Atlin and a couple of others. Photo assignments took me to Whitehorse. Then later I hung around the Haines, Haines Junction, Watson Lake and Whitehorse triangle while a whitewater guide on the Tatshenshini/Alsek and the Nahanni Rivers. Those were the days - summers on the rivers - living in shorts and T-shirt with oars in our hands. So, it was a step back in time for me.

The Palace Grand, Dawson City, Yukon

Photo c 2010 Richard Wright

The interior of the 600 seat Palace Grand in Dawson City

Photo c2010 Richard Wright

In Dawson City we were given a tour of the Palace Grand Theatre by the National Parks folks, shown around town and fed. What a theatre! It was built by Arizona Charlie Meadows in 1898, a cohort of Capt. Jack Crawford, who looked like Crawford, Wild Bill Hickok and Buffalo Bill Cody combined. Then over to Diamond Tooth Gertie's - a casino run by the Klondike Visitor's Association - which was reminiscent of our time at the Jack o' Clubs in Wells.

Amy, ready to move into an actor's apartment at the Palace Grand

Photo c2010 Richard Wright

We drove around the backcountry, visited museums, hiked to the Yukon River sternwheeler cemetery, thought about canoeing the Yukon and drove a couple of hours up the Dempster Highway. Fantastic county - raw, open, historic, natural. It would be great place to spend a few years exploring. And, of course, the history and people gave us ideas for about 10 great shows.

Before we knew it we were back in B.C. Amy flew to California for a family emergency and then had to get on with her Christmas Revelers caroling, and I needed to finish up our TR bookkeeping and start next year's planning. Wading through stacks of receipts it came as no surprise that the 2010 season in Barkerville and the Theatre Royal was down in numbers, yet again, for the fourth year, and that declining theatre revenues drove us deeply into debt.

Amy had a great caroling season. I went down to the coast for a couple of weeks in November for auditions and meetings. We sat in on the Capilano University theatre auditions for three evenings and saw some great talent. Then back to Wells for some writing time, including a two week "eyes-to-the-screen" proposal-writing stint with Danette Boucher and Amy.

With Matt Quick and Marcello Sequeira, N&W produced a show for Barkerville's Old Fashioned Christmas, "Christmas on Humbug Creek", written by Matt and Marcello. We had several sold out houses and enhanced the Christmas weekend.

Christmas and New Years was spent with family and friends in Vancouver and on Salt Spring Island - the usual great time. And then, for my Christmas gift from my son Richard, I was off to Hong Kong for three weeks to visit family and my new grandson, Richard Thomas Wright III.

Three Richard Thomas Wrights.

Richard, Rich and Tom.

Photo c2011 Richard Wright and Richard Wright Jr.

Hong Kong harbour sunset.

Photo c2011 Richard Wright

Hong Kong should be it's own blog - or several. For now suffice it to say that as any journey to other worlds can be, it was life changing. The highlight was spending time with my family. The greatest joy was holding my new grandson and spending time with my oldest son just wandering through cultural sights and haunting camera stores and shooting together. It has been a long time since we were able to do that. He had a plan and got me re-enthused about photography. Rich and I planned books and photographic expeditions together. I spent time with Olly at soccer games and with Annabelle wandering an off-shore island. Fi, my daughter-in-law, became my "fixer" - the person who assists a photographer with contacts, language and transportation. She is the consummate host.

Fi and family in the narrow streets outside her Uncle's home, where her father was born.

Photo c 2011 Richard Wright

Another cultural highlight was visiting Fi's ancestral village in Hong Kong where her uncle lives. It is nestled in a small valley north of Kowloon, surrounded by high-rise estates.

A view from the Junk Peak trail above Clear Water Bay.

