Great Stories. Well Told

Great Stories. Well Told HERE

Ontario Theatre

 

The Myth of the One-Man Show

A one-man show is never really a one-man show.

When the lights come up and a performer steps onto the stage alone, the audience sees a single storyteller. What they don’t see are the many creative hands that helped build the world around him.

That’s certainly the case with Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears, coming to the River Run Centre Studio Theatre on April 9.

The show begins with the writing of Cambridge author Charlene Herrold (1920–2009). Her collection of stories imagined the spirited Irish village of Ballycarlene — a place where neighbours gossip across fences, fiddlers play late into the night, and the everyday dramas of village life unfold with equal measures of humour and heartbreak.

Those stories have now been adapted for the stage by Guelph actor and storyteller Jay Wilson, who performs the one-man production, bringing to life a lively cast of characters including Terrible Tom O’Malley, the Widow O’Donnell, Fiddler O’Flaherty, and even the cat, Frances O’Feline. Following enthusiastic audience response at Theatre Collingwood’s Porchside Festival, the show has since travelled to stages across Ontario.

But while only one performer appears on stage, the production itself reflects a number of local creative collaborators.

Simple set pieces were built by Fergus craftsman Jim Hoare, a long-time supporter of community theatre, while the visual world of the show is shaped by scenic artwork from Guelph illustrator and painter Robin Baird Lewis, whose artistic career spans more than five decades and more than thirty children’s books. 

Together, these artists — writer, performer, builder, and painter — reflect something easy to overlook: the depth of creative talent that exists throughout our region.

That local creative ecosystem depends on spaces where artists can share their work. For Wilson it is encouraging to see the River Run Centre providing opportunities for professional artists from our community to perform alongside national and international programming.

Across the city there are signs that this cultural community is gaining new recognition. The Guelph Arts Council will soon launch the GRETAs (Guelph Recognition of Excellence in the Arts), celebrating artists and innovators whose work enriches the life of the community. At the same time, the City of Guelph has recently adopted a cultural plan that recognizes the importance of supporting and nurturing the arts locally.

Perhaps one day this momentum will lead to the development of a resident professional theatre company devoted to telling stories rooted here — stories that reflect not only Guelph’s past, but the many cultures and lived experiences that shape the city today.

In the meantime, productions like Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears remind us that storytelling is alive and well in Guelph. All it takes is a good story, a few dedicated artists, and an audience willing to come along for the ride.

Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears will be performed at the River Run Centre Studio Theatre on April 9 at 8 p.m.

Tickets to Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears are $30 for adults, $28 for patrons over 60 years old, and $25 for those under 30. Sliding Scale tickets are available for $10 and $20. For more information or to purchase, call 519-763-3000, visit River Run’s Box Office at 35 Woolwich Street in Guelph, or go to https://riverrun.ca/whats-on/lilt-of-laughter-trace-of-tears/

Did you know?

Grace O’Malley 

16th century Irish pirate and chieftain, also known as Gráinne Mhaol is said to be related to Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears author Charlene Herrold. 

‘Gracie’ reportedly at one time owned as much as 1000 head of horses and cattle.

Mark Carney

Upon becoming Governor of the Bank of England, Prime Minister Mark Carney hung by his door a small map of County Mayo to remind him of his background. Mark Carney’s Grandfather emigrated from County Mayo, a place of breathtaking beauty, but also the poorest County in all of Europe. He came to Canada to make a better life for himself and his family.

The Tourist Dollar, the first story in Lilt of Laughter Trace of Tears introduces us to Grace O'Malley.

All of the stories, while taking place in Ballycarlene are all based on County Mayo, Ireland - The Carney home at one time.

Just a couple of interesting items about Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears, coming to a theatre near you

Things to do April 9, 2026 Guelph

 

Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears

One Man. Many Voices. An Irish tapestry of humour and heart.

GUELPH, ON – April 2026 — In Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears, veteran Ontario actor and storyteller Jay Wilson offers an evening of richly theatrical storytelling drawn from the spirit of rural Ireland. On Thursday, April 9 at 8 p.m. in the River Run Centre’s Studio Theatre, Wilson inhabits a gallery of unforgettable characters — revealing lives shaped by resilience, mischief, longing, and love.

With more than five decades of experience on stage, Wilson moves fluidly from one voice to another, embodying figures such as Fiddler O’Flaherty, the formidable Widow O’Donnell, Devlin Haggerty — and even Frances O’Feline, a cat of uncommon presence. Each portrait is rendered with emotional nuance and a deep respect for the rhythms of oral tradition, where laughter and loss are never far apart.

