NEWS RELEASE
JAYWALKING GUELPH
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One of the things the Irish are famous for is their storytelling. The musical lilt of the language, the turn of phrase, the playfulness and passion they bring to the tale. In the words of Jimmy Walsh, a character from Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears, “To some they are given to song and story, a bit fey, and as likely to break into a jig as a hooley I suppose.”
In 1999, 10 years before her passing, Charlene Herrold sent Jay a copy of her newly published book, Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears. As an actor, Jay was immediately struck by the fact that the stories in the book were meant to be told aloud, a wonderful collection of monologues with multiple characters and full of possibilities for entertaining theatre.
The book is now long out of print, but the stories live on. As Jay promised Charlene in 1999, “one day this book will be a play." And now here we are.
JayWalking Guelph, known for walking tours, is now also JayWalking Theatre, and Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears has enjoyed success, having played to sold out audiences in Collingwood, Guelph and even a delightful village called Edgar Ontario just outside of Barrie, near Shanty Bay.
The dream is to tour Ontario with this one-person show in 2025, but for now Jay is focusing on developing a local following. Guelph has quite an Irish history and population and while you certainly don’t need to be Irish to enjoy these universal stories, the Irish find a certain affiliation with these stories stirring up feelings of nostalgia.
On Thursday, Aug. 15, everyone can enjoy this show. There’s a 2:00 p.m. performance at “Silence,” the intimate venue on 46 Essex Street, Guelph. Seating is limited to 60 and this air conditioned performance space brings the audience nice and close to the performance.
There are stories of love and loss evoking both laughter and tears and this one hour show will feed your soul, connecting you and others to our common human experience called life.
Tickets are available at Eventbrite or $25 cash at the door.
For more information about the show, the performer and the presenting company, visit https://www.jaywalkingguelph.ca
Don’t miss this chance to experience professional live summer theatre in our beautiful downtown. In the words of Fiddler O’Flaherty, “Sure it is well known that the whole of the world would be Irish if it could.”
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