4th Line Theatre Announces Casting For the 2026 Summer Season

4th Line Theatre has announced the casting for its 34th season this summer.

Wild Irish Geese. photo courtesy of 4th line theatre.

This season will feature two plays from the theatre’s canon of work: Leanna Brodie’s Schoolhouse, directed and choreographed by Monica Dottor, and Megan Murphy’s Wild Irish Geese, directed by Managing Artistic Director Kim Blackwell.

Schoolhouse will feature Alex Pearce, who is making her 4th Line Theatre debut in the role of Miss. Linton. Others that are making their debut to the 4th Line stage include Alexei DeLuca and Rainbow Kester. Returning to 4th Line for the production are Robert Winslow, Mark Hiscox, Darragh O'Connell, Padrick Wilson, Jasper Chesser and Indigo Chesser. The cast will feature 28 professional and volunteer actors/musicians.

Megan Murphy will lead the cast of her play Wild Irish Geese in the role of the Seanchaí, a Gaelic word for a traditional storyteller. Returning to the 4th Line stage in Wild Irish Geese are M. John Kennedy as Peter Robinson, Patti Shaughnessy, who also worked on the play as Indigenous Story Consultant, Matt Gilbert, Mark Hiscox, Sebastian Sage, Mikayla Stoodley, Lindsay Wilson, Paul Crough, Stew Granger, Nancy Towns and musician Fiddlin’ Jay (Jason Edmunds). Making his 4th Line debut is Isaac Harrop in the role of Sean Sullivan. Crough, Murphy, Shaughnessy, Towns and Kennedy are all descendants of Peter Robinson emigrants. The cast will feature 29 professional and volunteer actors/musicians.

"I am thrilled to welcome an extraordinary group of artists to our 2026 season,” says Blackwell. “This year’s company brings together a vibrant blend of returning favourites and compelling new voices, each contributing their own distinct perspective, talent and energy. I cannot wait for audiences to experience the power, imagination and magic they will bring to life on our stage this summer."

schoolhouse. photo courtesy of 4th line theatre.

Set in 1938 in rural Ontario, Schoolhouse unfolds within S.S. #1 Jericho, a one-room school just outside the fictional village of Baker’s Creek. When 18-year-old Melita Linton, newly graduated from Normal School, takes on her first teaching position, she encounters a lively group of students and a community rooted in tradition. Her resolve is tested by the arrival of Ewart, a withdrawn youth recently released from a reform school and sent to work on a local farm. As Miss. Linton strives to reach him, she uncovers the deep bonds and quiet fears of small-town life. Rich with humour and humanity, Schoolhouse beautifully evokes a vanished era in Canadian rural history.

Schoolhouse will run from June 30 to July 25.

Wild Irish Geese is the story of Irish settlers and their journey to the Peterborough region. Peter Robinson was the architect of an 1820s emigration plan which saw hundreds of Irish families come to Canada to escape the brutal poverty which they were facing in Ireland. Eventually over 2,000 impoverished Irish settled in Scotts Plains, later renamed Peterborough and began their lives anew. These new Canadians planted deep roots in the Peterborough area and have thousands of descendants both locally and across the globe.

Wild Irish Geese will run from August 4 to 29.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call the box office, or toll-free, visit the website, email or visit the Box Office & Administrative Centre (9 Tupper Street, Millbrook)

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4th Line Theatre Presents Artist Talk Series Wth Patti Shaughnessy and Megan Murphy

4th Line Theatre’s spring Artist Talk series returns on April 18 and 30 featuring conversations with Patti Shaughnessy and Megan Murphy.

Patti Shaughnessy. photo courtesy of 4th line theatre.

The 2026 summer season will feature the remount of Megan Murphy’s Wild Irish Geese, which had its world premiere at the outdoor theatre in 2025. Shaughnessy provided her guidance in the development of the script as an Indigenous Story Consultant and performs in the show in multiple roles. Directed and dramatuged by Kim Blackwell, the show returns after its sell-out run in August 2025.

On April 18 attendees can learn about Shaughnessy’s career and journey through Wild Irish Geese. This free event will take place at the Peterborough Museum & Archives at 2 p.m.

Megan murphy. photo courtesy of 4th line theatre.

On April 30, Blackwell will sit down with playwright and actor Megan Murphy to discuss Murphy’s career and experience writing and performing Wild Irish Geese. The play tells the story of impoverished Catholic Irish settlers who came to the Peterborough region in the early 19th century under an emigration plan overseen by Peter Robinson, a politician in Upper Canada who represented the riding of York and Simcoe. Around 2,500 settlers, mostly from County Cork in Ireland, settled in Lanark County, Carleton County (today Ottawa), and Scott’s Plains; later renamed Peterborough.

This free event will take place at the Millbrook & District Lion’s Community Centre on April 30 at 7 p.m.

