More than 370 of Canada’s finest art works will be displayed with accompaniment of song and storytelling when Geoff Noble and Susan Shillingford present the multimedia show A Northern Tapestry April 8 and 15 at Qualicum Beach Community Hall.
A celebration of Canada’s rich history, cultures, environment and wildlife, the 85-minute performance of A Northern Tapestry has been developed to help celebrate Canada’s upcoming birthday in 2017, said Noble.
Noble, a guitarist and singer, and Shillingford, an actor, produce their own show as Whistling.
“Susan and I have been doing this for some time,” said Noble. “We’ll also be doing a 50-minute show for (Kwalikum Secondary) school on April 4.”
The couple, who have performed the show in Atlantic Canada before relocating to the West Coast, take the stage on either side of a large screen. As the art works and photographs are projected onto the screen, the performers weave a lively tapestry of 11 songs written and performed by Noble, interspersed by dramatic interpretations and poetic readings by Shillingford.
“If, like the artist, all could see, how marvellous this northland free, glorious in majesty, a Northern Tapestry,” Noble sings in one of his verses.
The show, which includes an intermission, features images from artists and photographers including Charles Pachter, Toni Onley, David Blackwood, Alex Colville, Emily Carr, Ted Harrison, Pitseolak Ashoona, Robert Bateman, W. Allan Hancock, Abraham Anghik Ruben and Roy Henry Vickers.
Some of Shillingford’s recitals come from renowned writers and poet including Farley Mowat, Robert Service, Pauline Johnson, Frank Parker Day, Ernest Buckler, Edna Jaques and Margaret Craven.
A Northern Tapestry will be shown at the community hall, 644 Memorial Ave., on consecutive Fridays, April 8 at 15, at 7:30 p.m. both nights. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Tickets are $15 each and are available in advance at Mulberry Bush Bookstores in both Qualicum Beach and Parksville. For reservations, call 250-594-2667 or 250-896-5419.
