‘1969’: A Multimedia Hitchhiking Glimpse Into the Past
It’s 1969, the Vietnam war is at its peak with more than 500,000 American soldiers overseas and to protest the war and advocate for peace, John Lennon and Yoko Ono are staging a bed-in at a Montreal hotel. Enter Micheline (Lilli McDonald) and Suzie (Gia Silva), two Canadian teens trying to hitchhike their way to Montreal to allegedly join the protest efforts. They soon meet Sammy (Kieran Chenier), a young American who is about to ship off to join the fight, but is instead in Canada weighing his options. Together, the three are relying on the kindness of strangers to make their way to their respective locations.
Pub Shed Productions presents 1969 by Janet Kish as a part of the 2025 TK Fringe Festival. Entering the Baby Grand Theatre before the show, the stage is set with scattered pedestals of varying heights, a keyboard, two white lines of tape on the floor, and two television screens. The film displayed, designed by Brent Nurse, Sydney Nurse, and Steve Spencer, features kaleidoscopic moving images before shifting to simply “1969,” with footage of protests playing within the numerals’ outlines. This mix of psychedelic images followed by upsetting reminders of the Vietnam War does an excellent job in setting the show’s tone before it even begins.
The performance starts with a seven person chorus entering and offering context into the political and social climates of the time; a reminder for many, and a welcome history lesson for those who are less familiar with the period. This sizable chorus remains onstage for the rest of the production, standing and sitting on pedestals on the right half of the stage. From here they watch over the action, occasionally stepping in to fill minor roles, erupting into collective speech offering more historical context, or occasionally singing portions of popular songs from the era (accompanied by Tim Ryan on the keys).
Director Rachael McDonald clearly had grand visions for the chorus, as they take up the majority of the stage and force the action of the piece into a rather small corner. It’s slightly awkward when they are not being used in the plot, but through their smaller involvements, the presence of the chorus offers some thoughtfully poignant moments. Often, the primary trio of characters will be describing something that happened in their past whilst a few members of the ensemble silently reenact the very same story. One of the most powerful moments of the entire piece saw Chenier describing his parents’ agony, while Lloyd Balme embodied the father; it brought the tension of the event to the stage where the story would not have been able to support it otherwise.
The production’s aesthetics capture exactly what one might expect of a script titled 1969, and many of the themes align with preconceived ideas of a piece set in that era as well. Where this show defies audience expectations is its use of a chorus and collective voice, and this unique creative choice is where the typical historical drama meets the experimentation of Fringe. It’s an exciting approach with benefits and drawbacks, but the team handles both well and has created a wonderfully intriguing piece of political nostalgia.
‘1969’ plays until August 17, 2025 at the Baby Grand Theatre in the TK Fringe as part of The Kick & Push Festival. More information about the festival can be found here.
