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Mike Sudoma \/ Winnipeg Free Press<\/p>\n
Brad and Crystal Hood of Hood & Dagger have raised more than $20,000 for charities.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a nutshell, we want to build community through community theatre,\u201d says Crystal Hood, who was inspired to start the non-profit after playing a nurse in a production of M.A.S.H. mounted by Selkirk\u2019s Holy Hams community theatre in 2022.<\/p>\n
After a tough few years contending with the stresses of the pandemic, participating in community theatre proved to have a therapeutic effect on Hood, who felt her self-confidence and sense of purpose blossom anew.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to offer the same opportunity to Winnipeggers,\u201d says Hood, who was surprised by how few community theatre companies were operating in the city with regularity.<\/p>\n
Using Crystal\u2019s background in operations and governance, and Brian\u2019s in accounting and theatre, the Hoods decided to blend the charitable element of Robin Hood and the thrilling aspect of cloak and dagger into their own community theatre portmanteau.<\/p>\n
In May 2024, Hood & Dagger produced its inaugural show, a live radio play of Journey to the Center of the Earth, in the Westminster United Church\u2019s concert hall. That Jules Verne adaptation \u2014 with a cast and crew of 11 \u2014 raised more than $3,000 toward needed repairs for the church\u2019s roof.<\/p>\n
Since then, the not-for-profit\u2019s volunteer-run productions have grown steadily, with more than 30 participating in The Haunting of Hill House in October at St. Boniface University\u2019s Martial-Caron Theatre.<\/p>\n
That production kicked off a three-show season that continues this week with The 39 Steps and Miss Holmes \u2014 an expansion of the work of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle \u2014 running May 7-10, with proceeds going to the North End Women\u2019s Centre.<\/p>\n
Based on the 1915 novel by former governor general John Buchan and the 1935 film by Alfred Hitchcock, The 39 Steps follows Richard Hannay, a Canadian expat in London, who gets embroiled in a classic case of double-crossery.<\/p>\n
The film, starring Robert Donat (Goodbye, Mr. Chips) and Madeleine Carroll, features one of the earliest onscreen namedrops of Winnipeg. During its opening scene, a nightclub crowd is assembled to witness the remarkable recall of Mr. Memory, who\u2019s pledged to leave his brain to the British Museum.<\/p>\n
Mr. Memory\u2019s mostly peppered with queries about horse-race results, but Hannay decides to throw him a real stumper. \u201cHow far is Winnipeg from Montreal?\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Mike Sudoma \/ Winnipeg Free Press<\/p>\n People can support Hood & Dagger\u2019s charitable goals by buying merch.<\/p>\n That scene also plays out in the stage version, adapted by Patrick Barlow, with local actor Brandon Vink playing Hannay in the international tale.<\/p>\n \u201cHannay is a Canadian who\u2019s spent some time back in his motherland of England,\u201d says Vink, a Black Hole Theatre alumnus who has performed with Pembina Valley\u2019s Candlewick Players and at Winnipeg\u2019s Destination Dinner Stage.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cHe finds himself invited to a West End show where he meets a sultry spy who pulls him into this crime thriller. Soon he\u2019s wanted for murder, hopping off trains, fully immersed in the action.\u201d<\/p>\n Crystal Hood says the rationale behind picking the script was simple, especially during a time of cross-border threats to sovereignty coming from our neighbours to the south.<\/p>\n \u201cIt features a Canadian who gets mixed up in a spy adventure and saves the day, as Canadians sometimes do,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Though this season is still underway, last week Hood & Dagger announced the three productions it will mount in 2026-2027: Spider\u2019s Web by Agatha Christie (Nov. 5 to 8); A Spirited Manor by Kate Danley (Feb. 25-28, 2027); and Habit of Murder by Nova Scotia\u2019s Joanne Miller. For more information, see hoodanddagger.ca.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/benwaldman<\/p>\n \n \t\t\t\t\t\tIf you value coverage of Manitoba\u2019s arts scene, help us do more. \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t Ben Waldman Ben Waldman is a National Newspaper Award-nominated reporter on the Arts & Life desk at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg, Ben completed three internships with the Free Press while earning his degree at Ryerson University\u2019s (now Toronto Metropolitan University\u2019s) School of Journalism before joining the newsroom full-time in 2019. Read more about Ben<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Ben produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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