Review: Jeff Culbert's The Donnelly Sideshow at the Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival 2011

Every location on the planet has a family whose notorious history becomes steeped in local culture as well-told legend.  In the cities and countryside of Southwestern Ontario that family is the Donnelly family of Biddulph township.  Growing up in London, Ontario I became familiar with the Donnellys, commonly referred to as the Black Donnellys, through plays, museum visits, books and articles.  Throughout much of my formative years, local punk rock band, The Black Donnellys were regular headliners on the stages of local clubs and dance halls.  A good friend of mine played lead guitar in one of the later incarnations of the band, The Black Donnellys 5.

The Donnelly story has all the necessary ingredients of a riveting yarn and then some.  Immigrants from Ireland who lived in Biddulph township in the late 1800s, the clan included parents James and Joanna, seven sons, one daughter and a cousin. Their wild ways culminated in a feud which eventually saw five members violently murdered by a vigilante mob in the middle of the night, February 4, 1880.

The most unassumingly earnest version of the story I've encountered is told by playwright, director and actor, Jeff Culbert in his new play, The Donnelly Sideshow, which Culbert performed at the recent 2011 Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival.  Culbert brings new life to the story by going back to it's unembellished roots, recounting the tale in a straightforward manner from the perspective of the only surviving witness of the massacre, farm hand Johnny O’Connor. 

The result is a performance that transports the audience back to the Donnelly homestead in the days of their dark demise.  A matter-of-fact point of view that allows no opportunity to turn away from the pulse pounding, heart-wrenching horror, drama, and romance (yes, romance) of the Donnelly story.  Culbert peppers his recounting of the tale with occasional humour, some new insights uncovered through his research, and a smattering of original, toe-tapping folk-songs.

The Donnelly Sideshow is a rewarding and captivating story-telling experience, even and especially for those who may already be familiar with the tale.

For information on Jeff Culbert's plays and upcoming performances visit www.jeffculbert.ca

Jeff Culbert Interview at the 2011 Victoria Fringe Festival by theotherlondon