Photo c2011 Richard Wright

Hong Kong showed me I still had a few treks left in me. I hiked 6-8 km a day, through streets and along ridge tops, for Hong Kong is far more than canyon-like, crowded city streets. The region is laced with miles of country park trails leading to back country vistas, old villages, temples and war ruins. The only downside is that Hong Kong and the Northern Territories are built on hilltops, so hiking means climbing stairs - many, many stairs. The Junk Peak hike, for instance, begins with 500 stone stairs.
Here it was clear why immigrants to BC came from Guangdong. Not only was their journey the result of a cultural shift but nearby Hong Kong was the main Pearl River delta port, an easy escape from famine and turmoil. Hundreds of ships sheltered here before heading to North America. It was a financial port that gave the British entry into a huge market, then as now.
It is a place I will return to soon to explore more completely.

Back in Wells the 20 feet of snow has to be removed, even by moonlight.

Photo c2011 Richard Wright

Today it is snowing light, large flakes, after a week of temperatures close to 30 below.
Amy hopes to drive up tomorrow. We will take a few days to travel over to Jasper for a wildlife photo shoot and then we will begin work on summer scripts and two papers, as we are off on another adventure.
We have been invited to present two papers on "Gold Rush Theatre as Cultural Tourism" at an international mining/tourism conference in Innsbruck, Austria in April. The conference is focused on "Mining as Cultural Tourism" and will welcome presenters from 30 countries. We are two of five from Canada. It will be an important conference where we hope to spread word of the Cariboo gold rush, Barkerville and Theatre Royal, make new contacts and learn how other sites approach interpretation, education and tourism. We are being supported in part by financial assistance from the Barkerville Heritage Trust, Friends of Barkerville, and Newman & Wright Theatre Company. (Additional donations would be gratefully accepted.)
While in Germany and Austria we will research villages, museums, archives and libraries on the "Broom girls of Hesse", the so-called Hurdy Gurdy girls who came to Barkerville, as several came from the Hesse region. We have some interviews set up with folks who willo assist with our continuing research, and the 2011 Theatre Royal book show about the women of Barkerville. This will continue the research we have done in England, Scotland, Wales, many U.S. sites, Canada and Hong Kong on the people of Barkerville. We will post more on this in the next few weeks.

At the same time I will be photographing and writing about a major new German archeological site for "Popular Archaeology." So, a busy two weeks.
Now, we are up to date. More on these events and our upcoming season will be posted in the next couple of weeks. Stay tuned.

Richard Wright

The Wells Community Hall on a cold afternoon.

Photo c2011 Richard Wright

Meadowbrook Cart Ride near Barkerville, B.C.

2010-10-31T10:24:00.000-07:00

Well, this is a little late in posting, but I finally had time to do some editing of a few video clips Amy took on her iPhone of our cart rides this season. (see link below)
We put on close to 100 km with the cart and Babe this summer. A great way to travel. They say you can ride until you're 70 and drive (a team that is) until you're 90, so I'm good for a while yet.

Grandson Ollie and I at Amy's apartment after a 20 km ride. Amy Newman photo.

Lunch time at the Cornish Mountain loop junction. Ollie's least favorite part was Babe's "gassing off", but he is a great companion and learned to ride in Dubai. Richard Wright photo.

We choose this Meadowbrook cart in part because we know this type was used in Barkerville in the early years, as evidenced by the photo below of Josiah and Laura Beedy. (Laura was a Lindhard, born in Denmark and Josiah an American. He was on Williams Creek by 1863 and they were married in Van Winkle in 1871.)

Josiah and Laura Beedy with one-horse cart and light driving harness. Note the large wheels.

One advantage of riding and driving is that wildlife pays less attention to us. This moose was on the Cornish Mountain loop, my favorite cart ride. Richard Wright photo.

The road to Roundtop from the Cariboo Hudson mine is one of the most difficult we have found, verging on impassable. The hills are steep and rough, but fortunately short. Once we hit alpine the road was fine and the views great. Richard Wright photo.

While the view is spectacular it was shrouded in smoke from the Chilcotin fires. Clouds of horseflies meant lunch was just a short break. Richard Wright photo.

Another ride took us up Sawmill Creek from Antler Creek, through two fords, to the pass into the Swift River at Littler's Meadow. The flies were so bad Babe could not stand still. Richard Wright photo.

