{"id":6784,"date":"2026-07-21T20:43:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T23:43:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/?p=6784"},"modified":"2026-07-21T21:25:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T00:25:34","slug":"becca-guilderson-hugh-ritchie-on-bringing-jane-henry-johnson-to-life-in-the-wind-coming-over-the-sea-five-weeks-of","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/?p=6784","title":{"rendered":"Becca Guilderson & Hugh Ritchie on Working Together to Make Their Come From Away Spring & Ross Creek Summer Come Together So Magically"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The following conversation contains some spoilers for The Wind Coming Over the Sea so please only proceed if that doesn\u2019t bother you or you\u2019ve already seen the show. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becca Guilderson and Hugh Ritchie play a young married couple Jane and Henry Johnson in Emma Donoghue\u2019s play The Wind Coming Over the Sea<\/em>,<\/a> now playing at Ross Creek Centre for the Arts<\/a> until August 15th. Jane and Henry are separated when Henry decides that he can make a better life for the family by emigrating from Ireland to Ontario during the widespread famine and sending for them once he has a homestead set up. Guilderson and Ritchie are a couple in real life, and they have been fortunate to work together quite a bit recently, including both being in the company of Neptune Theatre<\/a>\u2019s smash hit Come From Away<\/em>, which had five weeks of overlap with the rehearsals for the two plays they are doing in repertory with Two Planks and a Passion Theatre this summer. I caught up with the very busy couple via Zoom to chat with them about their experience inhabiting Gander and Antrim at the same time, working together on such an emotional piece, and how their own family stories have informed the way that they\u2019ve brought these characters to life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time Guilderson and Ritchie accepted their roles for a summer at Ross Creek they had nearly given up hope that they would be cast in Neptune Theatre\u2019s production of Come From Away<\/em>. \u201cIt was to the point where I think both of us thought there\u2019s no way we\u2019re going to book this show, and so we were like, \u2018Ken, we are definitely good.\u2019 And it was within one day of saying, ‘we\u2019re definitely good’ that I got an offer [for Come from Away<\/em>],\u201d says Guilderson. Then it became a matter of seeing whether she could manage both shows. She was already in conversation with Two Planks’ Artistic Director Ken Schwartz about the logistics of this when Ritchie got an offer to be a Standby in Come From Away<\/em> as well. Guilderson says that Schwartz figured if they were working out a way for her to be in both shows they could find a solution that worked for both of them. \u201cInitially there was only going to be one week of overlap,\u201d says Ritchie. But then Come From Away <\/em>was extended by four weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ken Schwartz was extremely accommodating. He changed the day off for the cast from the traditional Monday to Sunday so that Guilderson and Ritchie could be at Neptune for the matinee and the evening show, and then could come to Ross Creek during their day off from Come From Away<\/em> to rehearse. Schwartz also made sure that since they both had such prominent roles in The Wind Coming Over the Sea<\/em> they had smaller roles in The Monkey\u2019s Paw <\/em>so they would get a bit of a break during rehearsals for that show. Ritchie points out that this is, to a certain extent, how things typically work in a repertory ensemble- there is usually a sharing of principal roles between the two shows so all the actors have equal amounts of responsibility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a typical day Ritchie says they would drive up to Canning in the morning, rehearse, and then drive back to Halifax for Come From Away<\/em>. \u201cI can never sing Ken\u2019s praises enough,\u201d says Guilderson of the way he checked in with them to make sure they weren\u2019t extending themselves too much in a way that was unsustainable, and how he planned for the five weeks of overlap from the start because he knew how popular Come From Away<\/em> would be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe front loaded a lot of our Come From Away s<\/em>tuff so that\u2026 [it was] all in the bank, and we could start trying to learn our things early for the summer. That was helpful, but it still felt crazy being inside of it,\u201d says Guilderson. Ritchie says that it was, of course, easier for him as a standby because when it was clear that he wasn\u2019t going to be onstage for that performance he could go to his dressing room and work on his lines for the Two Planks shows. \u201cBut Becca, she had to do the show every single night, so there were lots of [instances] where during the car rides to and from that she would be drilling her lines, and I\u2019d be coaching her,\u201d he says. Guilderson wasn\u2019t just playing Bonnie in Come From Away<\/em> either, she was also understudying Julie Martell\u2019s role of Beverley Bass. \u201cOn Sundays between shows I would go up and I would run Julie\u2019s entire track on the deck. So, on Sunday I [couldn\u2019t] look at the Irish show because my brain [was] going to get so confused with the dialects.