THE LAST DONNELLY STANDING at the Blyth Festival

The final show of Blyth Festival's 42nd season - The Last Donnelly Standing - begins August 4 and plays until September 2 in Blyth's Memorial Hall. Conceived and created by Paul Thompson, Gil Garratt, and Beth Kates, directed by Thompson and starring Garratt, The Last Donnelly Standing is the ultimate fiery epilogue to the bloody Biddulph Feud. Reserve your seats by calling the Box Office at 519.523.9300, Toll Free1.877.862.5984 or online at blythfestival.com.

Of the seven Donnelly brothers, only one was ever sentenced to hard time in prison; only one was ever convicted of "assault with intent to kill and murder" (on a duly deputized police officer no less); only one returned to the charred foundations on the infamous Roman Line to drive his hammer against fresh timbers and rebuild from the ashes: Robert Donnelly.

A successful businessman in tumultuous times, known equally for his quick temper as his elegant fashion sense, Robert's family name may have made him an object of scorn in the community, but his own fiery nature solidified his reputation.

When the rest of the family had moved away after the fateful murders of 1880, Robert refused, and instead took up residence in a house on Lucan's main street, pacing his porch as the murderers among them walked those very roads. The Last Donnelly Standing details the rise and fall of a defiant young man, who stood in the face of history, and dared to burn it all down with a smile.

Playwright and director Paul Thompson, O.C. first encountered the Blyth audience when he brought The Farm Show on tour in the spring of 1973. He has co-created numerous original plays at Blyth since, including He Won't Come in From the Barn, Barndance Live, Death of the Hired Man, and The Outdoor Donnellys. He ran Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille from 1970 to 1982, created original plays in eight of our ten provinces and four continents, and partnered in two recent creations at the Stratford Festival.

Portraying Robert Donnelly and also co-playwright is Gil Garratt. Garratt has been involved with the Blyth Festival since 1999, including 16 seasons as an actor, director, co-creator, and the director of the Young Company. Notable past shows with Blyth include Death and the Hired Man, The Drawer Boy, The Outdoor Donnellys, Against the Grain, Vimy, The Nuttalls, and Early August as a performer; Our Beautiful Sons: Remembering Matthew Dinning, Mary's Wedding, Spirit of the Narrows, World Without Shadows, and Another Season's Harvest as director; and as the playwright of 2014's St. Anne's Reel. This is Garratt's second season as Blyth Festival's Artistic Director.

Beth Kates (Seeds, If Truth be Told) is the co-creator of The Last Donnelly Standing designing the set, lighting, projections, and costumes and Lyon Smith (Mary's Wedding) is the Sound Designer. ChantAl Hayman is the stage manager and Neha Ross is the assistant stage manager.

Blyth Festival acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, the 2015-2017 Season Sponsor Parkland Fuels/Sparlings Propane and Season Media Sponsor CTV.

The Last Donnelly Standing is generously sponsored by Ideal Supply (Production Sponsor) and104.9 The Beach (Media Sponsor).

The Blyth Festival is a professional theatre that enriches the lives of its audience by producing and developing plays that give voice to both the region and the country. The theatre produces a repertory summer season of exclusively Canadian theatre, with an emphasis on new work. Blyth Centre for the Arts, including the Blyth Festival, was founded in 1975.

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