Actor and Playwright Brault Brault performing his award winning play Blood on the Moon. Photo by Peter Knippel
Pierre Brault believes it is a testament to the power of Canadian stories that his play Blood on the Moon keeps coming back.
The award-winning one-person drama, written and performed by Brault, was nominated for another award (the Prix Rideau) earlier this spring.
Blood on the Moon explores the circumstances surrounding the only assassination of a federal politician in Canada—that of Thomas D’Arcy McGee—and the country’s last public hanging—of James Patrick Whelan for McGee’s murder in 1868.
The two men were both Irish immigrants. McGee was the former leader of the Young Ireland Rebellion. They played pivotal parts in Irish Canadian history.
The play premiered at the 1999 Ottawa Fringe Festival in the actual building where Whelan’s trial took place.
“When I researched the story I found that there was very little written about the topic,” Brault said. “We seemed to have collective amnesia about it. I think that in Canada, we tend to ignore our stories. But when we have the opportunity, we can be pleasantly surprised.
“When I first performed the play, it sparked major interest in the story from news networks,” Brault added. “It was a polarizing story, but I always say that if Sparks Street were in the United States there would be a theme park built on it.”
In January 2012, the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC) had a solo show scheduled to run from Jan. 17 to Feb. 5, but its lone performer took seriously ill shortly before the show was scheduled to go on.
The GCTC approached Brault about doing one of his solo shows as a replacement. He chose Blood on the Moon.
“It had almost been 10 years since the play’s world premiere, so it seemed an appropriate choice,” Brault said.
Brault’s recent Prix Rideau Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a male actor was for that replacement performance. The nomination came as a pleasant surprise.
“It is a good way to book end the career of Blood on the Moon,” he said. “I like to call it the play that keeps on giving. After the 1999 Fringe festival it went to the NAC for three summers, toured Ireland, was adapted for Bravo television and then came back to the GCTC in 2012, which was a nice way to end it.
“Also, since the GCTC has either produced or presented all four of the shows that I have written and performed myself, I consider it my home theatre,” Brault said.
The Prix Rideau Awards are based in Ottawa and celebrate the work of regional theatre professionals.
Brault and his family have lived in Old Ottawa East for almost a decade. Originally from Montreal, Brault studied professional theatre at John Abbott College.
He lived in Toronto for many years, working at various jobs including video production, which ultimately brought him to Ottawa. He remained here because he loves the city.
He and his wife Judi Pearl formed the Sleeping Dog Theatre Company in 1999, dedicated to the development, production and touring of new Canadian plays.
They named the company after their dog—not surprisingly, named D’Arcy.
Brault has made his living as a playwright, actor and stand-up comedian since settling in Ottawa.
His last play, The Shadow Cutter, had its premier at the GCTC in March 2011. Other solo plays include 5 O’Clock Bells and Portrait of an Unidentified Man. Brault was also the recipient of the inaugural Audrey Ashley Award for his body of work contribution to the Ottawa theatre scene.
He recently challenged himself to write plays for others and has become interested in teaching.
“It is great being able to articulate all of the things I’ve learned over the years,” he said.
Brault is currently teaching play writing at the Ottawa Theatre School.
The Prix Rideau Awards will be announced at a gala event on April 21.
