Insights and Updates

Scripted and directed by Ronald Weihs Original music by Timothy Minthorn Original choreography by Hedy Minten with Hedy Minten, Michael Spence, Scott Bell and Bruce Beaton June 22-July 9, 1995 A new theatrical adaptation by Ronald Weihs of Geoffrey Chaucer's classic tale of love and…

A poster of Artword Theatre's projects in Hamilton since 2008. We closed our most recent live project ("Walter" starring Sean Emberley) on March 14, 2020, due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Meanwhile we continue to add videos of our shows on the Artword…

Scroogissimo for Christmas: Free YouTube Premiere, December 11, 7:00 pm. Scroogissimo launches on the Artword Theatre Channel on YouTube on December 11 at 7:00 pm. Ron has finally finished editing the video of Scroogissimo, shot and recorded by Gabe Etele at Artword Artbar on December…

... And the winner is Tom Wilson, Hamilton local hero, musician and artist. "2021 Arts Awards Short List: Lifetime Achievement Award nominees Judith Sandiford & Ronald Weihs. Judith Sandiford, an artist and designer, and Ronald Weihs, a playwright and director, have been creating original theatre…

Artword Artbar closed it doors forever just before Covid slammed into our lives. Talk about timing! November 17, 2019, the Hill Brothers Bluegrass Band played our final concert to a sellout crowd. The musicianship is brilliant: Randal Hill (mandolin), Rocky Hill (guitar), Tim McDonald (banjo), Greg Street…

Artword Theatre's production of Charly's Piano, performed by Charly Chiarelli is now up on the Artword Theatre Youtube channel. This 60-minute version was performed in the 2019 Hamilton Fringe Festival, and videoed on July 25, 2019. Watch Charly's Piano on Artword Theatre Youtube channel Charly’s Piano is written by Charly…

* We’re both working on several projects. * We mostly stay at home (we’re fine). * Artword Theatre’s online “Walter” is doing well, many likes and over 500 views. * Ron is busy acquiring many new skills to create on-line video theatrical projects. * We’re…

Artword Theatre has completed editing the full-length performance video of "Walter" recorded on March 12, 2020, starring Sean Emberley as Walter. The YouTube premiere release was Thursday July 30, 2020 at 7:30 pm. The video is now available to watch any time. Runs 70 minutes. Watch…

"My name is Walter James Cross, and I have schizophrenia." Walter, a new Artword Theatre production, starring Sean Emberley, written by David Laing Dawson, directed by Ronald Weihs, soundscape by Dave Gould, produced by Gallery on the Bay and Artword Theatre. March 4-14, 2020. Venue: St. Paul’s…

"Sean Emberley, in the title role, is engrossing, so completely does he inhabit this complex, confusing but ultimately compelling character." "His performance is like a poem. ... He’s like the face of everyman with a mental illness." Walter is a one-man play that delves into…

NEWS March 14, 2020. The Toronto Storytelling Festival has just been cancelled, due to Covid-19 concerns. Charly Chiarelli has been invited to bring the Artword Theatre production of Charly's Piano to the 2020 Toronto Storytelling Festival. So Ron and Charly and Judith will be on…

Ronald Weihs and Judith Sandiford, in Artword Artbar, September 2019, photo by Cathy Coward for the Hamilton Spectator Yes, the facility at 15 Colbourne Street is now closed, and Artword Artbar is no more. The building changed hands on December 5, 2019. But Ronald Weihs and…

July 18 to 28, 2019: Artword Artbar, a Hamilton Fringe Festival BYOV, hosts Artword Theatre's 60-minute version of Charly’s Piano, performed by Charly Chiarelli. The show is written by Charly Chiarelli and Ronald Weihs, directed by Ronald Weihs, with songs by Charly Chiarelli. Charly’s Piano tells…

May 14 to 26, 2019. Artword Theatre presents Whoever You Are, a play written and directed by Ronald Weihs, based on a 1952 science fiction short story by Judith Merril. The human race has built a web around the Solar System that traps alien life forms.

