General News

Choices, consequences, and forgiveness: Blackhorse Theatre presents ‘Willow Quartet’

November 13, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

A time of grief can mean a time of change as people try to navigate through their feelings and find a new path in life.

The Blackhorse Village Players’ production of Willow Quartet blends comedy, romance, and drama as four people each find their own way to deal with the aftermath of a tragedy.

Set on a rural farm that has seen better days, Willow Quarter is produced by Jo-Anne Pulfer and directed by Melanie Burgess.

Kim, played by Cora Kennedy, has returned to her childhood home after her marriage ended.

She is surrounded by a dark cloud of grief that resulted in the marital breakup.

She likes the peaceful atmosphere and pastoral setting of rural life.

In the role of Marjorie, Laurie Laing is Kim’s mother, who has left the farm to live in a condo in the city. She returns to the farm often, usually using the excuse to do laundry there as the reason for her visit.

Marjorie is not shy about offering her opinion to others.

Kim’s estranged husband Ben, played by veteran actor Kristoffer Brown, also drops by the farm on a regular basis. His latest reason for visiting the farm is to work on an old tractor he wants to use in a town parade.

Ben’s visits make Kim uncomfortable as she really doesn’t want to see him.

Kim tells Marjorie that she is renting out a room to a man who plays first violin in an orchestra that is visiting the town.

Marjorie seems to find the notion of a man living in the house scandalous.

Ben plays down the situation, saying the new man is just a boarder and nothing more.

Enter Jim, played by Fabian Levy-Hara, who takes up residence at the farm as the travelling musician.

Jim is sophisticated, worldly, and charming, and makes an immediate impression on Kim.

Even Ben likes Jim. He shows him around the property and the tractor he is trying to fix.

One evening, Jim mentions the motorcycle he saw in the barn.

The mention of the motorcycle hits a nerve with Kim, who becomes emotional and runs into the house.

Ben reveals why Kim is so emotional and why the motorcycle affected their marriage.

As Kim struggles to get through her unresolved grief, she begins to explore buried feelings.

Willow Quartet is a drama about choices, consequences, and ultimately forgiveness.

The set for this play is clever and impressive, and really places you in a rural farmhouse setting.  

Willow Quartet is on the Blackhorse Village Players stage through to Nov. 23, with evening performances on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and a Sunday matinee.

You can purchase tickets on the website at www.blackhorsetheatre.ca.

Readers Comments (0)