\u201d Beverley Bass has a very specific American accent, as she is based on a real pilot who landed in Gander on September 11th, 2001. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Becca Guilderson and Hugh Ritchie Open Come From Away Photo James Arthur MacLean<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we could have done it without each other,\u201d says Ritchie.\u201cHaving a partner to do all the drives with, and working on the same projects, and being able to run lines together-\u201d \u201c-and just being able to manage day to day house and activities, it was so much easier because there are two of us doing all the same things,\u201d adds Guilderson. They divided up the chores they would do, and the way they prepped their meals in many ways felt like being back in school.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guilderson and Ritchie weren\u2019t the only two cast members in Come From Away<\/em> who had overlapping projects. Martha Irving and Julie Martell<\/a> had one week of overlap between the musical and rehearsals for Frenchy\u2019s: The Thrift Musical<\/em>, which is onstage now at Ship\u2019s Company Theatre<\/a>. Allen Cole musical directed both the Ross Creek shows in rehearsal, but had to leave to musical direct Frenchy\u2019s<\/em>, so Guilderson took over as MD for The Monkey\u2019s Paw<\/em>, and Ian Sherwood, who was also in Come From Away<\/em>, took over for The Wind Coming Over the Sea<\/em>. \u201cEight of the fifteen of us, I think, had overlaps in Come From Away<\/em>,\u201d says Guilderson.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Ritchie and Guilderson point out what a luxury it was in the Come From Away<\/em> cast for there to be both understudies and three standbys because both have been in situations before where they have had to perform when they were extremely sick, putting others in their cast at risk, because there was no other option short of cancelling the performance. \u201cIt\u2019s not so much for yourself, it\u2019s to protect the people around you,\u201d says Ritchie, \u201c\u2026 you don\u2019t know if there\u2019s immunocompromised people that are around you, and how things spread, or who [others] are going home to. It\u2019s always the better choice to call out if you\u2019re ill, especially if there are systems in place to cover for you.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guilderson says that it could be disconcerting to understudy Julie Martell\u2019s role while she was rehearsing her own role of Bonnie in Come From Away<\/em> because they were usually near one another so the shift to Martell\u2019s physical space was often quite slight. \u201cI\u2019m almost where I should be standing, but it\u2019s slightly different. I\u2019m landing in a different place on the revolve. Now I have to put on a different vest, but from the same corner. You\u2019re trying to overwrite old information, but you\u2019re like, \u2018this is a whole different experience. I\u2019m a different body. I\u2019m a different person.’\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s always unique with musicals,\u201d adds Ritchie, \u201cbecause there\u2019s so many moving parts. You\u2019re cueing lighting, you\u2019re cueing the band, you\u2019re cueing your fellow actor on stage, and everything is timed to music as well, usually, so you really feel like a cog in a machine that you\u2019re like, \u2018I have to do exactly this, otherwise I\u2019m going to throw off people all over in every department.’\u201d He says that means that he\u2019s not coming in and doing his own interpretation of the role, in fact, he is trying to inhabit the actors he\u2019s covering as closely as possible. \u201cWe called him the skin suit, because he would try to become<\/em> [the other actors] and wear them like a skin,\u201d says Guilderson of the way she and others in the cast would tease him about not just his standby process, but his absolute proficiency at it. \u201cWe all laughed whenever he would do Ryan Rogerson\u2019s bits because [they] look nothing alike and, somehow, [Hugh] is the same. We\u2019re all confused.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The standbys in Come From Away<\/em> have a series of videos of the Neptune production that they watch for reference. Guilderson says that standby Jade Douris-O\u2019Hara, who covered Bonnie, would watch each new video she received looking specifically for tiny little changes that actors had made to their tracks. \u201cMartha found a way to help somebody get their coat, so she moves to a slightly different place so that this person can get through, all things that are so helpful, but [Jade] wouldn\u2019t know [without the video] because [she] isn\u2019t there all the time. It\u2019s amazing that you can go back and find those little details.\u201d The standbys also watch the show from the house quite a bit. \u201cYou get an idea of the space, and what the relationship is between the performers and the audience. [For example], \u2018oh, this section usually gets a laugh, so I should hold for a little bit before steamrolling to the next part.