March 9 to 17, 2019. Artword Theatre is bringing back its timely and sensitive piece of documentary theatre, Langston Hughes vs. Joe McCarthy, written and directed by Ronald Weihs and produced by Judith Sandiford. Dancer-choreographer-actor Learie Mc Nicolls plays the role of Langston Hughes and character…

December 1 to 15, 2018. Artword Theatre’s delightful Christmas comedy Scroogissimo returns for a fourth time to Artword Artbar. Hamilton’s North End meets Charles Dickens in a wacky script by Ryan Sero and Charly Chiarelli, directed by Ronald Weihs - and the original cast! Charly Chiarelli…

July 19 to 28, 2018. Hamilton Fringe Festival. The Man in the Vault (an Artword Theatre production). Written and directed by Ronald Weihs. Produced and designed by Judith Sandiford. Performed by Mariam Bekhet, Jordan Campbell, Jason Thompson. A Russian spy defects with information about Lee Harvey Oswald…

July 19 to 28, 2018. Hamilton Fringe Festival. The Decision, a play by David Laing Dawson. Amsterdam, May 16, 1940: Two young officers in the Royal Netherlands Army meet secretly. Their orders are to report to Gestapo Headquarters the next morning. Directed by Ronald Weihs. Performed by Jordan Campbell and Jason Thompson.

December 7 to 16, 2017. Charly's Piano, Charly Chiarelli's heartwarming Christmas show about how he organized a fundraiser to buy a piano for the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in 1972. An Artword Theatre Production, directed by Ronald Weihs. Charly’s Piano is a new play by…

September 28 to October 7, 2017. Back one more time! Charly Chiarelli‘s classic hit show Cu’Fu? (So Who Did It?), Stories of a Sicilian Family, returns to Hamilton, at Artword Artbar. An Artword Theatre production written and performed by Charly Chiarelli, directed and dramaturged by Ronald…

July 20 to 29, 2017. Artword Theatre participates in the 2017 Hamilton Fringe Theatre Festival with a timely and sensitive piece of documentary theatre, Langston Hughes vs. Joe McCarthy, written and directed by Ronald Weihs. Dancer-choreographer-actor Learie Mc Nicolls plays the role of Langston Hughes…

Wednesday and Thursday, May 17-18, 2017. Artword Theatre presents Charly’s Piano, a new work-in-progress. A young man looking for work in 1971, a psychiatric hospital, and a piano. Performed by Charly Chiarelli. Written by Charly Chiarelli and Ronald Weihs. This is the fourth (and final) in a series of monthly theatre…

June 21 to 23, 2017, Artword Theatre presents a Contemporary Dance Showcase, curated by dancer-choreographer Learie Mc Nicolls. Featured is a new work, Seven Duets, choreographed and danced by Learie Mc Nicolls with Tanis Macarthur, exploring the lifts and falls in dance that can only be…

Wednesday and Thursday April 12-13, 2017. Artword Theatre presents The Man in the Vault by Ronald Weihs. Based on actual events, the play explores how a CIA counter-intelligence scandal in the 1960s telescopes into the present. What is the truth? How do you know if you…

Wednesday and Thursday March 15-16, 2017. Artword Theatre presents Mind Wars: a theatrical exploration about the 1960s, when politics became a struggle over reality and perception. Readings from actual testimony and interviews bring back the Yippies vs the CIA, Black Activists vs the FBI, brainwashing, mind control…

November 29 to December 11, 2016. Artword Theatre’s delightful Christmas comedy Scroogissimo returns for a third time to Artword Artbar. Hamilton’s North End meets Charles Dickens in a wacky script by Ryan Sero and Charly Chiarelli, directed by Ronald Weihs. A sell-out hit in 2013 and…

November 1 to 13, 2016. BACK for a 2-week run at Artword Artbar, in time for you-know-which election week! MacBush, the Musical, by David L. Dawson and directed by Ronald Weihs, is a musical mash-up of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and the George W. Bush administration. You…

