When Winnie Knew is a community labour of love

In her later years, Winnifred Trainor – or Winnie – was a spinster, but as a young woman some believe she was in love with a man who she hoped to marry. That hope was tragically destroyed on July 16, 1917.

That was the day Winnie, a Huntsville resident, knew her lover was dead. After eight days of waiting to find out his fate, she learned on July 16 that the body of Tom Thomson had been found in Algonquin Park’s Canoe Lake.

That day is the focus of a play, When Winnie Knew, being presented at the Algonquin Theatre this Sunday. Written by local actor Grant Nickalls and inspired by the book Northern Light: The Enduring Mystery of Tom Thomson and the Woman Who Loved Him by Roy MacGregor, who knew Winnie when he was a boy, When Winnie Knew explores the relationship between Winnie and Tom and their unique connection to Huntsville.

“This is a story about Winnie,” says Nickalls. “That’s the real local connection and it was so beautifully put together in Roy MacGregor’s book. That’s where I drew from.”

Nickalls says he enjoyed the research required even though writing the script was out of his comfort zone. He was reluctant to share the script with MacGregor – who will also make an appearance to read from Northern Light – but needn’t have worried. MacGregor’s reaction was positive.

Nickalls was no stranger to the Tom Thomson story, however. He once acted in another Tom Thomson-themed play, The Shantyman’s Daughter, by local playwright Stina Nyquist, and says that she also inspired this script.

“Everyone has their own thoughts on what really happened (to Tom Thomson),” says Nickalls. “We don’t actually say. And there are still those that believe they didn’t have a relationship, but I believe it’s a love story gone wrong and it stayed with her the rest of her life.”

Nickalls believes both Winnie and Tom were somewhat outcasts in society – he for being an artist when other men were off at war and his brothers were successful businessmen, she for being 30 and unmarried. But in Algonquin Park, where Winnie’s family had a cabin and where Tom painted, “there was no judgement. It was where they both found a certain comfort,” says Nickalls.

It’s a personal story, one that tries to capture the relationship between Winnie and Tom while staying true to the known facts and filling in the gaps where there are none.

“We aren’t trying to tell the definitive history of Tom Thomson,” notes Teri Souter, the Town’s Manager of Arts, Culture and Heritage, who helped Nickalls come up with the idea for When Winnie Knew. “We are trying to tell Tom’s story in Huntsville and that’s Winnie’s story.”

In MacGregor’s feedback to Nickalls, he noted, “The Tom Thomson story is anyone’s to play with as they see fit. No one knows the truth and no one ever will.”

“We are getting to the heart of the story,” says Souter, “but we aren’t taking ourselves seriously. We don’t think we’ve solved the crime of the century.”

To find out how it plays out, you’ll have to get a ticket for the show. There’s just one performance – a matinee on Sunday, July 16 at 2 p.m..

“This is a one-time opportunity to see Huntsville and its talent showcased in a really unique way,” says Souter. When Winnie Knew features MacGregor as himself, Nickalls as Tom Thomson, and Cydney Jones as Winnie, plus original music by Sean Cotton, and art by Janine Marson. Greg Perras directs, and Muskoka Heritage Place provided the costumes. “You’re not going to get this anywhere else.”

There will be an artist’s reception in Partners Hall prior to the show, from 1-2 p.m., showcasing Janine Marson’s 100-painting exhibition Through Tom’s Eyes, and a general reception following the performance from 3-4 p.m.

Tickets for When Winnie Knew are available for $20 at the Algonquin Theatre box office. All proceeds from the show support the Huntsville Hospital Foundation.

This is a sponsored story paid for by the featured advertiser