\u2019 Things like that aren\u2019t on the page, and even from video sometimes they don\u2019t translate,\u201d says Ritchie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the rehearsal process the standbys would sit and write notes as the principal cast, the director, and musical director are building the show. \u201cWe weren\u2019t contributing ideas, we were just writing down what people decided, and then the next day when they would review it, and they would change it, we\u2019d have to scratch out our notes, and write down the new thing,\u201d says Ritchie. Guilderson said that part was great for the principal cast. \u201cEveryone kind of had their own personal stage manager to a degree\u201d where she could check in with Douris-O\u2019Hara to check and make sure that the blocking that she had written down was correct. \u201cIt honestly built such a nice environment of being able to communicate with our understudies. I was like, \u2018this is amazing. I have an extra set of eyes on me when I\u2019m going rogue.\u2019\u201d Ritchie says that there\u2019s a certain demeanour that helps standby actors thrive in this environment. He only went on for one of the three tracks that he learned, and he says, \u201cYou don\u2019t get the same sort of release that you get from doing all the work and then finally doing the show for an audience\u2026 The learning and the honing of skills- that\u2019s the payoff.\u201d \u201cIf you don\u2019t go in, that\u2019s actually great because your job wasn\u2019t needed in that case, but you were prepared just in case,\u201d says Guilderson.\u201cYou\u2019re either ready to be helpful or you are<\/em> helpful, and both things are a success.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sophie Schade Becca Guilderson & Lily Falk. Tim Machin behind Hugh Ritchie Photo by Memo Calderon Photography <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onstage now at Ross Creek both Becca Guilderson and Hugh Ritchie have very prominent roles in Emma Donoghue\u2019s play The Wind Coming Over The Sea<\/em>. Guilderson says that it is a \u201cvery relatable and understandable story of immigration- a story that transcends a lot of decades because anyone that has to immigrate to a new place is going to live a lot of the same experiences to varying degrees. You\u2019re typically coming from a place where you\u2019re sort of seeking refuge or relocating and changing your whole life. I think that feeling is really relatable and understandable. It\u2019s a beautiful way to look at the difficulties of being an adult and having a family, and how those decisions are limited by not really knowing the place you\u2019re going, so it\u2019s fascinating to be able to talk about all those themes in a way that makes it feel accessible to people. I think doing it through the platform of letters is a really neat way to talk about it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was reminded and gained a whole other level of appreciation for our ancestors in general,\u201d says Ritchie. \u201cThis was their story, and to recognize firsthand the hardships that they went through, and the sheer amount of luck that was involved for events to transpire for us to be here, it\u2019s very moving, [and] to recognize all the sacrifices that were made, and to recognize how many people had the goals to come across and safely build a family, and weren\u2019t able to do so because they got sick on the boat, or they arrived and didn\u2019t have enough money and they had to go back\u2026 I think that our show does ultimately have a happy ending you could say, but you realize the scope of what they went through.\u201d \u201cIt paints the perfect picture of any sort of Irish storytelling,\u201d adds Guilderson, \u201cwhich is that there needs to be some sort of sadness to appreciate the happiness\u2026. It\u2019s this beautiful thing that the Irish do so well where it\u2019s never truly happy or truly sad. It\u2019s a beautiful marriage of both things.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ritchie says that the use of music in this show is akin to the way it is done in jukebox musicals, in that the songs are all traditional Irish folk songs that weren’t written to tell this<\/em> particular story but that Donoghue did a great job at marrying them to this story. Guilderson points out that at this time in history the Irish were the most persecuted people in the UK, and she hopes that seeing a story of white immigrants being persecuted when they arrived in Canada in the years around Confederation will encourage white folks to be aware of their biases against immigrants now \u201cbecause it\u2019s the exact same situation\u2026. I think it\u2019s a really important time to talk about things like that, especially in the Martimes, because we are seeing mass immigration in Canada, and it\u2019s really important that it\u2019s happening, and, if anything, it will make our ultimate landscape more beautiful, and more unique, and more interesting. I think it\u2019s nice to plant that seed for people that, listen, anyone can be treated poorly, and we should actually just be treating people like humans.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ritchie says that while he isn\u2019t a religious person himself playing a character who is in this context he can see why folks in Henry and Jane\u2019s situation held onto their faith so strongly. \u201cHow do you choose to make that harrowing trip overseas where you [might] die unless you have faith that it will work out? That you will be taken care of?