ELOCUTION: THE LIFE OF RICHARD


​BERRY HARRISON
March 14, 2021
 Walter Borden will read the role of Richard B. Harrison, telling Harrison's own story, recounting his youth in Canada and showing how he made a living between 1882 and 1935 by reciting everything from cowboy poems to Shakespeare to the Black dialect poems of Paul Dunbar.
  • ​Richard B Harrison was born in London Ontario in 1864 to parents who met in London after escaping slavery in the United States. He developed his gifts for theatre and poetry from an early age, and moved to the USA in his late teens with the hope of acting professionally. Although racial barriers kept him off of the big professional stages, he eventually made a career for himself by touring on the continent as a performer and working as a theatre teacher. Then, at the age of 65, he took on the role of God on Broadway, in an all-black re-telling of the first five books of the Bible that was called The Green Pastures. By all accounts, Harrison carried the show, and audiences were very moved by his performance. The show was such a hit that Harrison performed it for the rest of his life – over 1600 performances on Broadway and on tour - and he appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in 1935.
Reading with visuals to be broadcast on March 14, 2021. Click for more Details. Media.
                

PANDEMIC

JULIUS

​CAESAR

An adaptation of
Wm Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
by Jeff Culbert

The script and the video are both now available for viewing.

THE WILDEST TOWN
​
IN

​CANADA
​
Donnelly Songs and Stories​ 

 
This new show about the Donnelly murders of 1880 presents the story in a unique way: It’s a concert featuring some of the best songs that have been written about the Donnellys over the years.​

Songs by Stompin' Tom Connors, Earl Heywood, Maria Dunn, James Boyle and Jeff Culbert, played by a four-piece band featuring fiddle, accordion, guitar and banjo.

CHOOSE,

​BUT

CHOOSE
​
WISELY
​
The London District of Upper Canada
                during the War of 1812                     
by Jeff Culbert


​(Coming soon in paperback)

​When the Americans declared war in 1812, the inhabitants of Upper Canada were given a choice by General Hull, the commander of Fort Detroit. They could either allow the American army to take control of the region or face a war of extermination.

This play follows the reactions of five
neighbours living near the forks of the
Thames River (Askunissippi) in the
London District: a Chippewa scout,
a captain in the British militia, an
American ​sympathizer and two
​Quaker pacifists.

ELOCUTION:

​The Life of

​ Richard Berry Harrison

Picture
Richard Berry Harrison playing "De Lawd"  with Alonso Fenderson as Moses in The Green Pastures in 1930
Richard B Harrison was born in London Ontario in 1864 to parents who met in London after escaping slavery in the United States. He developed his gifts for theatre and poetry from an early age, and moved to the USA in his late teens with the hope of acting professionally. Although racial barriers kept him off of the big professional stages, he eventually made a career for himself by touring on the continent as a performer and working as a theatre teacher. Then, at the age of 65, he took on the role of God on Broadway, in an all-black re-telling of the first five books of the Bible that was called The Green Pastures. By all accounts, Harrison carried the show, and audiences were very moved by his performance. The show was such a hit that Harrison performed it for the rest of his life – over 1600 performances on Broadway and on tour - and he appeared on the cover of Time Magazine in 1935.
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