At This Hour

Story

A documentary theatre lecture about the causes of the Halifax Explosion. At This Hour was created by Zuppa in association with The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, The Canadian National Institute for the Blind, and Signs of the Maritimes Deaf Theatre Troupe.

On December 6, 1917, in the narrows of Halifax Harbour, the Belgian Relief vessel IMO collided with an overloaded French munitions ship, Mont Blanc. The resulting massive explosion wreaked havoc on both sides of the harbour and left approximately 2000 people dead. One in every fifty Haligonians suffered sight loss as a result of the explosion – it was the largest mass blinding in Canadian history. Within hours of the disaster Ottawa ordered a full investigation and the Wreck Commissioner’s Inquiry began the following week.

Using verbatim text from the transcripts of the inquiry into the explosion, At This Hour is constructed like an open seminar and the performers are documentarians. A hearing cast and a Deaf cast perform the show simultaneously.

Recent: SHELBURNE, NOVA SCOTIA and EDMONTON, ALBERTA.

The Osprey Arts Centre. Shelburne, NS
March 25th, 2023 at 7:00pm
Cost: $10-$25

SOUND OFF Festival. Edmonton, AB
March 30th - April 1st, 2023
Cost: PWYC

Company

Starring:

Phillipa Colman

Mary Fay Coady*

Sharleen Kalayil*

Thurga Kanagasekarampillai

Jim McDermott

Elizabeth Morris*

Lesley Smith*

Alan Williams

Creative Team:

Directed by Ben Stone*

ASL Dramaturgy and Coaching - Catherine MacKinnon

Sound Design - Brian Riley

Sound Operator - Maja Packer

Costume Design - Leesa Hamilton

Surtitles Design - Anna Shepard

Teleprompter - Christian Ludwig Hansen

Lighting Design - Benoit Gravel

Lighting and Projections Assistant - Brenda Duran

Space Design - Katherine Jenkins-Ryan

Marketing Director - Sophie Schade

Graphic Designer - Colleen MacIsaac

History Consultant - Janet Maybee

Co-creator, Original Cast Member - Koumbie

Co-creator - Stewart Legere

Administrator and Research Associate - Anika Riopel

Interpreter Coordinator - Carolyn Carter

Deaf Community Consultant - Linda Campbell

Mi’kmaw Linguistic Consultant - Bernie Francis

Mi’kmaw Historical Consultant - Daniel Paul

Mi’kmaw Consultant and Performer of ‘Entry Song’ - Richard Simon Taylor

Inclusion, Access and Disability Justice Consultant - Kat Germain

ASL Interpreters: Rhonda Kaassamani, Justin Read, Tammy Smith, Susan Cargill, Amanda Noiles, Karen Staples, Beth Reid, Pam Scott, Emily Power, Carri-Ann Blunden, David Hughes (student)

A note on the sound design: Some of the sound cues used in At This Hour come from the recordings of Eric Davidson. Eric was two and a half at the time of the Explosion and one of the people blinded as a result. As an adult, he became a local celebrity known as The Blind Mechanic. Eric was a lover of sounds and would collect them with his trusty tape recorder. His recordings were generously provided by his daughter Marilyn.

Sponsors: Shakespeare by the Sea, Paramount Management, Apartments 444rent.com, Weldon McInnis Barristers & Solicitors, Halifax Harbour Tours Halifaxharbourtours.ca, Nova Scotia Cultural Society of the Deaf, Atlantic News, Andy Fillmore Halifax MP, TEAM Work Cooperative, The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, The Craig Foundation, Develop Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia Gaming Support 4 Culture, The Municipality of Halifax, The Canadian Council for the Arts, Nova Scotia Communities, Culture, Tourism & Heritage, The Black Family Foundation

*The participation of Mary Fay Coady, Sharleen Kalayil, Elizabeth Morris, Lesley Smith and Ben Stone is arranged by the permission of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association under the provisions of the Dance-Opera-Theatre Policy

Photos

Elizabeth Morris, Lesley Smith, Jim McDermott look over their left shoulder, toward the camera. Elizabeth and Lesley are wearing red shirts, Jim is wearing a brown shirt. Jim McDermott gesturing with both hands and looking surprised. Jim McDermott blurry in the foreground. Sharleen Kalayil in focus in the background, speaking into a microphone. Maja Packer, Brian Riley and Christian Ludwig Hansen sitting at the technicians table, adjusting levels. Christian Ludwig Hansen and Anna Shepherd sitting at the projections table working on surtitles Thurga Kanagasekaramillai smiles and gestures and Mary Fay Coady makes a silly face. Behind them the words "Comedic Splash" appear as surtitles on a projection surface. Phillipa Colman and Alan Williams look to their right Elizabeth Morris, laughing. Thurga Kanagasekarampillai gestures, her arms spread wide. She is smiling. Phillipa Colman looks to her right and smiles, she is holding an iPad. Alan Williams is to Phillipa's left, he gestures with his fist in the air, at about the same level as his eyes.