Both Shaughnessy and Murphy are direct descendants of Peter Robinson emigrants.

Seating is limited for both events. To reserve seats, call 4th Line Theatre’s Box Office or contact via email.

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4th Line Theatre’s Box Office Opens Feb. 9 For Summer Season Ticket Purchases

The 4th Line Theatre box office will open to the public Feb. 9 to purchase play tickets for the theatre’s 2026 Summer Season.

wild irish geese returns to the 4th line stage after its sold-out 2025 premiere. photo courtesy of 4th line theatre.

Tickets, gift certificates and charcuterie snack boxes can be purchased by phone, toll-free, online and at 4th Line Theatre’s Box Office (9 Tupper Street, Millbrook.)

Schoolhouse

Set in 1938 in rural Ontario, Schoolhouse unfolds within S.S. #1 Jericho, a one-room school just outside the fictional village of Baker’s Creek. When 18-year-old Melita Linton takes on her first teaching position, she encounters a lively group of students and a community rooted in tradition.

Her resolve is tested by the arrival of Ewart, a withdrawn youth recently released from a reform school and sent to work on a local farm. As Miss. Linton strives to reach him, she uncovers the deep bonds and quiet fears of small-town life. Rich with humour and humanity, Schoolhouse beautifully evokes a vanished era in Canadian rural history.

Wild Irish Geese

Back by popular demand after its sold-out 2025 premiere, Wild Irish Geese returns to the 4th Line stage with a powerful story of migration and starting over. In the 1820’s, Peter Robinson led an emigration scheme that brought hundreds of Irish families to Canada as they fled famine and poverty. More than 2,000 arrived in Scotts Plains (later known as Peterborough) and began their lives anew. Wild Irish Geese reflects on the courage, displacement and enduring spirit of those who journeyed far to survive.

Through hardship and hope, these new Canadians forged a fragile beginning in a complex colonial landscape. Planting deep roots in the Peterborough area, these Irish emigrants now have tens of thousands of descendants both locally and across the globe.

“As we look ahead to our 34th season, we are excited to bring back two amazing plays from the theatre’s canon of work,” says Managing Artistic Director Kim Blackwell. “Both productions explore resilience, hope and the universal search for home.”

Visit the website to learn more.

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4th Line Theatre Breaks Ground With Maja Ardal’s The Legend of Pearl Hart

4th Line Theatre announces its 19th annual Breaking Ground event on Jan. 31 at Catherine Parr Traill College’s Bagnani Hall, with excerpts from Maja Ardal’s The Legend of Pearl Hart.

file photo.

Born in Lindsay, Ontario in 1871, Pearl Hart was the first woman tried and convicted of stagecoach robbery in the U.S. Pearl’s journey takes her from small town Ontario through Chicago’s World’s Fair, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows and rough mining frontiers of Arizona. Her trial, imprisonment and escapades while disguised as a boy made her a notorious celebrity of the times.

Breaking Ground is part of 4th Line Theatre’s New Play Development program, designed to support, nurture and encourage the creation of environmentally-staged historical plays

“Public readings are an important part of the creation of plays,” says Kim Blackwell, 4th Line’s Managing Artistic Director. “This forum gives the writer the opportunity to figure out what resonates with audiences. The audience’s feedback during the discussion afterward may be the most valuable aspect of Breaking Ground.”

Kim Blackwell will dramaturge the reading, directed by Anita La Selva, which will feature performers: Robert Winslow, Amy Keating, Colin A. Doyle, Lindsay Wilson, Ryan Tobin and Celine Gadoury.

The free event will take place at Bagnani Hall on Jan. 31 at 2 p.m. To reserve a seat call or email 4th Line Theatre’s Box Office.

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4th Line Theatre Production 'The Cavan Blazers' Looking For Antique Items

4th Line Theatre is looking for several items to use in the upcoming production of ‘The Cavan Blazers,’ set in 1854. 

photo courtesy of 4th line theatre.

Those who are interested in lending or donating any of the following items or have any questions, contact the theatre via email.

• Rosaries

• Fabric - 4 yards+ pieces of quilting cotton or cotton/polyester mixes

• Wine skin

• Camouflage/green khaki military-style clothing and accessories

• Carpet bag

• Leather pouches, belts and accessories & knitted scarves/shawls

• Horse whip

• 3 medium size whiskey jugs (10-12" tall)

• Antique-style lantern

• 2 Antique-style adzes

• Cast Iron Pot with handle

• Antique-style garden hoe

This drama chronicles the religious conflict between Catholic and Protestant Irish settlers in Cavan Township in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Violence erupts when a Protestant vigilante gang known as the Cavan Blazers tries to stop a Catholic settlement from being established.

