Sudbury's Playsmelter festival returns following 2-year hiatus

Sudbury's Playsmelter Festival is returning to stage, street and rooftop for its 10th year, following a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19.

The festival, which highlights new works by northern Ontario artists, will be presenting theatrical performances at three venues:  the newly-completed Place des Arts, Shkagamik-Kwe Health Centre and Sudbury Theatre Centre. 

The festival will also feature pop-up events and nightly rooftop presentations.

Lisa O'Connell, director of Playsmelter, said being able to showcase local talent and present homegrown stories to audiences "is everything," especially following extended lockdowns that kept people away from crowded venues like theatres.

"The fact that we can be together in fellowship, that active coming together to listen to a beautiful story and to be connected by it, to be able to ask questions by it, to be provoked by it is everything," O'Connell said.

She said that particular form of storytelling shared between northern Ontario audiences and the artists is especially important to experience these days.

"To hear stories created by our own people, in our own community for something that's very, very special," she said.

"And that's the work we've been doing in northern Ontario for the past 12 years."

As for approaching the 10th anniversary of the festival, O'Connell said it still felt unreal to hit that number.  

"For me, it's a time for reflection," she said. "So I wrote down all the things we've done."

"But we haven't done them alone. We've collaborated with the community and presented over 48 new plays by 48 playwrights, nine of which have been produced across the country, which is amazing. And two of which have been published."

But most importantly, O'Connell said, was reflecting on the amount of effort put into working with the artists.

"We're just so thrilled that we've been through 10 years and we have 10 more to go," she said. "It's quite a celebration because these types of things sometimes aren't sustained and they might only happen for a year or two…but the power of this festival is really a direct result of the power of the stories of the folks in northern Ontario and of our artists."