Barkerville Historic Town & Park
As well as being a long-term employee and historical interpreter/performer* for the renowned national and provincial historic site, Brendan is also a director for the Friends of Barkerville-Cariboo Goldfields Historical Society and is writing a book about Barkerville’s museum history (see Where the Past is Present). Brendan is also the current editor of the Friends of Barkerville souvenir newsletter.
Brendan has written and produced a one-actor, three-character play about a prominent Barkerville miner called Sawney’s Legacy (see Noble Players Theatrics and Sawney’s Legacy).
Brendan has spent 11 seasons in Barkerville Historic Town & Park performing as both Scots poet, community lobbyist, and miner, James Anderson, and Cornish miner, Richard Goldsworthy. While he took a formal parental leave from interpretation during the 2024 season, he still played series lead, Jay Fielding, in Barkerville: The Series which was shot on site during April of 2024.
In 2017, Brendan researched, wrote, and performed the Golden Words: Gold in Words poetry discourse which told the story of BC’s gold rushes through collected poetry written by miners. It was reviewed on TripAdvisor as one of the site’s best discourse offerings in 2018. Brendan also assisted in developing the 2011 theatre musical variety show and as a member of the dramaturgical process for Amy Newman’s musical-drama, Bernadette’s Gold Rush Escape, both for Barkerville’s Theatre Royal under Newman & Wright Productions. He was one of the principal writers and directors of the acclaimed 2012 musical variety show (“a little laughin’, a little cryin’, good show”) and the writer of that season’s 1930s-era radio show’s recurring comedic serial: The Wellsian Wanderings. He is a musical theatre performer, regular street performance actor, a typesetter and blacksmith, a waterwheel demonstrative-performer, and a performative tour guide; offering various discourses alongside a diverse cast of historical interpreters.
This year of 2025 marks Brendan’s 12th season as an historical interpreter in the site. While he’s not yet back work in the site full-time, you can see him perform in this season’s Theatre Royal variety show, New Fashion Revue, every Thursday at 2pm from June 5th until September 4th as part of the site’s 4th 100 Days of Barkerville season.
Barkerville is open NOW through September 7th!