This production will run from August 1 to 26 and tickets for the 2023 season can be purchased at the Box Office (9 Tupper St., Millbrook) or online.

For more information on donating or lending items, visit the website.

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‘The Cavan Blazers’ Is Back By Popular Demand at 4th Line Theatre This August

4th Line Theatre is presenting a remount of its flagship play ‘The Cavan Blazers’ by Robert Winslow, coming back by popular demand this August for the theatre’s 31st summer season.

photo courtesy of 4th line theatre.

The Cavan Blazers was the first play produced by the newly-formed 4th Line Theatre in 1992. Its epic scale, including a cast of 44 actors, horses, chickens, fire and fights, established the theatre’s long-time aesthetic of presenting epic theatre on the outdoor stages at the Winslow Farm in Millbrook, Ontario.

The play explores the settler experience and what happens when the old hurts and angers from the homeland are brought over to a new country. The Cavan Blazers chronicles the religious conflict between the Catholic and Protestant Irish settlers in Cavan Township in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Violence erupts when a Protestant vigilante gang known as the Cavan Blazers tries to stop a Catholic Settlement from being established. This gritty and intense play will have the audience on the edge of their seats from start to finish.

“The story inside The Cavan Blazers is one as old as time and as modern as the recent conflicts in Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Ukraine. It is a cautionary story of what can happen when people become entrenched in a way of thinking and are then unable to free themselves from that thinking,” said 4th Line’s managing artistic director Kim Blackwell.

Returning to the 4th Line stage in The Cavan Blazers are JD “Jack” Nicholsen as Patrick Maguire, Colin A. Doyle as Dane Swain, Thomas Fournier as Charles McCarty, Matt Gilbert as Father Phelan, Justin Hiscox as Elijah Coe, Mark Hiscox as Thomas Rutherford, Ken Houston as a horse rider and King William of Orange, Robert Morrison as William Grandy, Kelsey Powell as William Armstrong and Julia Scaringi as Martha Cooney. 4th Line Founder, playwright and actor Robert Winslow will portray Justice John Knowlsen. The Cavan Blazers will feature actress Katherine Cullen as Ann Maguire, and musician Jason Edmunds, making their 4th Line debuts this August.

Community volunteer actors include: Indigo Chesser, Jasper Chesser, Michelle Chesser, Logan Coombes, Lily Cullen, Peter Dolinski, Michael Field, Andria Fisher, Cadence Fisher, Eli Fisher, Linda Gendron, Sierra Gibb-Khan, Cody Inglis, Josh Lambert, Adrianna Malloy, Deirbhile MacQuarrie, Caoimhe MacQuarrie, Riordan MacQuarrie, Saoirse MacQuarrie, Siobhán MacQuarrie, Ayla McCracken-Reed, Venessa McCracken, Ian McGarrett, Brogan McKellar, Darragh O'Connell, Zach Newnham, Zack Radford, Mikayla Stoodley, Phil Stott and Evan Tsimidis.

The creative team includes Set Designer Kim Blackwell, Fight Director Edward Belanger, Costume Designer Korin Cormier, Musical Director Justin Hiscox, Choreographer Rachel Bemrose, Sound Designer Esther Vincent, Directing Intern Shelley Simester and Assistant to the Director Sierra Gibb-Kahn. The stage management team includes Emily Brown and Gailey Monner.

4th Line Theatre Presents Community Reminiscence of The Ontario Farmerettes

4th Line Theatre’s managing artistic director Kim Blackwell invites members of the community to join her and playwright Alison Lawrence to share stories and memories of the history of the Ontario Farmerettes.

The Ontario Farmerettes. Photo courtesy of 4th line theatre.

This gathering will aid in the development of Lawrence’s play Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz, based on Bonnie Sitter and Shirleyan English’s book Onion Skins and Peach Fuzz: Memories of Ontario Farmerettes.

During the Second World War when farms were short of labourers, thousands of young women kept Ontario farms afloat and the people of Ontario fed while the young men were overseas fighting. The young women, known as Farmerettes, planted, hoed, hand-weeded and harvested fruit and vegetable crops for long hours. It was part of a provincial program to replace male labour in the agricultural sector. The Farmerettes came from all across the province, most with no previous farming experience.

This public reminiscence will take place on April 15 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Kitchener Public Library (meeting room D/E, at 85 Queen Street N.) The Kitchener Public Library is fully accessible, and registration is not required for this free in-person event.

The reminiscence will take place in Kitchener as many of the Farmerettes who are still alive live in western Ontario.

“Reminiscences give us first-hand accounts of the history we are researching and are an essential part of developing our plays. Without this, our productions would not have the authenticity and realism our patrons have come to expect.”

Past productions developed through reminiscences include Ian McLachlan and Robert Winslow’s Doctor Barnardo’s Children, Leanna Brodie’s Schoolhouse and Maja Ardal’s The Hero of Hunter Street.