\u201d says Guilderson. \u201cA lot of their prayers are all about keeping each other safe, which I think is such a beautiful mentality to have. That, at the end of the day, [their] religion is really about keeping everybody safe, and taking care of the people you love.\u201d She notes that audiences might find some humour, as she does, in the references to the friction between Methodists and Presbyterians, because, especially by today\u2019s standards, those two Christian denominations have much more in common than they have differences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both Guilderson and Ritchie\u2019s own family histories mirror the experience of Henry and Jane. Guilderson\u2019s ancestor came from Donegal in the 1880s, and like Henry, the patriarch came over first and established a place to live, and then the entire family came over after. Ritchie\u2019s grandfather came to Canada from Ukraine after World War II, and he too arrived in Montr\u00e9al first, and then Ritchie’s grandmother followed with his uncle. \u201cIt was the same scenario [as in the play] of like, \u2018alright, I\u2019m going to be on this boat that docks on this day here,\u2019 and you\u2019re just waiting and hoping that they\u2019re there when you get there.\u201d For Ritchie he was able to find some records of his ancestors\u2019 immigration at the Museum at Pier 21<\/a>. \u201cI honestly think about that story often when we\u2019re doing the scene where we\u2019re on the dock looking for Henry,\u201d says Guilderson, \u201cand I think about the fact that often people never found each other again.\u201d \u201cI also think it\u2019s really smart what Emma did with this show how, since 95% of our interactions are through letters across the ocean it\u2019s kind of like they end up having an idea <\/em>of their husband and wife, and so later on when Henry dies\u00a0 [Jane] still carries on this notion of him being present in her life, even though he\u2019s gone, because she\u2019d already been doing that for a year. In your mind, that energy and their spirit is still around somewhere,\u201d says Ritchie. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI find the latter half of Act Two to be a really interesting picture of grief,\u201d says Guilderson, \u201chow you start to process that when your brain doesn\u2019t know what to do, and a lot of it is still feeling like that person is with you all the time, and going through every scenario like they\u2019re guiding you. I think Emma\u2019s done a great job of constructing those three letters that end the show- that transition of how you start to let go of what I would call your training wheels, now I\u2019ve got to ride the two wheeler by myself, and that\u2019s scary.\u201d The reality for Jane as a mother of two very young children alone in the wilderness of a brand new country is that she is surrounded by danger. \u201cHenry is like, \u2018you need to carry your marriage license with you the whole time because if you can prove, essentially, that you\u2019re another\u2019s man\u2019s property no one will touch you.\u2019 At this time, [men] respect that more than [they] respect women, which also paints a beautiful picture of probably why Jane chooses to marry Nettleton,\u201d says Guilderson. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The play is based on real historic letters sent between a husband and wife that have been preserved by their descendants in Ontario. After her husband\u2019s death Jane marries an older neighbour who comes calling on her. Guilderson says that she\u2019s been having some interesting conversations with young folks who have seen the show about this aspect of the story. She said that she told them that they asked great questions and offered, \u201cat the time, Jane wouldn\u2019t have been able to do anything by herself- women didn\u2019t own their own lives. The best way to protect yourself and your kids was to have a a husband, and as far as husbands go [Nettleton] seems pretty great. We talked about how he continues to be kind to her and take care of her.\u201d She says that she got to speak with Donoghue a bit more about what happened to these characters during their lives together, and she told her that they ran a pub for awhile in London, Ontario, \u201cwhich I found fascinating because they were both sober,\u201d says Guilderson. \u201cI think it\u2019s beautiful how we talk so much about Jane and Henry, because there is nothing like your first love, and they had known each other since they were children, and so to lose that companion that you\u2019ve had forever is really difficult. I\u2019m just grateful that Emma frames it in a way that Henry kind of helps her move forward to continuing to be an adult and figure out the rest of her life.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The play is an expansion of a story in a book Donoghue wrote called Astray<\/em> (2012), and Ritchie says that she puts the sentences that she has lifted directly from the letters between Henry and Jane in italics in the story. \u201cWhat I found striking was the affection that is carried in the letters. It\u2019s always \u2018your faithful and affectionate husband til death,\u2019 and \u2018my dearest, my angel\u2019 it\u2019s always very deliberate poetic language. I find, especially in our age of communication now where we\u2019re constantly texting someone or calling someone, in some ways we express less affection on a day to day basis. So, when you have less of an opportunity to speak with someone, it only makes sense that you would say what you\u2019re really feeling. Unfortunately, in the world, the timeline, that we live in it\u2019s just so easy to take people you care about for granted [because] you don\u2019t feel as much pressure to make the moments you have matter as much. I think the amount that it feels like [Henry and Jane] made those things really matter is really beautiful and impactful, and what people seem to be connecting to the most.