At Home and Abroad

Emma Donoghue’s first musical, THE WIND COMING OVER THE SEA, The world premiere was at Blyth Festival. A folk musical based on the 1840s letters of Henry and Jane Johnson, using the traditional songs of Ireland, England and Scotland to tell the true story of an Antrim couple who emigrated to Ontario during the Famine. Henry and Jane are struggling to keep their small business afloat in famine-ravaged Ireland. But finally, they make the difficult decision to leave everything behind, and start a new life in Canada. Henry goes ahead to secure work, while Jane stays home with their two young children. For a year, the lovers send long, yearning letters across the sea. Eventually, Jane too sets out for the new world, Henry’s letters tied in a ribbon at her heart. The Paris Express Inspired by a French railway disaster of 1895 that went down in history thanks to a set of surreal photographs, this sweeping thriller brings together characters real and invented, rich and poor, from all over the world, on a steam train hurtling through the countryside. The Paris Express is one of the Kobo Best Books of the Month and on the Indie Next List.