For those who cannot attend in person and would like to join virtually, visit the link to register. Those who register will receive an email prior to the event with a link to the meeting via Zoom.

Questions, concerns or technical assistance requests can be directed to admin@4thlinetheatre.on.ca

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4th Line Theatre to Fund Local Playwrights Through Ontario Arts Council Grants

4th Line Theatre is recommending playwrights to receive between $1,000 and $3,000 in funding for future works through the Ontario Arts Council’s (OAC) Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators program announced Monday.

Photo courtesy of 4th Line Theatre, Facebook.

4th Line Theatre is administering the grants with the goal of supporting as many worthy playwriting projects as possible. The outdoor theatre company is also looking for projects that align with its artistic mandate: to preserve Canadian cultural heritage through the development and presentation of regionally-based, environmentally-staged historical dramas, with special consideration for culturally diverse artists/collectives and artists living with disabilities.

Ontario-based professional theatre artists and artists’ collectives are eligible to apply from now until Jan. 13 at 1 p.m.

Funding decisions are based on the artistic interest of the project, the quality of the artistic examples given and the impact of the program on the artist’s development.

A positive funding decision will then be forwarded to the OAC for final recommendation and grant amounts will be determined by the number of approved applicants and the funds available.

“I understand the financial challenges faced by playwrights and the OAC’s Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators is vital to supporting their writing projects,” says Kim Blackwell, 4th Line Theatre managing artistic director.

Application forms can be found on the OAC website and applicants will have to create a NOVA account and follow the instructions for submission. The applications will be reviewed by Blackwell.

If those interested have any questions about the process, contact 4th Line Theatre’s administration at submissions@4thlinetheatre.on.ca or by phone at 705-932-4506.

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4th Line Theatre Announces 2023 Summer Season Lineup

The 4th Line Theatre has announced their 2023 Summer Season lineup starting June 27, 2023.

The Cavan Blazers, 2011. Photo by Wayne Eardley, Brookside Studio.

The season will begin with The Tilco Strike, written by D’Arcy Jenish and directed by Cynthia Ashperger, who returns after directing the 2022 production of The Great Shadow.

The Tilco Strike recounts the year-long fight between 50 poorly paid women, and their hard-nosed male bosses at Tilco Plastics in Peterborough, who were determined to crush the women and their union. The strike began in December 1965 over a $25 bonus and escalated into an epic battle between organized labour and strike-breaking employers. The women lost their fight, but changed labour relations in Ontario forever.

In August, 4th Line will remount the theatre’s flagship play, Robert Winslow’s The Cavan Blazers.

The Cavan Blazers is a gritty, intense play that has the audience on the edge of its seat from start to finish. This drama chronicles the religious conflict between Catholic and Protestant Irish settlers in Cavan Township in the early to mid-nineteenth century. Violence erupts when a Protestant vigilante gang known as the Cavan Blazers tries to stop a Catholic settlement from being established.

Kim Blackwell, managing artistic director at 4th Line Theatre was thrilled to announce this lineup for the theatre’s 31st summer season. She is also directing the theatre’s production of The Cavan Blazers.

“I am excited to present one world premiere and to bring back the play that started it all at the theatre,” says Blackwell. “Both plays look at community and what it means to be part of a community, both the good and the bad of that. This eternal search to find a collective of like-minded people, is one of the complex aspects of the human condition.”

4th Line Theatre box office will open to the public to purchase gift certificates for the 2023 Summer Season as of Nov. 1. Gift certificates for single tickets, season subscriptions and charcuterie snack boxes can be purchased in-person at the box office at 9 Tupper Street in Millbrook or online at 4thlinetheatre.on.ca.

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4th Line Theatre Celebrates 30th Anniversary With New Show And New Administrative building

4th Line Theatre is kicking off their 30th anniversary with ‘The Great Shadow’ running until July 23, and has just purchased a new administrative building.

Photo from The Great Shadow, a show set in the 1920’s. Photo by Wayne Eardley - Brookside Studio.

After years at the 4 Tupper Street location, 4th Line Theatre will begin a new chapter at 9 Tupper Street, which the company purchased in May 2022. The company will move its box office and administration centre to the new building later this year.

“After two slightly furloughed years, we are back in a big way,” said Managing Artistic Director Kim Blackwell. “We have wanted our own administrative building for several years now. And with the acquisition of 9 Tupper, our administration will be centred in the Village of Millbrook for many years to come.”

The theatre will continue to operate at the Winslow Farm.

Until further notice, tickets, gift certificates and picnics for 4th Line Theatre productions can still be purchased 4th Line Theatre’s Box Office at 4 Tupper Street or by phone (705-932-4445), online at 4thlinetheatre.on.ca.

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