N.S. news: Theatrical production explores stresses on fishing communities [Video]

Wanda Graham has produced and written more than a dozen plays in Halifax, but no show may be more deeply tied to her own experience and the lives of her neighbours than the one that will debut on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore next week.

The story has been on Graham’s mind for years and it’s one that only seems to become more relevant and resonant with each changing of the season. The play addresses the fishing communities of Canada and the stresses they face on and off their boats.

“I have lived in a fishing village on the coast of Nova Scotia for 45 years,” Graham said. “In a sense, it’s in my life blood, this story. This play is about stress in fishing communities that play on every member.

“Tragedies come and go in various sizes and shapes.”

The production, titled “The Heart of Things,” is produced by Heat Theatre and focuses on a young fisherman who hangs himself from the mast of his …