PEI

Ontario couple move to P.E.I. to act at Watermark Theatre

It'll be equal parts fun in the sun and suspense on stage for an Ontario couple spending their summer on P.E.I.

'We don't always have the opportunity to work together'

Geoffrey Pounsett and Madeleine Donohue are on P.E.I. this summer to act at the Watermark Theatre. (Angela Walker/CBC)

It'll be equal parts fun in the sun and suspense on stage for an Ontario couple spending their summer on P.E.I.

Actors Madeleine Donohue and Geoffrey Pounsett uprooted the family and are on the Island to act in productions at the Watermark Theatre in North Rustico, P.E.I.

"One of the questions we get a lot is 'have you worked together?' We haven't," Donohue told CBC's Mainstreet P.E.I.

While the two have had some opportunities to work together in the past, in the end one or the other was always committed to something else. 

"It's the way the business works," Pounsett said. "We don't always have the opportunity to work together."

Now that they finally had their shot — even if was across the country — it was a no-brainer to take it.

'Fun flirty stuff, marital strife and ... drama'

The two have their kids with them and will centre their summer around the Watermark Theatre's two productions: Dial M for Murder and A Moon for the Misbegotten.

Donahue will act in the former, while Pounsett will be acting in both.

"I actually really love the play," Donahue said of Dial M for Murder. "There is a lot that surprised me by the end."

Just watching the plot unfold and unravel is fascinating.… There's fun flirty stuff, marital strife and of course there's some drama."

A white building surrounded by gardens.
Some Moon for the Misbegotten and Dial M for Murder shows are already sold out. (Watermark Theatre/Facebook)

For Pounsett, one of the things he's most excited about is the theatre's multi-sided stage, which in itself, he said, adds a level of authenticity to the production that many actors can't get elsewhere.

"I like to work in spaces where the audience is around the show," he said.

"There's a real difference for an actor, and I think for the audience too, in being able to work in three dimensions which is something you can't do on a flat stage in the same way."

Some of the shows for the two productions are already sold out. ​For show times and ticket information, visit the Watermark Theatre website.

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With files from Mainstreet P.E.I.