4th Line Theatre Welcomes Megan Murphy As Associate Artistic Director And Announces New Production In The Works

Megan Murphy has joined the 4th Line Theatre as associate artistic director - special projects, announced on Wednesday.

Photo courtesy of 4th Line Theatre.

Murphy will be guiding all of the company’s 30th Anniversary events and celebrations in 2022.

Murphy will begin researching and writing a play about the Peter Robinson migration from Ireland to the Peterborough region in the 1820s. 2025 will mark the 200th anniversary of the migration of Irish citizens in search of a better life in Canada. 4th Line plans to debut this new play to mark the anniversary.

“I am very excited Megan will be joining us to spearhead our 30th season celebrations. And I am equally excited that Megan will be developing a play about the region’s Irish migration stories,” said Kim Blackwell, managing artistic director. “Megan’s own family originates from these Robinson settlers, so she is ideally positioned to create this play.”

“I am humbled to have the great privilege and responsibility of bringing voice to the Peter Robinson settlers,” said Murphy. “I look forward to uncovering the important stories of our past, with hope and curiosity in how they might inform and inspire our future. As I embark on my first full length play, I must employ some Irish idioms…I’m delira and excira to be sure, it’ll be grand to get the craic and write the whispers of our ancestors!”

Peter Robinson was an architect of an emigration plan which saw thousands of Irish families come to Canada to escape the brutal poverty which they were facing in Ireland. Over 2500 people settled in Scotts Plains, later renamed Peterborough, to honour Robinson. These new Canadians planted deep roots in the Peterborough area and have thousands of descendants both locally and across the globe.

In 2025 there is a call for Peter Robinson descendants to return to the Peterborough area to mark 200 years since the migration. This will be the perfect timing to produce Megan Murphy’s play which will examine the lives of the people who faced unimaginable odds to come to Canada for the chance at a better life.

The 30th Anniversary projects Murphy will be developing include a podcast series which will draw on Murphy’s over 13 years as a professional radio announcer. Other initiatives include a 30th Anniversary gala and the creation of an endowment campaign to ensure the theatre’s financial health for years to come.

“I was 12 years old when 4th Line Theatre was born. As a young, aspiring actress, my mom used to cut articles and audition calls out of the paper for me, and I dreamt of one day being a part of the 4th Line Team,” said Murphy. “It’s a full circle moment for me, to now be a part of the 30th Anniversary season.”

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