This play is dedicated to the thousands
of Mail-Order brides who braved the journey to Canada’s
Great Western Prairie during the expansion period of 1905-1925.
Some came in search of adventure and romance, others a
simple home and family. Whatever their reasons, they shaped
the future of a nation. The Western Home Monthly,
a Winnipeg based magazine with a national circulation,
featured a lonely hearts correspondence column, receiving
as many as 1500 letters each month …
During the early 1900’s thousands
of Canada’s "Lonely Hearts" hoped to find
companionship, love and a future through advertisements
in the Western Home Monthly, a Winnipeg based,
nationally distributed magazine. Many a prosperous
young farmer, with a half-section of prairie property used
this, along with the cost of train fare, as a vehicle to
find himself a hardworking wife and companion – Mail-Order
Annie tells the story of one such union.
Rich in "Canadiana" and carefully
researched, the story traces the lives of Annie O’Ryan,
a spinster from Belleville Ontario, and John Proctor, a
grain farmer on Saskatchewan’s Great Plain. From
their "stormy" first meeting at a rural CPR station,
through the Great Depression and finally WWII, we share
the hopes and dreams of a struggling Canadian family.
Reviews:
Theatre BC Juror- Lanni McInnes: "The
story moves easily and clearly through a part of our history,
and reminds us, without preaching, of the values we hold.
The play is engaging, it has a produce-able number of characters
who are three-dimensional; its set demands that are easily
met; it has a steady pace; mild surprises are liberally
placed within the plot; and the story has warmth and charm. "I
was moved - very enjoyable".
The Intelligencer — Jennifer
Bell: "An engaging story with great characters
and wonderful structure … I was moved … a
must see!"
The Community press — Penny
Thompson: "I laughed, I cried, I was swept
away to the Prairies … an eye opening history lesson!"
