Theatre Antigonish

I have long been a fan of our local community theatre, Theatre Antigonish, and it's professional companion, Festival Antigonish Summer Theatre. Both organizations produce vibrant, surprising, high-quality theatre. Theatre Antigonish draws stage performers from the student body, faculty and staff at StFX, and the larger community, to mount a wide variety of productions under the direction of a talented Artistic Director, Andrea Boyd. The productions feature imaginative staging with effective use of light and sound and sometimes quite remarkable special effects.

Other volunteers help backstage with props, costumes, stage management and ushering. I am repeatedly and delightfully surprised at the quality of the resulting performances. Festival Antigonish, a long-standing offshoot of Theatre Antigonish, brings professional, repertoire theatre to the town and county in the summertime.

All this magic comes to life inside the Bauer Theatre (above), which is not a building much remembered for its architectural whimsy (although this could be largely corrected by adding a few gargoyles. Just saying). The auditorium inside is small (capacity ~225), but the thrust stage and closeness of the seating creates an intimate and engaging interaction between the players and the audience.

 I would like to say that because of its small size and semi-circular design there are no bad seats in the Bauer, but that is not quite true. An awkwardly placed safety rail obscures the view from the front row of the balcony, and seeing a play from the top row at the edge of the wings is like watching drone footage. Yet wherever you are, the action on the stage is never far away.

Renewal and Transition

At the time of writing, February 2026, the Bauer Theatre is undergoing an extensive and expensive overhaul to bring it up to modern standards of fire safety. The work involves installing almost two dozen fire-proof doors, improving the sprinkler system, sealing gaps to impede fire and smoke, and upgrading the ventilation system so it quickly vents smoke out of the building. I hope there will be a few improvements to disabled access as well. These upgrades will make the old Bauer Theatre, which is in fact a repurposed gymnasium, a safe and suitable venue for another decade or so. Then it will be replaced by a hypothetical new theatre, for which planning has already begun. Below is an artist's conception of what the new performing arts centre might look like.

If you would like to donate to this costly but worthwhile cause (you do), you can do so here, through Canada Helps.

Writing for the Stage

I have tried my hand at writing a handful of short pieces, for one, two or three actors, which I have performed, usually with the help of friends, in the annual One-Act Play Festival at the Bauer Theatre. They have been generally well received, a testament to the gentleness of local theatre-goers. Unfortunately, the One-Act Play Festival was a victim of the Covid-19 pandemic, from which it never recovered. Scripts for those plays, along with some newer pieces, are included in the list of stories on the home page.

Bonding With the Bard. I am standing outside Shakespeare's birthplace, Statford-on-Avon, England, in 2005. Shakespeare is my hero.

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Last updated: February 2026