The iPhone video would not load to this blog site for some unknown reason, so here is a direct link to the You Tube posting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7C-FE6e684

The vertical format of the iPhone is a little unusual, but it actually works well for the road and Babe. The hill is actually very steep which is why Babe is stepping so carefully. I walked her up but found I had more control by driving her down.

We have another list of routes to try next season - stay tuned.

Theatre Royal, Barkerville - an audience survey

2010-10-27T21:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Producer's Desk at Theatre Royal, Barkerville;

This blog seems a good way to reach a few more people and get more answers to questions to help us plot our direction for the next couple of years at the Theatre Royal, Barkerville, B.C.

Would you spare us a few minutes of your time? If you have been to a show in the last two years your response will be of value to us. As revenues at Barkerville fluctuate we need to find ways of reducing costs and increasing revenues while continuing to produce quality shows and responding to our audiences.

Our full cast on our last British Music Hall show which included Marcello Sequeira. Maya Meron, centre, also joined us in these shows.

How many shows did you attend?

Did you attend the 1 pm Gold Rush Revue variety show?

Did you attend the 4 pm drama (ie: Overlanders, Fire Storm, Unquiet Grave)?

Did you attend our weekend An Evening British Music Hall?

Did you attend The Bride of Barkerville at 11 pm?

Did you attend Just Another Cariboo Day, our Thursday show?

Which of these did you prefer, or were they equal in your mind?

Do you think we should continue to present our historical drama at 4 pm (ie Overlanders, Fire Storm, Unquiet Grave)?

The 2010 cast of "The Unquiet Grave". Matt Quick, Ben Bilodeau; Alison Jenkins, Robert Ahad, Amy Newman, Sayer Roberts, Richard Wright.

Should we continue to present our Variety show?

Would you prefer to see another light variety show instead of the more serious drama?

Were the times appropriate for your visit, ie: 1 pm and 4 pm and weekend evenings at 7pm.?

If not, what times would you suggest?

Amy Newman as Jessie Hamilton on "The Unquiet Grave" set, designed and built by Dave Brotsky.

Our adult price is $12.75 plus HST, with discounts for seniors, youth, children and family?

Do you feel this is:

Just right

Too high

Too low

Any other comments will be appreciated.

Thanks for responding to this. It will be of great help to us.
The easiest way to respond is to cut and paste, type in your answers and email to: wrighttheatreroyal.ca. (Remove the at and replace with @)

Richard & Amy

2010-09-24T09:50:00.001-07:00

Theatre Royal, Barkerville spring tour 2011

2010-09-14T11:01:00.000-07:00

Well, here we go again!
Despite a summer of declining revenues and in the face of a distinct lack of funding we have nevertheless decided to mount a 2011 Spring Tour. We all need the work and the theatre needs the promotion. The tour will need to be carefully managed for travel and budget but we feel we can pull it off. We decided to go ahead after a couple of venues where we have played before asked us to return. And, this fall is so much fun working with a great cast comprised of Amy, Robert, Marcello, Elliott, Matt and myself that we find it hard to put it all to bed. What a team!
Our dates are set for March but we have not decided on a route yet. Likely we will begin here in Wells, where we have cheap accommodation and rehearsal space. Our goal is go as far into the Peace country as we can. If you know anyone up there have them give us a shout.
Right now we are looking for venues and sponsors.
For now, here is our News Release. Stay tuned for more information and venue dates.

Gold Rush Nuggets tour

Theatre Royal, Barkerville –Spring Tour - March 2011

The popular Theatre Royal cast, under Newman and Wright Theatre Company from Barkerville Historic Town, is harnessing up and rolling through British Columbia on another provincial tour.

“Each year we tour the province to perform in over 20 venues for more than 5000 people. Again this year we are taking the road to the hinterlands,” says producer Richard Wright. “We will travel from our home base in Wells, B.C. north, east, south and west, from small, intimate venues to large theatres. Everywhere we perform we have good houses and leave them all with a smile. This tour is called ‘Gold Rush Nuggets’, a selection of some of the best material from seven years of shows, plus some new ones.”