The production is adapted from a collection of stories by the late Charlene Herrold, a long-time family friend whose writing captured the cadence and character of Irish village life. When Wilson first encountered her work, he recognized in it the bones of theatre — intimate monologues alive with possibility. What began as a creative exploration gradually grew into a fully realized one-person show and a tribute to both the author and the storytelling tradition she cherished.

Early presentations with the Guelph Guild of Storytellers gradually evolved into a full one-person production. Following sold-out performances at Theatre Collingwood’s 2023 Porchside Festival, Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears has continued to resonate with audiences across Ontario. The production blends theatrical craft with heartfelt storytelling, inviting audiences into a world where wit softens sorrow and every life, no matter how ordinary, carries quiet significance.

This show is part of the Showcase Series, which features one-of-a-kind, theatrical performances. It is proudly supported by River Run’s 2025/26 Season Sponsor, Richardson Wealth, as well as with funding from the Government of Canada.

Tickets to Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears are $30 for adults, $28 for patrons over 60 years old, and $25 for those under 30. Sliding Scale tickets are available for $10 and $20. For more information or to purchase, call 519-763-3000, visit River Run’s Box Office at 35 Woolwich Street in Guelph, or go to https://riverrun.ca/whats-on/lilt-of-laughter-trace-of-tears/.

- 30 -

70 Years in the Making

"How long did it take you?"

"My whole life."

Want to book this show for your venue?

Wilsonjay7@gmail.com 519 820-3269

JAYWalking Theatre

It's fun to switch between these two blogs

Try it HERE 

Galt Ontario

 

Author, Charlene Herrold was born in Alma Ontario, but moved to Galt (Cambridge) in the 1950's

I would love for her play to be performed in Cambridge as a tribute to her and her artistic career.

How about your community hall, intimate venue, Irish club, Newfie club, theatre space, or church?

Makes a great fundraiser. 

Scenic Art

It doesn't look like much now, but wait 'till it's finished.

Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears is getting a makeover as it heads into the theatre at the River Run Centre in April 2026

Scenic artist, Robin Baird Lewis and Set Construction Lead, Jim Hoare are making theatre magic.

Because we loved what Robin had done creating the publicity images for the show, We all agreed they had  a larger role to play so now they will appear as part of the show itself.

There is still lots of room for audience imagination. I love the flexibility of theatre boxes. They can serve as chairs, tables, risers, stairs...whatever you want. So that's what we will do. A one person theatre company means we have to keep the scale small. The good news is that also keeps the solutions creative.

Theatre Box

Author, author.

Who wrote Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears?

Charlene Herrold

1920-2009

Charlene was born in Alma ON and moved to Cambridge ON in the 1950’s. She was a well known visual artist and Interior Designer at J.H. Wilson and Sons in downtown Galt. Galt Little Theatre was often a recipient of Ms. Herrold’s talent as a Writer, Director, Actor, Painter and Stage Manager. In1999 Charlene sent Jay a copy of her book, Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears. 

The show is a collection of stories from that book, all except one, Frances O’Feline. The story of Frances was a gift sent to Jay’s children, Erin and Kayleigh.

TICKETS HERE

Guelph River Run Centre

How Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears became part of the River Run Centre's 2025/26 season.

In 2024, JayWalking Theatre did a performance of Gwelf Early Days as a Culture Days event at the River Run Centre. It played to a full house and audiences loved the show.

In early 2025 Bill Nuhn, then General Manager, asked "Do you have another show?"

You see, the house report for Gwelf Early Days was very good.

I mentioned, Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears.

And, well, here we are. Tickets are now available for the performance Thursday April 9, 2026. HERE

You'll love this delightful show that provokes laughter, and laughter-tears. A multitude of Irish characters who find themselves in amusing situations. The writing is spot-on capturing that unique way with words that only the Irish possess. That is all thanks to author Charlene Herrold. You'll hear more about her in a future post.

Charlene Herrold

No, you don't need to be Irish to enjoy this show as universal themes of love, loss, life and laughter are adeptly woven into the stories. 

As this is being written, a new set is under construction - Thanks to Jim Hoare, well known in Guelph for his work in theatre and Scenic Artist Robin Baird Lewis, no stranger to the art world is sharing her skills and talent.

We hope you will come. You will remember this show long after the hour is over and you will leave the theatre smiling and uplifted.

"Sure it is well known that the whole world would be Irish if it could." Fiddler O'Flaherty

Uxbridge Ontario

You were a great audience, Uxbridge. Thank you!

We had a wonderful time May, 2025.

Up next your town.

Some background

Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears. A show is born.

Years ago, roughly 2008-2016, I was touring Ontario schools and libraries by day and retirement homes by night with Pandora’s Sox – puppets and entertainment for children and seniors.

