Paddy and Jane Walker save the day in hilarious play about Confederation

The latest Graham Mahood play is a great history lesson about Confederation, with a Kincardine connection, all wrapped up in music and song.

And while it's hilarious and a bit far-fetched, it's a magnificent show.

Presented to a sold-out crowd at the Walker House Heritage Dinner, Sunday evening, April 23, at the Kincardine Legion, “The True Story of Confederation or The Gospel According to Jane (Walker)” tells how Kincardine's grand couple saves the day as Canada becomes a nation.

The cast is tremendous, with Dylan Trahan beautifully portraying Canada's first prime minister, John A. Macdonald, as a brilliant politician who likes to imbibe. Fortunately, when he gets derailed, his life is set right by Kincardine's own Francis “Paddy” and Jane Walker, played by Sid and Jaki Mayer-Duggan.

Narrating the story are Stacey Millar and Barry Neilson who also had the audience in stitches as George Brown, complete with a neon-red wig. And joining them on stage, are Karen Yun as current prime minister Justin Trudeau, and Rob Riggin as the janitor at the House of Commons, along with musicians Patt Lowry and Brian Tovey.

The evening began with a delicious meal, followed by Mahood and Laura Haight of the Paddy Walker Heritage Society, conducting a brief quiz - guess who was a prime minister and who was a governor general of Canada.

The play begins in present day, right after Justin Trudeau has won the federal election and he is walking the hallowed halls of Parliament, wondering if he has what it takes to be prime minister. After a chat with Joe, the Janitor, he stares at the picture of the Fathers of Confederation and sees Paddy Walker appear, and so the real story begins.

Apparently, the discovery of a diary belonging to Paddy's wife, Jane, sends the audience down the rabbit hole, with the Walkers assisting John A. Macdonald in his quest to unite the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, into one nation.

Unfortunately, Macdonald struggles with alcoholism and this is well-played throughout the show.

The music is terrific and familiar enough for everyone to sing along.

At one point, Paddy Walker gives Macdonald an inkling of what it's like to deal with the municipal council, to which Macdonald proclaims, “Man, you've been through hell and back!”

As Macdonald waffles in a drunken stupour, wondering if he should remain in politics, it's Paddy and Jane who come to the rescue with a mixture of milk and soot for him to drink, and a listening ear for all of Macdonald's ideas.

Following intermission, history unfolds with the Americans and then the Fenians trying to take over Canada. Finally, Macdonald and his rival, Reform politician George Brown, form a coalition and try to work with the Maritime provinces to create a strong country that can defend itself against its adversaries.

However, things fall apart until Britain steps in, demanding loyalty from the Maritimes, and finally, the British North American Act is approved on March 8, 1867, and Confederation is completed on July 1, 1867, with Macdonald as the first prime minister. Besides Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia are included in the deal.

And Kincardine becomes the Camelot of Canada, with Paddy and Jane waving Canadian flags in the air, hoping that the North side and South side of their own fair town can get along, and maybe even Tiverton and Ripley too.

Congratulations to Mahood, and the cast and crew on another terrific tale. The crew included Michael Yun, Carolyn Smith, Kate Kincaid, and June Daniel.

If you missed the show the first time around, the plan is to play it again Sunday, June 25, at the Kincardine Legion.