✭✭✭✭✩

by David Scott and Gil Garratt with songs by John Powers, directed by Gil Garratt

Blyth Festival, Memorial Theatre, Blyth

July 31–September 13, 2026

Captain Whiskers: “I scratch your back, you scratch mine”

The Last Mayor of Rusty River by David Scott and Gil Garratt, now playing at the Blyth Festival, is an hilarious satire of small town politics. What gives the comedy a up-to-the-minute edge is how, intentionally or not, the politics of Rusty River seem to be a view in miniature of the politics of Our Neighbour to the South. With a top-notch cast of actor-musicians and clever songs by John Powers, Rusty River is a laugh-out-loud comedy that makes you realize how hard it is to change long-ingrained modes of thinking and behaviour.

The action takes place on Steve Lucas's set of council chambers for the village of Rusty River, council so small it consists of only a mayor, deputy mayor, two councillors and a clerk. Co-writer David Scott writes from experience having been the last mayor of Seaforth (1998–2000) before it was amalgamated into Huron East. With all the references to towns, villages and hamlets in Huron East, we can assume that Scott is giving us a peek into what could happen today in a municipality not too far from Blyth itself.

The play begins with the council in hot debate about what the Mayor, Larry Fletcher, considers the most important topic of the day, namely what animal should Rusty River choose to be its mascot. Exeter has its genetically anomalous white squirrel and Weirton, of course, has its groundhog. Larry thinks Rusty River should claim the red squirrel as its own. Choosing the right mascot, Larry thinks, will bring more businesses and tourists to the town.

New councillors Tim and Tina can’t believe that Larry is so focussed on so superficial a topic while ignoring homelessness, the real issue in Rusty River. Any time Tina brings up this topic, Larry stonewalls, claims rezoning is too difficult or accuses Tina of conflict of interest because she owns a trailer park.

Larry has been mayor since the 1990s and, clearly, he and his fervent yes-man Jerry do not want anything to change, including losing the power they’ve wielded for so long. It happens to be an election year and suspiciously a bottling company from Las Vegas has come forth with money to pay for a municipal park in Rusty River. More suspiciously, the same company has chosen to renovate a decrepit property owned by Larry into a plant to bottle water from the local aquifer.

For Tim and Tina, this is the last straw. Tim decides that Larry cannot again run opposed and proposes Captain Whiskers as a protest candidate. Captain Whiskers happens to be a cat, but as council clerk Judy discover there is not rule in the elections handbook specifying that a candidate must be human.

Now many people my find this idea far-fetched, but as Garratt points out in his Director’s Notes, towns in other countries have indeed elected feline mayors. He says, “Just last year, in 2025, the town of Somerville, Massachusetts, elected Minerva the Cat their Mayor. Stubbs the Cat was Mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska for twenty years (1997-2017)…. In 2012, the people of Halifax, Nova Scotia, saw a black and white longhaired housecat named Tuxedo Stan, run for Mayor”. Too bad he lost to a human.

Highlights of the play include questions put to Larry by journalist Harmony at the all-candidates’ debate and Larry’s obfuscating replies versus Captain Whiskers’s oracular sounds as interpreted by Tim.

Although the play is nominally about Rusty River, Canada, numerous remarks overheard after the show made clear that many audience members saw the play as a reflection of the current state of US national politics. There is Mayor Larry’s absurd obsession with his pet projects versus his refusal to face any of the real issues facing Rusty River. There is Larry’s unquestioning supporter Jerry who has made toadying his means to power. There is Larry anger at Tina because she is a woman who dares to speak out. There is Larry’s suggestion that the town should eliminate elections altogether to save the taxpayers money. Acclamation is so much cheaper, and who in Rusty Rover has more experience anyway that he does? One could even see Larry’s complete unwillingness to deal with homelessness as a passive parallel to the US’s current antipathic actions toward immigrants.

Benedict Cambell is hilarious as Mayor Larry. Campbell reveals a delightful conflict within Larry of attempting to maintain a jovial, “hail fellow well met” persona and his inherent conservative agenda and drift into self-enrichment through his office. Campbell is great in depicting bluster and attempts by all means to avoid answering awkward questions. In one memorable speech at the all-candidates’ debate, Larry begins to answer and then drifts off into unrelated reminiscences before having to be pulled back to the question by Harmony. Campbell is not imitating the current US President as much as borrowing his habits of speech to characterize this much folksier, much less aggressive small-town official.

Cameron Laurie and Hallie Seline are excellent as Larry’s younger opponents on council and later in the election. Laurie shows Tom as hot-headed and more given to expressing his exasperation in vocal outbursts. Seline, in contrast, makes Tina a person more in control of herself, channelling her suppressed anger into pointed questions the Mayor keeps avoiding.

The contrasting pair is Robin Craig as the Council Clerk Judy and David Kirby as Deputy mayor Jerry. Kirby portrays Jerry and a shameless sycophant, literally echoing Larry’s words immediately after he says them. Eventually, even Larry can’t stand this constant iteration. Kirby shows that Jerry realizes this toadyism is his only source of the little power he has. Craig is very funny as Judy who tries bravely but in vain to keep the council in line and following Robert’s Rules of Order. Judy is supposed to have no opinion, but Craig makes clear that Larry’s lawless rule grates on her as much as on Tim and Tina.

The one character outside the council is reporter Harmony. Brontae Hunter fully brings out the comedy in Harmony’s coverage of the all-candidates’ debate where her narrative of how the debate ought to go keeps clashing with what actually transpires.

John Powers’s witty, bluegrass inflected songs function more often as interludes in the play rather than as personal expressions of the characters. This makes the show feel more like a play with songs rather than a full-fledged musical. That’s perfectly fine. The show requires all the characters not only to sing but to showcase their talents in playing a variety of instruments.

The Last Mayor of Rusty River is yet another show at Blyth that proves how small towns can be microcosms of issues playing out in the larger world. In a period leading up to a number of local elections and debates about “strong mayor” policies, The Last Mayor of Rusty River is a show that cleverly uses the pleasures of comedy and song to make us aware of vital real-world issues.

Christopher Hoile

Photos: Robin Craig as Judy, David Kirby as Jerry, Cameron Laurie as Tim with Mr. Whiskers and Hallie Seline as Tina; Hallie Seline as Tina and Benedict Campbell as Larry; David Kirby as Jerry, Benedict Campbell as Larry, Cameron Laurie as Tim and Brontae Hunter as Harmony; Benedict Campbell as Larry and Robin Craig as Judy. © 2026 Alex Franklin.

For tickets visit: blythfestival.com.