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guilderson points out that Henry\u2019s children, Alex and Mary, are extremely young when she marries Nettleton. They grow up with him being their father figure, and yet, they know the love story between their parents because their mother felt it was necessary to pass it down to them somehow. \u201cI also think it\u2019s really telling that Nettleton gets to a point in his life where he is okay with Jane giving a child Henry\u2019s name. One of their children\u2026 Seeing a man be comfortable with his wife having a previous husband, and that that life existed, is also very uncommon for the time.\u201d The play ends with the birth of a stream of children, who, of course, were needed, practically, to help their parents with the homestead and the business, and to look after them when they were elderly, but we can also see them as a defiant triumph of the Irish lineage. \u201cIn our research we were exploring how the potato famine was actively orchestrated by England in an attempt to minimize or even fully eradicate the Irish people, which, with the state of the world currently I think is a relevant comparison that we can clearly draw markers from,\u201d says Guilderson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very sobering how topical a lot of this seems to be in present day,\u201d says Ritchie, \u201cand always, unfortunately, disappointing how we continue to know the lesson that history repeats itself, and to not take away the message from that in a way that we should. There\u2019s a scene when Henry first gets to [North America], and you see the American businessman that he tries to get a job from who says, \u2018No, no, you go back across the border there\u2026 if it was up to me- I\u2019d build a wall.\u201d Clearly, Emma deliberately put that in because of [Donald] Trump, but it always gets a big reaction with every audience because the sentiments haven\u2019t changed\u2026 That\u2019s the most deliberate way for her to say, \u2018pay attention because things like this are happening now.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Becca Guilderson and Hugh Ritchie as Anne Shirley & Gilbert Blythe in Anne & Gilbert<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guilderson says that Donoghue specifies that she wants Jane to be redheaded in the script because she wants it to be very visual to the characters in the play that she\u2019s Irish. \u201cShe can\u2019t pass as English,\u201d she says. Guilderson played one of the world\u2019s most famous redheads, Anne Shirley, in Anne and Gilbert<\/em> in Charlottetown back in 2022, and Ritchie played her love Gilbert Blythe in that production too. We mention how having red hair is so associated, culturally, with being Irish, and yet it is also one of the things Anne hates the most in herself in Lucy Maud Montgomery\u2019s novel. Her red hair is largely the reason that she incurs ridicule both from children her own age like Gilbert, and from fully grown adults like Rachel Lynde. \u201cWhen we were growing up anybody that had red hair got teased,\u201d says Guilderson, \u201cpeople always make jokes about gingers. I don\u2019t think people realize that sort of thing inherently comes from prejudice,\u201d says Guilderson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also mention that for folks like Henry and Jane they may initially think that coming to Canada will be a temporary measure- just to wait out the hard times in Ireland- but that likely by the time they survive the treacherous journey they have to make peace with the fact that they will never see their beloved homeland and the family members left behind again. And then, as their children Alex and Mary grow up in an entirely different reality, they grow to become more Canadian than Irish, which is just exacerbated by each subsequent generation as Ireland becomes more and more intangible and remote. There is a different kind of grief that Jane must experience as she watches this unfold, while she also likely feels grateful that her children are able to acclimate and assimilate into this new world with more ease and fluidity than she can. This is another experience that is very much unfolding in real time in our communities, and for those of us whose families have lived here for generations we would all do well to show compassion and empathy for those who are raising first generation Nova Scotians and first generation Canadians. Conversely, for Guilderson working with dialect coach Sarah English on the Northern Irish accent she was sometimes told that she was doing too much, and she realized that a lot of what English was instructing her to do, she already did naturally because remnants of that accent of her ancestors, and all the ancestors of the community where