There is so much to love in the arts and that is not limited to what occurs in the capital city of Victoria. Many communities exist up and down Vancouver Island and for the enthusiast, a road trip can be taken to see them all before hopping a ferry to see what has spilled over, onto little islands such as Mayne and Salt Spring. Although we lack a decent amount of professional companies we have more than enough amateur societies to take up the slack.

I have nothing but fond memories for the theatre. I experienced it working backstage and out front a long time ago. I fondly remember companies like Bastion Theatre, Claymar Productions, Kidco Theatre Dance, and Opera Box. They’re now names who are a part of our theatrical history.

In my youth, theatre production companies like Colin Skinner’s Capital Comedy Theatre were the rock gods of stage, The Gilbert and Sullivan Society’s HMS Pinafore was the first live theatre I experienced and actors like Peter Mannering, Colin Skinner, and Claude Watt were those who I was both inspired by and looked-up to.

But further articles won’t be so much about the past as it will about the future. There’s so much to see and do among the Gulf Islands, you only need to look in the right places. Over the months we hope to reveal those places to you.

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