From Heather to Homeland: The Jannet Sutherland Story

Join the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association for a special presentation by actor Nancy Chapple at the BWG Public Library and Cultural Centre.

From Heather to Homeland: The Jannet Sutherland Story
by Miriam King
Performed by Nancy Chapple
Inspired by the original writings of Jan Blommaert
Additional dialogue and music by Nancy Chapple
Stage Manager: Lesley Coo

From Heather to Homeland is a dramatization of the life of young Jannet Sutherland and her family from 1813 to 1819. It follows the hardships, the tragedies and the triumphs of the Sutherlands - from the forced eviction from their home in Scotland during the 1813 Highland Clearances, to their overwhelming challenges in reaching Lord Selkirk’s Red River Settlement in what is now Winnipeg, and their eventual travels to their final home at Scotch Settlement in Bradford West Gwillimbury.

This fictionalized diary of the young Jannet is based on historical records and the true-life events of the Sutherland family and other Scottish settlers who travelled to Canada in their pursuit of a new life, in the New World.

Nancy Chapple is a local actor, singer and theatre administrator. She is a member of the Theatre Georgian Bay Collective and is Past President at The South Simcoe Theatre in Cookstown. Select theatre credits: Dancing at Lughnasa , Fiddler on the Roof , Harvest Moon Rising , and Side By Side By Sondheim (SST); Much Ado About Nothing , The Comedy of Errors , The Winter’s Tale & Twelfth Night (Theatre Georgian Bay), and Desperate Measures (Hamilton Fringe Festival). Nancy is currently directing Cinderella… If The Shoe Fits by Debbie Collins & David Nairn, at The South Simcoe Theatre ( www.thesouthsimcoetheatre.com ). Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, Nancy was the original “Margaret” on CBC-TV’s long running series, The Beachcombers .