“A crew of ghostly sailors. Uncanny sounds foretell disaster for someone in the house. A lost love is called back from the afterlife, rising again from the waves.”
This is Phantom Crew, a new show co-created by multi-talented performers and life partners Robin Guy and Scott Richardson, playing at The Gladstone this month. Both Guy and Richardson have roots on the East Coast, which led them to put together this performance featuring ghost songs and stories that showcase the rich Celtic folklore of the Maritimes.
Guy and Richardson on stage at The Gladstone. Photo: Samaya Garnett.
Nominated for a Prix Rideau Award for Outstanding Female Performance, Guy is a multidisciplinary performer and Artistic Director of the Three Sisters Theatre Company. Richardson is a longtime director of multiple choirs, including Atlantic Voices, where the idea for this show was first conceptualized.
“I’ve been thinking about a show like this for four or five years,” says Richardson. “One Halloween during the pandemic, I selected East Coast ghost stories to sing with the choir. I read a lot of them in Helen Creighton’s Bluenose Ghosts. Everyone from the East Coast knows this book as classic ghost lore from the region.”
Creighton went from house to house in Nova Scotia collecting folk tales, so the stories truly came from generations of people sharing them in their families. “There are a lot of drownings, since people live beside the sea—it’s a big fear,” adds Guy. “Because people share stories as if they happened to them, I get to play a whole bunch of characters throughout the show, from an elegant lady to an old sailor.”
Photo provided.
“Because the Atlantic provinces were settled by people of Scottish, Irish, and English descent, these songs reference the three countries but always feature a twist,” says Guy, “They are Canadian songs now.” The show also borrows modern Maritime songs and marries them with really floaty old songs.
Richardson and Guy actually met doing a show, and this will be their seventh show together, the second as a duo. “It’s an absolutely magical thing, working together,” says Guy. “We work together very quickly and effectively and it’s easy to work to our strengths. Our voices match up beautifully.”
The actors and performers also created mini-dialogues and infused them into the music of the show. It’s more theatrical than their previous works. The set is promised to be an abandoned house on Devil’s Island (which is situated at the entrance to Halifax Harbour in Nova Scotia). There are 99 lighting cues and 50 sound cues, so the performers are grateful to have a dedicated team supporting them, including stage manager Rachel Worton, assistant stage manager Samaya Garnett, and lighting designer David Magladry.
We can’t wait to be spooked all the way to East Coast!
Phantom Crew runs at The Gladstone March 9–18, with evening shows at 7:30pm and Sunday matinees at 2:30pm. The show runs two hours with an intermission. Tickets are $41 for adults, $37 for seniors 65+, and $26 for students, artists, and the unwaged. The Gladstone is accessible to wheelchair users with accessible seating in the front row and no stairs. The venue is working on installing more accessible front doors.
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