Catch some theatre under the stars at the Guy Lombardo Pavilion

Kendra Seguin · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 15, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

The stars volition beryllium retired erstwhile a caller theatre accumulation premieres successful London this week — literally.

Starting Wednesday, a section theatre institution volition beryllium taking implicit the Guy Lombardo Pavilion successful Springbank Park for a escaped outdoor theatre experience, wherever the surrounding trees, pathways and nighttime entity volition each beryllium portion of the set.

"No one's truly done outdoor theatre successful London successful the past fewer decades, truthful it's benignant of starting from scratch and learning however everything has to beryllium acceptable up technically," said accumulation manager Alexandrea Marsh. 

"Every clip that I spot a amusement that's enactment connected outside, it ever conscionable elevates the communicative truthful much," she said. "You don't conscionable enactment connected immoderate amusement outside. It has to payment the narrative."

Marsh is 1 of the 25 formed and unit members putting connected Theatre Aezir's accumulation of That Summer, a coming-of-age communicative astir young emotion astatine an Ontario lakeside edifice by Canadian playwright David French.

When creator manager Elizabeth Durand archetypal work the play backmost successful 2018, she knew she couldn't nutrient it astatine conscionable immoderate theatre astatine immoderate clip of year.

"I fell successful emotion with it, but it is simply a summertime play [and] Theatre Aezir ne'er did shows successful the summer," she said. "I enactment it speech and said, 'If I ever bash a amusement successful the summer, it'll beryllium That Summer.'" 

It made consciousness to bash the accumulation outdoors, Durand said, adding that astir of the communicative takes spot connected a cottage structure and immoderate of the pavilion's earthy surroundings parallel those successful the play.

"They speech a batch astir the reddish pavilion that they spell dancing at, and that's different crushed wherefore I felt this play was truly due for the Guy Lombardo Pavilion," Durand said, pointing to the reddish accents astir the pavilion stage. 

The earthy sights and sounds of the encompassing Springbank Park volition besides adhd to the ambiance, Marsh said, successful ways that a emblematic indoor theatre cannot.

"I deliberation bringing the communicative present volition afloat immerse the assemblage [by] conscionable providing the atmospheric sound similar the birds and the cicadas. We've besides timed the amusement to commencement astatine 8 p.m. truthful that astatine a pivotal infinitesimal successful the show, the prima sets and the code changes," she explained.

However, for each affirmative that comes with producing a play outdoors, determination are besides challenges.

The formed and unit person been rehearsing the play utilizing 2 antithetic acceptable ups, Marsh said: 1 that makes usage of the full pavilion abstraction including its uncovered signifier and pathways, and different that volition unit the performers to stock the aforesaid covered bandshell arsenic the audience.

"We fundamentally person 2 wholly antithetic versions of the amusement that we are acceptable to power connected a dime, successful the lawsuit of rainfall earlier oregon during the show," Marsh said. 

There are besides immoderate procedural considerations that travel with putting connected an outdoor production, Durand said, including safety risks, metropolis rules and the outgo of renting a location. Still, she said she hopes each of the enactment volition beryllium worthy it.

"It was specified a bully thought to bash it extracurricular and I'm conscionable truly excited astir it," she said. "We person immoderate truly fantastic radical successful this cast. It's outdoors, it's beauteous and it's free."

Theatre Aezir's accumulation of That Summer will beryllium astatine the Guy Lombardo Pavilion from July 16 to 19 and July 23 to 26 astatine 8 p.m. nightly. Tickets are free, and donations are welcome.