Life changing

Prince Edward County had come up in conversation far too often. So one day last summer, Graham Abbey got in his car, along with his wife, Michelle Giroux a fellow Stratford actor, and young daughter, to see the place for themselves. They spent a couple of days wandering around. They stopped for a time at County Cider Company—amid the orchard and vines atop the escarpment, gazing out at the brilliant blue water of Lake Ontario.

Abbey turned to Giroux and predicted they would return to this spot in 30 years—that they would remember this as the moment that changed their lives.

Abbey is one of Canada’s leading actors—on television, movies and most notably on the Stratford stage. He is best known for portraying Shakespeare’s most complex and troubled roles in over 30 productions at the Stratford Festival—Romeo, Prince Hal, Macbeth, Petruchio, Berowne, Aufidius, and Iago. Recently he founded his own theatre company—bringing Shakespeare to smaller, more intimate settings in Toronto.

Last winter, Groundling Theatre staged A Winter’s Tale in a tiny theatre on the Danforth in Toronto. He was able to attract Canada’s theatrical elite including Brent Carver, Tom McCamus and Lucy Peacock to perform in the production. Performances sold out weeks in advance. Eager theatre goers lined up for hours on cold February nights waiting for a remote chance that a ticket might be unclaimed.

Groundling Theatre just finished a four-week run of A Winter’s Tale and Measure for Measure at a larger venue—the Winter Garden Theatre in Toronto. Reviews hail the production as “simply wonderful” and “the best Shakespeare I have seen in Toronto”.

Abbey’s star is on the rise. He now has a big new challenge ahead of him.

This week, in a stunning turn of events, the board of Festival Players announced that Abbey is taking the helm of the County theatre company. Abbey will assume the role officially in 2018—he has commitments to Stratford this summer, including portraying Orgon alongside Tom Rooney in Molière’s Tartuffe—but Abbey is already making plans. This includes finding a home for his family.

It isn’t the first time a place had changed his life’s direction.

Graham Abbey might have been a lawyer. Perhaps politician. The path had been lit brightly. His dad had been a lawyer, then a judge. His mom a professor at Brock University. His parents split when he was in Grade 3. Graham and his sister moved with their mother, Sharon, to Stratford.

Graham was singing in a boy’s choir when Stratford Theatre artistic director John Hirsch came looking for children to play fairies in Merry Wives of Windsor. Still in elementary school Abbey had the extraordinary experience of performing on a Stratford stage alongside Douglas Campbell. Thus, began a lifelong love of theatre and the arts—and of Shakespeare.

Spark
“Arts can be a life-changing thing,” said Abbey in conversation with The Times. “It’s my experience. I lived it. I’m an actor today because I grew up in a community with great art.”

Abbey knows the County is already recognized for a rich culture and appreciation of art in all forms. He believes there is more potential to be tapped—particularly for young people.

“We have the opportunity with young people to spark something,” said Abbey. “One of my driving interests in building something here is to ignite a passion within young people who might not otherwise experience it.”

There are few hard details yet. His mentor and friend John Wood, former artistic director of the National Arts Centre and Neptune Theatre, has agreed to serve in this role with Festival Players in 2017. Plays and performances are expected to be announced in April.

Abbey dreams big. He dreams of expanding the festival beyond the summer into the fall and winter. The County, he believes is perfectly situated to draw audiences and talent from Montreal, Ottawa, and Toronto. He imagines developing productions in the County and taking them to the larger centres. To do this, he wants to find a permanent home and stage for the theatre company.

“We have a unique opportunity to bridge these communities and their artists in the County,” said Abbey. “It is a beautiful place to create.”

Abbey has, by virtue of reputation and experience, the rare ability to attract Canada’s top theatrical talent—actors, directors, technical wizards as well as marketing and administrative expertise.

He is eager to use these advantages to build something remarkable—something enduring.

“I have a passion to create,” said Abbey. “I’ve spent 20 seasons as an actor at Stratford. I’ve done television in Toronto. This is a new frontier for me—the opportunity to do something new. Something lasting. Something you can look back on that is meaningful.”

He dreams of building something that inspires art, artists, and creators. He dreams of inspiring young people today to look back 50 years from now, saying they would never have become part of the arts, unless they had lived in Prince Edward County.

Abbey knows the County has enjoyed a long cultural and arts history. He is eager to play a part.

“This community is already doing very well with the arts,” said Abbey. “I want to be another cog in the wheel in what is already a burgeoning arts community. I hope we can enhance the incredible arts community here.”

Abbey expects to continue Festival Player’s tradition of presenting exceptional Canadian plays—but says the Bard will play a significant role in the company’s future direction.

“I am interested in expanding the mandate,” said Abbey. “I come to this community with my life of Shakespeare; it is certainly something I want to do.”

The enduring appeal of these plays, according to Abbey, is that they speak to the frailty and urgency of human relationships.

“They are domestic stories,” said Abbey. “That is how they have lasted. It is great poetry, but the stories are rooted in ordinary lives. We see our relationships with our children, families and our partners reflected in some way.”

Abbey says he is uniquely positioned to do this in Prince Edward County.

“It goes back to simple stories with actors who have the muscle to speak those great texts,” said Abbey.

The world he lives in is populated by such great talent. He believes he can attract his friends to Prince Edward County—to bring the Bard’s words to life in this community.

Graham Abbey believes life has led him here. He is ready for a new stage.

“It’s a gamble no doubt,” said Abbey. “But that is what makes it so exhilarating.”