she was raised, were still there in her body all these generations later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lily Falk & Hugh Ritchie Photo by Memo Calderon Photography<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like The Wind Coming Over the Sea The Monkey\u2019s Paw<\/a><\/em>, Two Planks\u2019 fireside show, is also adapted from a short story, but the difference is that The Monkey\u2019s Paw <\/em>is only eight pages long. Ritchie says that the script for the play ended up being about 34 pages, still very short for an hour-long piece. \u201cI feel like the pace in the Irish show is very quick\u2026 I found instead we were deliberately exploring silence a lot with Monkey\u2019s Paw,<\/em> and the added weight of the information, because there is less dialogue so we can allow things to sink in and build more tension from that.\u201d Guilderson said that she saw the role of the music in the show in a very filmic way. \u201cIt\u2019s there to make the moments of silence feel more tense, so that you can kind of sit in the quiet longer in a way that makes the audience feel comfortable and uncomfortable.\u201d She says that she has a\u00a0unique perspective because she spends so much of the show watching the play waiting for her one short scene, but she is adding the underscoring to support the other actors in the work that they\u2019re doing. She also says that a lot of the tension comes from the fact that the story all takes place in one location, and so it allows for everything that exists beyond those four walls to seem sort of ominous. \u201cI love in shows where, as an audience, your relationship changes with the set as the story progresses. Initially, the front door, people come and go through it all the time, and then as the show progresses it becomes this foreboding presence. It\u2019s like a portal where there\u2019s danger on the other side,\u201d says Ritchie, \u201cBut nothing has changed with it. Just the context has changed.\u201d He notes that all the theatre magic associated with the door are practical effects created by John and Bonnie Thomson, \u201cthe tech wizards.\u201d \u201cKen is always trying to see how the fire is another character, and in this setting where it\u2019s a static setting, [the fire] is the source of heat and light, and then we are toying with the idea of throwing the monkey paw in the fire, or it\u2019s the firelight playing tricks, [making characters] hallucinate and see things that aren\u2019t there; everything challenging comes back to the fire somehow\u2026. This is our third summer with Two Planks, and I had never done outdoor theatre before this, and I found it so fulfilling to work on outdoor theatre, and especially the fire shows because there\u2019s something very primal and ancient about this form of storytelling, and you recognize that for thousands of years people have told stories around the roaring fire, and unless you\u2019re actually doing it, it\u2019s hard to replicate the feeling.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something particularly special about doing the Irish show outside,\u201d says Guilderson, \u201cbecause you feel so connected to the earth\u2026 and the ground, and you\u2019re like, \u2018this is where people who are just like us have walked for centuries. How many feet have passed this field before they knew that we would be here gathering to tell stories? What else has this world seen?\u201d \u201cEmma Donoghue, when she came [to see the show], she said that she\u2019d seen a lot of outdoor theatre before, but never the way we do it, and how the setting and the outdoors are so integrated into the storytelling.\u201d Donoghue pointed specifically to the way the fireside shows work as being unique, and also the way that in The Wind Coming Over the Sea<\/em> Henry\u2019s ghost \u201cwanders off, just slowly into the woods and disappears,\u201d Ritchie says that she found that moment very cinematic.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m feeling really cathartic to work on the Irish show and do more research, and trying to find out about my family,\u201d says Guilderson, \u201cbecause it does feel like, not a secret, but it\u2019s just over the years people stopped passing information on, and so you stop knowing where you came from and, while these [ancestors] don\u2019t necessarily define you, there are parts of that genealogy that stayed with your body, and so it\u2019s good for you to be aware of the things that other people in your circle lived, right? What did get you to be where you are right now? What were the events that happened?\u201d \u201cHow to recognize that so many decisions came down to chance and luck,\u201d adds Ritchie, \u201cIt\u2019s so crazy to think about.