BLACK DUCK SIDING — The Victor Campbell Room at Dhoon Lodge in Black Duck Siding will be setting for the premiere of "Vicked Victor, The Antarctic Adventure of Captain Victor Campbell."
2nd Stage Productions will debut the play on Thursday, Aug. 2, with more performances to follow at other venues at later dates.
After extensive research, Don Gale of Stephenville wrote the script for this historical play about the life of Campbell. The production focuses on Campbell's adventure as leader of the Northern Party, which carried out scientific and exploratory work as part of Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated South Pole expedition.
Campbell and his men were stranded for eight months during the most severe winter every known in Antarctica. They lived in a cave dug into the ice and survived on a diet of seal and penguin.
The discipline and leadership demonstrated by Campbell kept the party alive during the winter and the 230-mile trek overland back to the main base in the spring.
After the expedition, Campbell arrived back in England just in time for the First World War and emerged as a decorated naval hero. In 1924 he moved to Black Duck Siding, near Stephenville, where he farmed until his death in 1957.
He died in Corner Brook and is buried there in the United Church cemetery.
This year has historical significance as it marks the 100th anniversary of Scott's death and Campbell's triumph over nearly impossible odds, making it fitting for Campbell to be honoured.
In the play, which is directed by Jerry Doyle, Don Dunphy plays the part of Victor Campbell, which has an accompanying slideshow. Entries that Campbell made in his diary and accounts by other members of Scott's expedition make up Gale's script.
