Globus Theatre continues their 20th season with musical comedy Tip of the Iceberg

By Lindsay Advocate July 28, 2023

Chris Rait, Mark Whelan, and Rick Hughes star in Tip of the Iceberg, running from August 2-12 at Globus Theatre

Globus Theatre is bringing an exciting and fun musical comedy to the stage in August, Tip of the Iceberg.

Born and raised in Newfoundland, fishermen Gordon and Archie are lifelong friends. There’s been an upswing in visitors to their little fishing village recently with tourists clamoring for an authentic Newfoundland experience. To entrepreneur Archie this means opportunity – he believes he’s found a way to reclaim their vigour and make money doing so. So, they set off on an adventure for the key ingredient…ice!

Tip of the Iceberg was created in 2018 by Chris Rait, Mark Williams and Jeannine Bouw, three Canadian playwrights and composers. The script was a story concept created by Chris, injected with some of Jeannine’s comedy and Mark’s authentic Newfoundland homegrown stories. It hits the Globus Theatre stage next week directed by James Barrett and starring Chris Rait, Mark Whelan and Rick Hughes.

Chris Rait is a singer songwriter, playwright, and arts consultant with the Brant, Haldimand Norfolk Catholic School Board. He is lead singer of the folk-rock group The Treeline and has performed throughout the country and internationally including at the Blue Skies Festival as well as the Canadian Folk Awards. As a musician, he has always been fascinated with traditional folk music and loved crafting the songs in Tip of the Iceberg to have that old maritime feel.

Mark Whelan has appeared in numerous productions at Globus Theatre including Sunshine Express and Stones in His Pockets. He has been working as resident artist with Terra Bruce productions in Newfoundland and has numerous theatrical, television, commercial, and film appearances to his credit.

This cast is rounded out with Rick Hughes who has appeared in Biloxi Blues (Persephone Theatre) with James Barrett and Honeymoon For Three (Port Hope Festival) with Mark Whelan. He has also appeared in Murdoch Mysteries and Hemlock Grove (Netflix).

Tip of the Iceberg is a story of friendships. It’s filled to the brim with original folk music. It projects an inspiring message of “it’s not too late.” An iceberg might be the perfect metaphor for this production. Picture an iceberg, sticking out of the ocean waters. Much like an iceberg, there’s plenty beneath the surface of this production.

“Seeing Tip of the Iceberg come to life in this rehearsal process has been magic,” says Chris Rait. “This is my first time being a part of this process and I feel so lucky and grateful. Tip is a play with a bit of everything. Toe tapping tunes, belly laughs and even a few moments of deep reflection. Archie and Gordon are folks that you know and want to spend time with. Like true friends, our main characters tease each other, care about each other and rely on each other to get un-stuck.”

Tip of the Iceberg runs from August 2-12, with tickets for the theatre costing $45 and $90 for dinner and theatre. Tickets are selling fast, so audience members of any age who want to take in this fun musical comedy should reserve theirs now.