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The couple tell me too how grateful they are to have gotten to work together so much this year- in Come From Away<\/em>, here at Two Planks for the summer, and they will both be back at Neptune in Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors <\/em>in the Fall. Telling this particular story of Henry and Jane Ritchie says has been easy in some ways doing it together, but in some ways it has been harder. \u201cYou\u2019re always trying to separate the story from your own life experience in your own relationship, but there\u2019s certain moments that you can\u2019t- just by your physical chemistry-\u201c \u201cthat your brain goes, \u2018this is confusing to me,\u2019\u201d adds Guilderson. She says it\u2019s \u2018not great\u2019 having to watch her partner pretend to die every show but adds, \u201cit\u2019s more disconcerting that he\u2019s so good at pretending to vomit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bodily functions aside (and content warning for the Irish Play: Bodily Functions<\/em><\/strong>) Ritchie says, \u201cIt\u2019s easier because since we\u2019ve been together for four years now tapping into the relationship of these characters felt very easy as far as our support system for each other, and then, yeah<\/em>, tackling the tragic parts are like, \u2018ooof.<\/strong> I\u2019m glad this is pretend.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Because it would feel terrible if it were real,\u201d Guilderson deadpans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becca Guilderson and Hugh Ritchie are pretending against a gorgeous Canadian landscape at Ross Creek Centre for the Arts in two plays- The Wind Coming Over the Sea<\/em> and The Monkey\u2019s Paw <\/em>until August 15th. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wind Coming Over the Sea<\/em>: A folk musical by Emma Donoghue runs until August 15th. Performances run on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. The Monkey\u2019s Paw<\/em>, adapted by Ken Schwartz, also runs until August 15th. Performances for this show run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Tickets range in price from $15.90 for children, $26.50 for Artists\/Underwaged Folks\/Students and $$37.10 for General Admission. For more information or to book your tickets please visit this website. <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ross Creek Centre for the Arts is wheelchair accessible, and there is a golf cart available for those who may need help moving around the outdoor space. Please let the staff know when booking your tickets if you need wheelchair accessible seating or will require the golf cart. Sunscreen and bug spray and dressing in layers is advised for all theatre patrons. For more information about what to expect when you arrive at Ross Creek please visit this website.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canadian Theatre Criticism is an essential part of a healthy and thriving theatre community. It helps theatre companies find new audiences for their shows, deepens audiences\u2019 engagement with local artists and the work being created in their communities, and it is one of the best ways to preserve a snapshot of an ephemeral art form for future generations of theatre lovers. TWISI relies on support from its Subscribers<\/a>, folks like you who care about the survival of local and independent arts coverage. Please consider becoming a Subscriber today<\/a>, or click here for more information<\/a>. Thank you so much for supporting TWISI. <\/strong><\/p>\n

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I caught up with the very busy couple via Zoom to chat with them about their experience inhabiting Gander and Antrim at the same time, working together on such an emotional piece, and how their own family stories have informed the way that they\u2019ve brought these characters to life.\u00a0","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/?p=6784#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/?p=6784"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/?p=6784#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_2711-e1784677542725.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_2711-e1784677542725.jpg","width":929,"height":783,"caption":"Becca Guilderson as Jane Johnson Photo by Memo Calderon Photography"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/?p=6784#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Becca Guilderson & Hugh Ritchie on Working Together to Make Their Come From Away Spring & Ross Creek Summer Come Together So Magically"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/","name":"The Way I See It Theatre & Music Blog","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/#organization","name":"The Way I See It Theatre","url":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/cropped-twisi-header-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/cropped-twisi-header-1.png","width":4831,"height":1568,"caption":"The Way I See It Theatre"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/twisihalifax","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/twisiblog\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2acdb91c67a7c73bbe572ed62f39cf80","name":"Amanda Campbell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e0e1a35d85359766c1e9bf58b3b4e4d926456f42e1b829f3cb745235d605f4e4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e0e1a35d85359766c1e9bf58b3b4e4d926456f42e1b829f3cb745235d605f4e4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e0e1a35d85359766c1e9bf58b3b4e4d926456f42e1b829f3cb745235d605f4e4?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Amanda Campbell"},"url":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6784"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6807,"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6784\/revisions\/6807"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.twisitheatreblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}