Local family takes the stage in musical theatre romp, Something Rotten!
GNAG Theatre’s spring musical mixes Tudor history, modern humour and some Old Ottawa East talent.
CLARE DAVIDSON ROGERS
GNAG Theatre will be producing the amazingly popular musical theatre production, Something Rotten! this April. This frolic of a musical brings the audience back to Tudor times wrapped up in modern wit, show-stopping dance numbers and hilarious lines.
Something Rotten! is a wonderful combination, an alchemy as it were, of fun historical facts and modern humour. Unlike the alchemy of Tudor times, when people thought gold and silver could be created by mixing the perfect ingredients, GNAG Theatre alchemy is the combination of community, creativity and occasional chaos.
Part of that community is made up of Old Ottawa East residents, Jean François Harbour, Helena Forbes and their two daughters, Beatrice and Josephine. The Harbour-Forbes family said, “It’s really special to be part of an intergenerational activity where all the family members cooperate and work together. As adults it’s also fun to learn and be in a creative space with your kids. Our family has had a longstanding love of theatre, and in particular, musical theatre. Thanks to GNAG, we now also get the thrill of performing too! Seeing the audience reaction in live theatre is an incredible sensation.”
As assistant choreographer this year and last, Helena has also been incredibly proud of the dancers she has worked with. After Jean François’ first ever rehearsal, one of the other actors asked if he was enjoying it. When he replied in the affirmative, they said, “I thought so! You’ve been smiling the whole time!” Working together as a family adds a special level of commitment and connection to their work.
Something Rotten! embraces the social complexity of life in Tudor England between 1485 and 1603. Life back then was not for the faint of heart. It was a messy, loud, irreverent and simultaneously rigorously regulated time. Poverty was everywhere but sat alongside unbelievable luxury. London was growing rapidly but city services were non-existent. There was no sanitation and slops and chamber pots were tossed into the street regardless of who was passing below.
People worked from dawn to dusk and spent their hard-earned pennies on the cheapest and most entertaining distractions they could find, often at the famous Globe Theatre. The wealthy and the poor attended alongside each other with the “groundlings,” those who attended in the central open pit, bringing a boisterous character to the audience.
Theatre thrived in Tudor times because of its clever language and inventive take on tradition. In Something Rotten! the play’s protagonists, Nick and Nigel Bottom, do their best to make something new – a full-blown musical – out of something old, combining modern sentiment and Tudor traditions. They attempt to outshine the celebrity playwright of the moment, the beloved bard William Shakespeare. All in all, Something Rotten! is a crazy romp, featuring innkeepers, soothsayers, money lenders, guild members and more!
Whether you love musical theatre, are a Shakespeare fan, or are just looking to support your Old Ottawa East neighbours, you can expect an evening full of fun – Tudor style – at Something Rotten! The show runs from April 14th to 19th at 7 pm and April 18th and 19th at 2 pm. Tickets go on sale March 2, 2026, on the GNAG website at GNAG.ca.