Local theatres prepare holiday productions after a year off
Local actors are preparing their holiday productions at the Highland Arts Theatre in Sydney, N.S. after the pandemic forced actors off the stage for more than a year.
"After last year's hiatus, we're so excited to be back with all of our usual holiday goodies and that includes our annual fundraising production, Charles Dickens, The Christmas Carol," says Welsey Colford, with the Highlands Arts Theatre.
The productions involves several shows that will take place from Dec. 7 to 12, featuring 40 local actors.
"For a lot of our performers this is their sixth or seventh year they'll be a part of our production, so taking the year off last year was so strange. We have families who celebrated their anniversary every year as part of the production," says Colford.
Colford says the theatre is the perfect place to spend the holidays.
"For so many of us, our holidays were much more isolated, much more lonely, and I mean especially Christmas coming to the theatre is exactly the opposite of those things," says Colford.
Glace Bay's Savoy Theatre in Glace Bay, N.S. will also return and production crews say most holiday shows are already almost sold out.
"What we would normally have as an advertising budget, at this point, we will only spend about 10 per cent of that this year because we actually don't have to. Which is a good problem to have considering we've been closed for two years," says Pam Leader, the production’s executive director.
Well known entertainers like Jimmy Rankin, The Barra MacNeil's, Matt Andersen and others will take to the stage in Glace Bay.
Leader says the demand has never been higher.
"We have more shows than we would normally have in December, but they're all selling out, so people are happy to get back to somewhat normal," says Leader.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
NEW Iconic Canadian song turns 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Nigeria to champion the Invictus Games and meet with wounded soldiers
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion the Invictus Games, which he founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans, among them Nigerian soldiers fighting a 14-year war against Islamic extremists.
Countries struggle to draft 'pandemic treaty' to avoid mistakes made during COVID
After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.