Performers rally to support ailing Brian Richardson

Posted 7 months ago

Members of Winnipeg's performing community are staging a fundraising benefit for Winnipeg Beach actor-writer-musician Brian Richardson who is battling cancer.

They are lending their time and talents to "A Vaudevillian Roast with Love!" to support Richardson, a well-known figure on Winnipeg and Interlake stages for 40 years. The show is Sun., Feb. 28 at the West End Cultural Centre with a reception and silent auction at 6:45 p.m. followed by the performance at 7:30 p.m.

"The goal of this event is to lift Brian's spirits by celebrating his life and career, as well as to raise funds for his family to cover out-of-pocket costs for treatment and loss of income," says Talia Pura, president of the Manitoba branch of the Canadian Association of Radio and Television Artists (ACTRA), an organization where Richardson has been a board member for 25 years. "Everyone involved in the roast is donating their time and talent. We are fortunate there are so many people who want to reach out to Brian and his family at this time."

Born In Ireland, Richardson moved to New York, Montreal and Halifax before settling in Winnipeg in the early 1970s. He took up residence in the Winnipeg Beach area a decade later, continuing his professional life in Winnipeg but at the same time performing frequently in the Interlake. He is the founder of the still-thriving Gimli Theatre Association where he directed adult plays and taught children's classes during the association's formative years.

Richardson first achieved prominence on Winnipeg stages and TV in the 1970s comedy collective "Confidential Exchange" whose members included Fred Penner and Al Simmons. He was a member of the touring Blarney Band for a dozen years and wrote, directed and produced many plays at The Forks Historic site in the 1990s.

He has also had long associations with the Winnipeg Folk Festival, The Fusion Dance Theatre and the Green Kids Theatre, and has many radio and TV commericials to his credit. Currently taking radiation and chemotherapy treatments in Winnipeg, he returns to his Winnipeg Beach home on weekends.

Many of the roast performers have shared the stage with Richardson over the years. They include Fred Penner, Kate Ferris of the Blarney Band, Michah Erenberg, Phoebe Man, Sam Broverman, Ti Hallas and the Green Kids Theatre. Randy Woods, formerly of Matlock and Richardson's co-host at the folk festival, will host the variety show featuring music, theatre, comedy, dancing, drumming, stories and tributes.

Tickets, at $25 plus taxes, are available at Taylor Pharmacy in Gimli, the Winnipeg Folk Festival store and the West End Cultural Centre at 586 Ellice Ave.