One evening as I pulled into a retirement home after an exhausting day, I looked at the props, set, pieces, sound equipment, puppet boxes and sighed. I really didn’t want to do another load-in followed by the inevitable strike after the show.

I was working at the Gravenhurst Opera House in 1999, when Charlene sent me a copy of her book, Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears and immediately was struck by the fact that these were not simply well written Irish stories, but tales that came to life when spoken aloud. Each story contained several voices and each voice was a distinct character. You could hear them speaking.

Ever since, I had been toying with the idea of turning this into a one-man show and so had begun committing some of my favourites to memory. I told Charlene that one day I would, with her blessing, like to perform her work. She gave me that blessing.

So, there I was, years later standing by my now-open car door, staring at the necessary load-in that lay ahead. I had been practising Charlene’s stories in my hotel rooms during the tours, adding simple blocking and perfecting nuance and accent and knew that at some point I couldn’t keep self directing. I would need to test this material in front of an audience. Why not now?

I shut the car door and with nothing in my arms walked into the retirement home.

The audience was already assembled in the room, which startled me as I usually took 30 minutes to set up. “They’ve been looking forward to seeing you again and so started coming into the room right after dinner. Need any help bringing in your things?” I was asked. “No”, I said, “I’m fine.” 

I returned to the car, nervous now as I knew the audience had high expectations. They were already seated and I was scheduled to go on in 30 minutes at 7pm. I selected a hat, a cane, vest and sweater. I returned to the activity room and set these items nearby, donned the Irish cap and started with the first story, The Tourist Dollar, in my best Irish accent...”There we were, doin’ our damnedest to decide how best to get the tourists pouring into the west country by the cartful. Tilted back on the hindermost legs of our chairs, our pipes foggin’ the place and a jar of the needful to hand, we cogitated.”

I had forgotten the power of storytelling/reciting. No props, no puppets, no visual aids, gags, guitars, mics, just words: great stories, well told. 

It started there, in that retirement home. I rediscovered the power of theatre and the spoken word. It was a memorable night and the audience was still buzzing with joy as I drove away.

That experiment in the retirement home has grown considerably and is now a polished one-hour, one-man show.

In 2023, Theatre Collingwood picked up the show for two sold out performances. In the fall of 2023 Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears played to sold out houses in Guelph at the Guelph Arts Councils’ new performance venue “ArtBar”. 2024 has seen several more performances with a particularly wonderful Mother’s Day performance in May in the very charming Edgar Community Hall, just outside of Barrie. I love old community halls! And so it begins.

For the past seven years I have been performing what I call “Street Theatre”, walking tours under the name JayWalking Guelph. This past September The Gwelf Early Days Walking Tour was performed indoors as a multi-media theatre performance at Guelph’s River Run Centre. That show reminded me just how much I enjoy performing in a theatre. You don’t have to stress about a rained out show.

With that in mind Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears is now available for your local theatre space, or community hall,  It features an array of delightful Irish characters who find themselves in terribly amusing situations, and no, you don’t need to be Irish to identify with the universal themes adeptly tucked into the text. The characters range in age from 18 to 88 and we even meet The Widow O’Donnell and a cat, Frances O’Feline.

Audiences have told me time and time again, how much they love this well-written script, performed simply without lasers, glitz, explosions, and amplifiers. Just great stories that warm the soul. For one hour one is transported to another world. I hope you will invite Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears to your community.

For information about Lilt of Laughter, Trace of Tears visit the blog at https://liltoflaughter.blogspot.com/ My website https://www.jaywalkingguelph.ca/ is also still active, although the walking tours are winding down.

If you have questions or wish to speak further contact me at wilsonjay7@gmail.com 519 820-3269.

Rendering for the theatre poster done by local Guelph artist, Robin Baird Lewis.

Beginnings

Lilt of Laughter Trace of Tears performances to date

July 14, 15,  2023 Theatre Collingwood

November 18,19, 2023 Guelph Arts Council’s ArtBar

March 17, 2024 Special St. Patrick’s Day performance, Red Brick Cafe Guelph

May12,  2024, Special Mother’s Day performance, Edgar Community Hall (near Barrie ON)

August 15, 2024 Silence, Guelph ON and CFRU radio broadcast

Sept 21, 2024 Praise The Ward Festival

May 24, 2025 St. Paul's Church, Uxbridge ON

NEXT – Your venue. Now booking.

Now Booking 2025/26 season

I am available to meet with you to explain the show, give you a sample and negotiate terms.

Call me, 519 820-3269 or email to arrange wilsonjay7@gmail.com

Now booking 2025/26 season.

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