How one venue kept up the good fight

By Lin Parkin

At the intersection of Bonisteel Road and Stickles Road just outside of Trenton, Ont., is a historical landmark now known as Old Church Theatre.

Originally built as a Methodist Church in 1876, it suffered from long years of neglect. When resident and former CBC-TV host Roy Bonisteel saved it from demolition in 1995, he renovated it and turned the church into a social haven for the rural community.

In 2006, his daughter Lesley Bonisteel and her husband Brian Weston bought it from Roy and gave the church new life once again.

“It’s a fabulous space, a gem for performances. It has an 18-foot half barrel-vaulted ceiling designed for acoustics,” says Bonisteel. “Every artist who performs here remarks on the great vibe, and we have top echelon performers here, such as Jimmy Bowskill and Carlos del Junco.” In addition to award-winning Canadian artists, the venue has hosted performers from Australia and New Zealand, the UK, and the US.

Although she says their first love is live performances, they take on small film projects for fun. “Like our show The View From Here, a short rant we invite folks to contribute to in front of a green screen. We also have a beer tasting show in the works!”

And then COVID hit, but Bonisteel found a way to adapt. “Early this spring, when hosting indoor live events looked bleak, we took a chance on creating an outdoor stage,” she says. “Within days of its completion, the province announced that outdoor gatherings would be allowed if COVID protocols were in place.”

She counts themselves lucky: “We were open from June 10 right up until October 3 with our live music, theatre and storytelling series. Many venues do not have the luxury of an outdoor space.”

Like most venues that are currently allowed to have limited indoor audiences, Old Church Theatre is moving cautiously, and has implemented their own COVID safety plan, including: improved air flow and filtration, reduced seating, pre-booked tickets only and enhanced sanitation.

“Everybody is having tough times these days,” says Bonisteel. “Musicians and performers have been hit especially hard. Think about a touring musician’s lot prior to COVID; many people don’t buy CDs anymore, and we have a whole generation of people who think music should be free, or at least no more expensive than a Spotify account.”

“Live performing is all musicians had left and look what’s happened to that. It’s the same with theatre. This is a cornerstone of our culture, and it’s dying,” she says. “My hope is that folks see the value in social gatherings and live performance, now under safe conditions and later when COVID finally makes its exit, and choose to support the arts.”

oldchurch.ca