The tour goal, he says, is to bring the music of the goldrush to folks around the province. Our secondary goal is to promote Barkerville as a tourist destination, to take a little of the Theatre Royal and Barkerville to BC communities.

“Our shows bring back a lot of memories for folks,” says musical director and partner Amy Newman. “They recall visits to Barkerville or remember the music we perform. A couple of years ago in Port Alberni we met a man who was celebrating his 88^th birthday. He was born in Barkerville in 1920 in the old Cariboo Hospital.”

“The most common comment from folks is that they have not laughed or sung so much in years,” adds Wright. “That’s a great accomplishment,” says Wright. “We all take pride in bringing a light entertaining moment to folks, particularly with the depressing news we hear on the nightly news.”

The show focuses on material actually sung on the stage of the Theatre Royal, Barkerville. The Theatre was built in 1869, right after the Great Fire of 1868, but before that time performances were held in the Parlour Saloon. The music includes tunes that were popular as B.C. was entering Confederation, songs that tell the story of Barkerville. It also moves into the later years of the Theatre with rollicking songs and humour associated with the great British Music Hall era. All of the performers are masters of this era and bring a great evening of entertainment, explains Newman.

“In historic terms one might say ‘The cast of the Newman & Wright Theatrical Troupe presents an array of magnificent musical numbers, engaging sketches, fantastical farces, romantic interludes and ostentatious olios. We bring you the best thespians and musicians that money can buy, direct from the music halls, theatres and grand stages of London, New York, San Francisco and Victoria,’” she says.

The tour is now being planned as dates and venues come in. Anyone interested can contact the company through Richard Wright.

-30-

Barkerville Street Bridges confirmed

2010-06-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Around the year 1883 a photographer set up his camera in Barkerville, in BC's Cariboo, at the corner of the Theatre Royal and took a photograph looking down the main street, north toward St. Savior's church. He, or she, may not have known it, but they recorded for history the only known photo of an elusive Barkerville street bridge.

Not much is known about the two bridges that are said to have crossed the street. In my first book on Barkerville I wrote that near the Mason and Daly Store, "one of two street bridges crossed here so that better-dressed businessmen and ladies would not have to walk through the mud, water and manure of the busy street. Will Bowron (son of John Bowron) recalled watching the frequent horse races from their vantage point."

This did not change in subsequent editions as no further information was found, other than a photograph of Andrew Kelly standing in front of his store with some strange posts attached to the board walk, remnants we now know, from a bridge.

About a month ago a glass side such as used in the old "magic lantern" projectors appeared on an online auction. Two folks were bidding. It was clear even from the low rez online photo that this photo showed one of the the elusive bridge. I was fortunate enough to become the high bidder, at some cost, and the "winner."

The photo, shown here at low rez, shows the old Hudson Bay store on the left, then several buildings and the clearly identifiable Masonic Lodge, and further down the street St. Savior's church. On the extreme right corner is the corner of the Barkerville Hotel porch and boardwalk. The height of the flag poles is remarkable.

There is lots to be learned from this photo, after a high rez scan is made and studied; such as who the men on the boardwalk are and what buildings we are seeing. But what is clear is that the boardwalks in Barkerville were at this time much higher than we normally think. At the HBC they are a good 10 feet off the ground. The bridge is higher yet, and it begs the question, "could stagecoaches go under." The answer is yes, based on the measurement of the current stage being worked in Barkeville, with passengers. However, we might also ask whether stagecoaches used the main street and if so why are there no photos of stagecoaches in Barkerville? Perhaps they only used the back street.

The provenance of the photo is unfortunately lost. The UK collector I purchased from bought it as one of a group of 3400 glass slides in an estate sale in middle England. It appears there are no others of Barkerville in the collection. How did this slide get in the collection? Likely we will never know.

Nevertheless, it is an interesting and exciting window to our town and it is now back in Cariboo.