"Joyous! Rousing! If a staged kitchen party is any indication of the camaraderie and fun, I want to experience the real thing. Warm and affectionate storytelling with a spontaneous love of life."

Now I wish the Newfoundland tour I was on several years ago had included an actual kitchen party. That would be a hell of a lotta fun.

Port Hope's Capitol Theatre brings that fun to 20 Queen Street East with Shipyard Kitchen's Party's 'The Newfoundland Songbook'. In the Capitol's Sculthorpe kitchen, there's laughter, music, songs, and even the odd cell phone ring going off during the show, which the performers incorporated without letting it faze them at all.

What a hoot this opening night was.

Stepping into the Capitol's Sculthorpe Theatre upstairs, we're greeted by rousing East Coast music plus a genuine warmth and affection for everyone who's in attendance. Some terrific artists are on hand to share stories with conviction, compassion, wit, and a dash of double entendres.  'The Newfoundland Songbook' is performed and sung with a genuine heart and love for others, the spoken and sung word.

There are guitars and a fiddle, and seamless transitions from one song to the next. What more can anyone ask for on this beautiful summer evening?

On its website, Shipyard Kitchen Party bills itself as blending traditional instrumentation with humour, artistry and history to tell Canadian stories, our stories, and even YOUR stories in original ways. John Eaton, Sacha Law, Jason Murphy, Derek McLean, Jason Redman, and Saskia Tomkins uniquely embody that East Coast spirit of spontaneity and sass. Hearing their East Coast accents makes me want to go back again VERY SOON.

I've heard that tickets are selling quickly, and some shows might already be sold out. 

Treat yourselves. See the show.

Running time: approximately one hour and 30 minutes with one intermission.

The show runs until July 13 in the upstairs Sculthorpe Theatre at Port Hope's Capitol Theatre, 20 Queen Street. For tickets: capitoltheatre.com or call (905) 885-1071.

CAPITOL THEATRE presents
'The Newfoundland Songbook' by Shipyard Kitchen Party
Director of Production: Katherine Smith
Head LX and Sound: Christine Heriot
Production Coordinator: Charlene Saroyan

Performers: John Eaton, Sacha Law, Jason Murphy, Derek McLean, Jason Redman and Saskia Tomkins