Artword Theatre presents a dance double-bill at Artword Artbar, Sunday, September 25, 2016, 8 pm. 1. The premiere of a new work, The Parrot of Paradise, is a Caribbean tale told in dance and spoken word, written and performed by Learie Mc Nicolls. It tells a story…

Artword Theatre presents Once I Lived in the Box, a dance work by Learie Mc Nicolls, for the 2016 Hamilton Fringe Festival. Dancer and choreographer Learie Mc Nicolls has created a full-length dance piece about vulnerability and trust. The piece is danced by Angela Del Franco,…

#1: "This lively play shows there's room for comedy despite the tragedy woven into its historical and Shakespearean material." Allison M. Jones #2. "Dawson tackles the Bush gang ... as Cheney, Rumsfeld and the rest of the boys perform a grand chain of murder, mayhem…

Tuesday April 26 to Sunday May 8, 2016, a two-week run at Artword Artbar. MacBush, the Musical, by David L. Dawson and directed by Ronald Weihs, is a new musical play that is — yes, you guessed it — a mash-up of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and…

February 3, 4 & 5, 2016, a new full-length dance work Once I Lived in the Box by choreographer Learie Mc Nicolls, for Black History Month. Once I lived in the box/ hated the box/ loved the box/ respected the box/ got angry at the…

Artword Theatre hosts two performances of The First Channukah in Kanata (1759), by Allan Merovitz, singer, actor, storyteller. Allan tells the story of Aaron Hart, sometimes known as The First Jew in Canada, with traditional Channukah songs. In 1759, Aaron Hart came north from the British colony…

July 16 to 25, 2015. Artword Theatre presents Transformation: A Journey of the Soul’s Healing by Learie Mc Nicolls, remounted for the 2015 Hamilton Fringe Festival. Learie Mc Nicolls confronts the demons of poverty, violence and fear in his powerful new work, Transformation: a Journey…

May 20 to 30, 2015. Our hit musical, James Street, is coming back to Artword Artbar, 15 Colbourne Street, just off James! First mounted in 2012, in Artword Theatre's four-show season at the Lyric, this big, ambitious show was restaged in 2014 to fit into…

March 25 & 26, 2015. Artword Theatre presents "Transformation: A journey of the soul's healing", told in spoken word and dance by award-winning choreographer Learie Mc Nicolls, directed by Ronald Weihs, script by Learie Mc Nicolls, dramaturgy by Ronald Weihs, designed by Judith Sandiford, live music by Dale Morningstar. Transformation…

Scroogissimo! Artword’s festive comedy returns November 25 to December 7, 2014. Hamilton’s North End meets Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. An Artword Theatre Production, script by Ryan Sero and Charly Chiarelli, direction & dramaturgy by Ronald Weihs with the Artword Theatre Ensemble: Charly Chiarelli, Pamela…

July 17 to 27, 2014. Artword Theatre presents Stuart Laughton’s "Trumpet Romance: a wild journey in search of music" at the 2014 Hamilton Fringe Festival, at Artword Artbar, 15 Colbourne Street. Trumpet Romance is written and performed by Stuart Laughton with an array of musical instruments…

April 27 to May 11, 2014, Artword Theatre presents "James Street" a mad musical dash through the history of Hamilton. All at Artword Artbar on our new theatrical stage! New songs, new dance, since our December 2012 production. Hamilton`s official Town Crier from 1850 meets…

December 3 to 15, 2013. Artword Theatre (at Artword Artbar) presents a new comedy written by Ryan Sero and Charly Chiarelli, based on A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Charly Chiarelli plays a crusty Sicilian north-ender called Scrugi, and our show is called (what else?)…

Artword Theatre’s lively musical, Tobacco Troubadour, is returning to Hamilton for six performances at The Lyric Theatre, May 1 to 5, 2013. Based on the songs and memories of J.P. Riemens, Tobacco Troubadour is a tender love story set in the glory days of tobacco…

