A chance meeting, an engrossing conversation and an examination of generational family trauma are the broad strokes of Conrad Beaubien’s Back of Hoards Station, which plays various locations in the County this summer.

Beaubien has resurrected the play, which first appeared at the Hillier Town Hall in 2014, and is now being presented via Roamin’ Theatre Roulant – a horse drawn playhouse on wheels. The production stars Sarah Kirby as Elizabeth, a fish-out-of-water, first-time auction-goer in search of a donkey named Love, and David Burns as the know-it-all-and-is-more-than-happy-to-tell-you-about-it farmer named Ted.

The two are thrust together after the day’s auction, and plans, as they do, go awry. The discovery that each of them has a grandparent who was a Barnardo Home child (sent from Britain into dire circumstances in Canada) leads to a spiralling conversation, powerful realizations, and humorous bits in between.

Mr. Beaubien explained that he believes so-called random events that unfold in our lives are “not as serendipitous as we often want to believe.”

“When trauma occurs, we seek grounding, our inner selves often steer us subconsciously to take refuge in familiar ground. That familiar place may be somewhere from our childhood days,” Mr. Beaubien explained.

In his work, two people from disparate experiences in adult life come to understand an early influence that they share, a historic story that has travelled through their bloodlines.  

The folksy and rustic charm of the Hoards Station Sales Barn is recreated in this production. Surprisingly, Mr. Beaubien has yet to attend an auction at Hoards Station; he said the insights of the auction barn came from listening to the conversations of local farmers about the weekly livestock auction. The business and social contact make it an all-important aspect of rural life. 

“To me, such gatherings are a universal connector among people, opportunities to gather stories and to learn of each other,’ he said. “In the story of the Barnardo Home Children, I imagined how such places offered the warmth of family.”

Roulant Theatre brings Back of Hoards Station to the following venues:

Rosehall Run Vineyards – Aug 3rd – 5th @7:00 p.m. & Saturday Aug 5th Matinee @ 2:00 p.m.    

The Waring House, Picton – Aug 10th – Aug 12th @ 7:00 p.m. &  Saturday, Aug 12th Matinee @ 2:00 p.m.     

Pre-show music starts at 6:00 p.m. at all venues.

For more information, visit www.stationroadarts.com