After breaking up the family act in 1916, Keatonesque comedic performer Billy Pascoe retreats to Muskoka to consider his prospects as a solo performer. Instead, Pascoe discovers an unlikely partner and straightman in Lucinda Hart, one half of a disbanded song-and-dance sister act. While still wrestling to mesh their vastly different experiences of rehearsal and performance, Pascoe & Hart hit the vaudeville circuit, perfecting their act, gaining each other’s trust and winning over audiences. Brennan’s portrayal of the intimate, often tenuous interactions underlying the collaborative creative process reminds us of the stage’s kinship with everyday life, where limits must be tested and risks taken in the pursuit of greater dreams.

Binnie Brennan’s short stories have appeared in a number of Canadian and American literary journals, such asExistere, The Adirondack Review, Glossolalia, and All Rights Reserved, and in 2007 her children’s story “A Spider’s Tale” was adapted for the stage featuring Symphony Nova Scotia. Her best-selling novella, Harbour View, was shortlisted for an Atlantic Book Award, longlisted for the ReLit Award, and was co-winner of the 2009 Ken Klonsky Novella Contest. Binnie is a graduate of Queen’s University and the Humber School for Writers, where she was mentored by M.G. Vassanji and Alistair MacLeod. Born in Toronto, Binnie lives in Halifax, where she is a violist with Symphony Nova Scotia.

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