Artword Theatre’s season at the Lyric Theatre continues with a revival of an Artword favourite, Allan Merovitz’s musical play If Cows Could Fly, from January 30 to February 3, 2013. Allan Merovitz, a widely-known actor and Klezmer musician, grew up in Smiths Falls in the…

November 29 to December 8, 2012. James Street: A mad musical dash through the history of Hamilton: Artword Theatre’s second production in its 2012-13 season at The Lyric is James Street, a light-hearted look at downtown Hamilton, from the founding of the town to the…

October 18-20, 2012. Artword Theatre presents 1812: The Songbook, a rollicking sing-along in music hall style (Artword @The Lyric) . Hamilton’s popular folk ensemble What the Folk (Terry Ball, Geoff Ball, Carolyn Reid, Caroline Olsen, and drummer Eric Hanenberg) sing songs about the War of…

Artword Theatre Announces 2012-13 Season at the new Lyric Tbeatre Artword Theatre is back in action in Hamilton, presenting a series of four productions at the new Lyric Theatre on King Street at Locke. The Artword team, Ronald Weihs and Judith Sandiford, ran a successful…

Dec 7 to 17, 2011. Have a Cu’Fu Christmas with Charly Chiarelli. Calogero (Charly) Chiarelli is coming back to Hamilton, with a Christmas cabaret version of his international theatrical hit Cu’Fu (So Who Did It?), about growing up Sicilian in Hamilton’s North End. You’ll laugh, you’ll…

Behind the Kiln, 15 episodes of dance, music and visual improvisations, from January 28 2010 to April 13 2012 What is Behind the Kiln? A project by Tanis Macarthur (dancer/choreographer) and Judith Sandiford (designer/live image improvisor), for on-going occasional evenings of improvised collaborations by dancers, musicians and…

Tobacco Troubadour, a new play with music about growing up in tobacco country and its lively dance hall scene, is the fourth show in Artword's 2008-09 season at The Pearl Company, April 15-26, 2009. The show is based on the songs of J.P. Riemens, with script…

March 25 to April 5, 2009, an Artword Theatre Production: Sunamabeach, a new play written and performed by Charly Chiarelli. An irreverent look at Hamilton through the eyes of Charly Chiarelli, who grew up in the Sicilian North End. Charly comes back and finds that…

Landing a Pearl of a story: Play explores history of Robert Land, the first white settler here February 11, 2009 Gary Smith, The Hamilton Spectator Ronald Weihs and Judith Sandiford are neither rascals nor numskulls. Head honchos of Artword Theatre, now working out of The Pearl Company…

February 12 to 22, 2009. Artword Theatre's new theatrical entertainment, Rascals and Numskulls: Being the thrilling adventures of Robert Land, spy for the British in the American Revolution, friend of Mohawk leader Joseph Brant, United Empire Loyalist, first white settler in Hamilton. Written and directed…

BACK for 4 shows Dec 4 to 7, 2008: Artword Theatre presents its 2008 production of You Are What You Do, a celebration of working men and women in story and song, written and directed by Ronald Weihs, produced and designed by Judith Sandiford Thurs…

October 16 to 26, 2008, Artword Theatre presents You Are What You Do, an original Canadian musical written and directed by Ronald Weihs, is a celebration of working men and women in story and song. The show launches the Artword @ The Pearl theatre season. The play, first performed…

First show in Artword's new Hamilton home October 15, 2008 Jeff Mahoney, The Hamilton Spectator For those whose energies can't be contained by just one creative activity, there's the idea that the individual arts (painting, music, writing, etc.) make up a family. The potential of each…

September 30, 2007. Artword Theatre's Ghost Ship tells the story of the recent perilous migrations in small boats by West Africans attempting to reach Europe via the Canary Islands. The "ghost ship" of our title is a small boat discovered adrift off the coast of Barbados in…