Istvan Dugalin ➤

Shannon Pitre, Alea Carrington and Justine Christensen in Bluebirds | Photo by Barry McCluskey

I’m immensely glad I made the day trip out to Port Perry for Theatre on the Ridge’s stirring production of Bluebirds. The outdoor venue provides a natural ambiance and, most notably for me, allows a breeze to catch in the actors’ hair—just one of many subtle details in this finely wrought piece of theatre. Set in France during the first world war, the story tracks the friendship of three women of the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC), fully enlisted soldiers with rank, nicknamed “bluebirds” for their elegant blue uniforms.

Vern Thiessen’s play, immersing us in a very specific perspective of war, is a lyrical and loving portrait of these three women and their bond. It examines and celebrates how they challenge and bolster one another as they weather the horrors that define their vocation. Each writes letters to the special people they have left behind. There’s Maggie (Shannon Pitre), missing her female lover, Bab (Justine Christensen) corresponding with her dead grandfather in lieu of a diary, and Christie (Alea Carrington), the most bashful and reserved of the trio, who sends letters to a fiancé whom she may not entirely want to return to.

After a brief introduction to their individual circumstances, they don their bluebird uniforms (designed by Brenda Thompson to be handsome, functional and theatrically dextrous), a dignified ritual that unifies and exalts them. Once in the field, the story jumps from the relentless inflow of casualties, letters to their loved ones and their intimate conversations. The sharing of potentially devastating secrets further intensifies their alliance and the promise to stand by each other is the first of three vows they make.

This motif of threes is a prominent device in Thiessen’s play. The trio of women have three bracing trips to the beach during their deployment. There are three tokens to represent their loved ones back home—a hat, a shawl and a vest. Most ominously, there is the always thrice-repeated reference to “the dead,” which has a poignant payoff. 

Scenes flow into each other with elegant, poetic purpose. From the urgent staccato rhythm of tending to the wounded to the gentle, delicate motions they manifest to sooth and ground themselves and each other—this resonant gestural language is a defining feature of director Iain Moggach’s tender and intuitive production. It is quite astonishing how simultaneously stylish and deeply authentic it feels, every moment given ample time to breathe without disrupting narrative momentum. Pitre, Christensen and Carrington embody the fear, camaraderie, spiritual purpose and genuine sense of adventure with a breezy verisimilitude.

They are surrounded by weathered trunks and suitcases, from which they pull a variety of props. These set and scenic elements, designed by Ari Leroux and Cary Nicholson in collaboration with Moggach, are put to simple yet dynamic storytelling use, adding a tactile quality to the otherwise ephemeral aesthetic. Lyle Corrigan’s score unobtrusively enhances tone and his sound design features the sparing and eerily effective use of distant artillery fire to remind us of the looming danger. Shania Scott’s understated lighting subtly emphasizes the warmth or coolness of any given moment.

If Port Perry is a place you can get to, I highly recommend arranging it. Bluebirds is a truly special experience, an achievement that far surpassed my expectations and which will likely stay with me for a good while to come.

Bluebirds
July 11 to 27, 2025
Scugog Shores Museum Village
(16210 Island Road, Port Perry)
90 minutes (no intermission)

Cast of Bluebirds | Photo by Barry McCluskey