Jesse James, an Assassin named Robert Ford, and Gunfights in the American West

Excerpted from Press Release

The Story of Robert Ford, The Assassin of Jesse James, is often told as an epilogue to the famous outlaw’s life. But Robert Ford wandered free as a minor celebrity, thanks to his crimes, before he was also gunned down. This new play looks at the story of Robert Ford from his killer’s perspective, allowing for an examination of the paralyzing power of anger while drawing a comparison between the politics of a post-Civil War America to those we experience today. Performed as a saloon show novelty act, the narrative is accompanied by original music written and performed by Joel Lightman.

Director and writer, Adam Bailey, discovered the story of Robert Ford’s assassination two years ago and instantly knew it had to be told to the people of Toronto. After years of working in Toronto’s Cabaret and Indie theatre scene, including work on new theatre creations such as The Enchanted Crackhouse, a variety of Burlesque shows with the Shameless Dames and directing several Canadian Premiers of International works with Royal Porcupine Productions (Terrorism, The Shadow of a Boy), Mr. Bailey spent the last two years developing his own voice while working on this original script; his first solo writing project. He has gathered an exception group of talent to aid him in that telling this unusual story and created a new company, Still Your Friend, to premier this new work.

“I went onto a “This Day in History” as part of a writing exercise and was shocked when I stumbled onto the assassination of Robert Ford. The site didn’t give any explanation other than those five words, so it was a real WTF moment. Once I looked up the history I knew I had to write a play about it.” – Adam Bailey

Performance Dates
July 2nd 8:45
July 5th 9:45
July 6th 12pm
July 8th 6:15pm
July 9th 12:15pm
July 10th 5:45pm
July 12th 11pm

Venue
Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace, 16 Ryerson Ave. (Bathurst and Queen)

Ticketing
Tickets are $10 (cash-only) at the door, $12 in advance. Advance tickets may be purchased online (visa/amex), or from the Fringe Club box office (cash/visa/amex), located in Honest Ed’s Alley during the festival. Money-saving passes are also available; see website for details.

Be advised that there is absolutely no latecomer seating at Fringe shows.