There is just something special about summer theatre, especially when that theatre is Ship’s Company. Since it staged its debut production aboard the old and dilapidated ferry vessel M.V. Kipawo in 1984, Ship’s Company Theatre has become a staple in the Parrsboro community. And this season is set to kick off with Hook, Line & Sinner, the final instalment of the “Mystery Trilogy,” featuring Sister Vivian Salter.
“In 2013, Ship’s Company commissioned three Nova Scotia playwrights to write mystery plays. The first was Habit of Murder by Joanne Miller, which ran in the 2015 season, and then, in 2017, we featured The Mystery Play by Josh MacDonald,” says Natasha MacLellan, artistic producer of Ship’s Company Theatre and director of the show.
For those that aren’t familiar with these plays, the Mystery Trilogy revolves around the protagonist Sister Vivian Salter, a nun who has a knack for being a top-notch sleuth who can solve the town’s crimes, according to MacLellan.
“This season, Sister Vivian Salter returns for the final instalment of our Mystery Trilogy. Sister Vivian must exonerate her old friend Ken, a successful paleontologist with whom she’s just reconnected,” says MacLellan.
The role of Sister Vivian was originally played by the much-celebrated actress and playwright, Mary-Colin Chisholm, who wrote this year’s final instalment.
“Hook, Line & Sinner stars Parrsboro resident and acclaimed Nova Scotia theatre actor Martha Irving in the lead role of Sister Vivian Salter this year,” says MacLellan.
In this classic whodunit, which opens July 4, Sister Vivian must find the real killer. Could it be Ken’s daughter, Sophia? Is Sister Vivian’s objectivity compromised by the fact she dated Ken before answering her religious calling? We will have to wait to find out, says MacLellan.
“Chisholm set the mystery in the town of Parrsboro and, like all of her writing, it is filled with Maritime humour, making for lots of laughs,” she adds.
Chisolm is coming fresh off her show Half-Cracked: The Legend of Sugar Mary with Eastern Front, as well as winning the Legacy Award at the 2018 Theatre Nova Scotia Merritt awards.
“Chisholm has done the trilogy justice with this last play. There are exciting twists and turns that will keep the audience on their toes,” says MacLellan.
Hook, Line & Sinner takes the main stage July 4 and will run through July. Tickets and more information are available at: www.shipscompanytheatre.com or by calling 1-800-565-SHOW (7469).
