Talented Hamilton family pays tribute to an extraordinary life

The Nine Lives of Ross Fordham at Theatre Aquarius tells the story of grandfather and great-grandfather who escaped death nine times.

Hamilton actor TJ McGibbon is best known for her work on film and TV but the 19-year-old is returning to the stage at Theatre Aquarius in a production that is truly a family affair.

The Nine Lives of Ross Fordham tells the story of her great-grandfather who lived a remarkable life that included facing down death nine times, starting in childhood and extending past his career as a Toronto police officer and then a homicide detective.

“It was just thing after thing where you're like it’s a miracle that our family is around.”

But Fordham lived into his 90s and died in 2020.

“He passed away when I was 14. He was wonderful,” recalls McGibbon. “He always called me George, he never called me by my real name, so that's what I go by with some of my family. And then my great-grandmother, his wife, passed away when I was a bit younger. I was like six or seven, but even her, I remember her quite well. They were awesome. They were the best.”

McGibbon spent a lot of time with her great-grandparents, especially during the summers at family cottages in Penetanguishene.

“It started with my great grandfather and his brothers buying cottages up there, and then those cottages all got passed down through the family, and so we spent every summer up there with my great grandparents, swimming and hanging out with family on the beach. So our extended family on that side is very close.”

Alongside McGibbon on stage, is her father Jason McGibbon, brother Liam McGibbon, and uncle Brandon McGibbon, whose wife Nathalie Toriel directs the show. All live in Hamilton and their talents run deep.

Brandon McGibbon has a long list of acting credits, including starring in several Aquarius productions: The Extinction Therapist, Ring Of Fire, Blood Brothers, and Beautiful Scars. He’s also been in the Broadway and Toronto productions of Once, the Toronto and first U.S. tour of Matilda.

He’s also been in more than 30 films and television shows including Transplant, Accused, Pretty Hard Cases,  Murdoch Mysteries, and Splice (Sundance Film Festival/TIFF Canadian Top Ten).

Jason McGibbon is a pastor, but also a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has released several albums of original music, including Like Father Like Son, a collaborative project with his son Liam. His work has also been featured in films and television.

Liam McGibbon is a graduate of Sheridan College’s theatre program and his noteworthy recent credits include: The Diamond Tooth Gertie’s Show with KareVan Productions, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Sound Of Music with the Brott Music Festival), and The StoryTeller, at the Hamilton Fringe Festival.

TJ McGibbon is best known known for roles in The Umbrella Academy, X-Men: Apocalypse, Remember and The War with Grandpa, in which she shared the screen with Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and Uma Thurman.

“Theatre Aquarius is where I took my very first acting class,” she says. “We spent a lot of time in the studio theatre when I was in Aquarius theatre school, and so to be able to come back as one of my first professional theatre gigs is really special,” says McGibbon.

The fascinating stories of her great-grandfather’s life have always been part of the family’s lore.

“It's interesting because they were talked about, but usually not around Ross, because my great grandfather, he wasn't big on being the centre of attention, unless it was to be goofy. And that was really once the great-grandkids came around. He had he softened quite a bit by then … By the time I came around, he was a giant marshmallow.”

Stories were shared among Fordham’s children, including McGibbon’s grandmother, and there were newspaper clippings on the wall that documented car chases and other close calls during his career.

“I don't think I really realized how kind of crazy it was until my great-grandfather was starting to get older, and so people were really reminiscing on his life, and my dad and my uncle were like, ‘These would make great songs.’ Everything's creative in this family. We write about everything. It's just what we do.”

Writing the songs, which really took shape just after Fordham’s death shortly before the pandemic began, included talking to family members, who dug through boxes of photos and memorabilia, along with plenty of research in newspaper archives.

“When COVID hit, the creative people were really bored. And so a lot of you know, my brother’s, my dad’s, my uncle's energy was poured into this. And at first it was just going to be an album for the family.”

The 10-song bluegrass album The Nine Lives of Ross Fordham by the Fordham Family Singers was recorded in the McGibbon home in Hamilton.

“My brother Liam, he did it all. He mixed and mastered it himself. We did not see him for weeks, but he did it, and it was a blast.”

Bu an album didn’t seem like enough to fully tell the stories, so the family got to work on a stage show. The songs are interwoven with tales that highlight each of Ross’ “nine lives” and the extraordinary details of each brush with death.

The stories span Toronto, Montreal, Hamilton and the shores of Georgian Bay and together, paint what emerges as a distinctly Canadian tale.

The show promises moments that are astounding, touching, and funny.

A reading from the production was included in Theatre Aquarius’s Brave New Works festival in 2023.

“We've just been so blessed with Theatre Aquarius here. They're great for the city, and have been so supportive of us. And so we had no idea what people would really think of the show. We had a few family members in the audience who we know would think it's awesome, but the response after from people who found ways to resonate with the stories and just being so interested in his life, was really encouraging.”

McGibbon and her family moved to Hamilton from Oakville when she was five.

“It’s kind of a crazy story. My brother had a brain tumour when he was eight, and he was treated at McMaster. He is totally fine now. He's a musical theatre major, and he can sing and dance and talk your ear off. But we spent a lot of time down here while he was being treated. He had two open brain surgeries at McMaster Children's Hospital. And so we kind of fell in love with the community. My dad is a pastor, and we just fell in love with the people here. And pretty much right after my brother was cleared, we moved. My dad started a church that has been here ever since. And this, for me, has always been home and I think it always will be home. I love it here.”

Producing this album and play has been a special experience, both in being creative together as a family and paying tribute to her great-grandfather’s life.

“He was the best, always making you laugh. He loved to just kind of watch the family that he had raised. I think he was really proud of all of us. He would never say it, right, but, you know, you'd kind of watch him sit back and look at all of his kids and their kids, and then their kids’ kids. I think that was really special for him.”

Beyond the Hamilton family members, this project has included members of the Fordham family in Texas who are musicians and a painted portrait by artist Mark Fordham, Ross’ son, that helped to inspire the project.

The family has been rehearsing for several months and in intense rehearsals at Theatre Aquarius since early December. McGibbon says her great-grandfather would be thankful for the show but probably wouldn’t want to see it.

“I think the biggest thing that people are going to take away from this is to share their own stories and that everybody has pieces of extraordinary within their life that people deserve to know. And a lot of these stories I didn't learn until after my great-grandfather had passed away. And so if you have the opportunity to share your stories, people want to hear them.”

A central question when looking at Fordham’s life is whether he was lucky or unlucky.

“We're still unsure. I think the audience is going to have to make that call.”

NEED TO KNOW

The Nine Lives of Ross Fordham
Theatre Aquarius Studio
190 King William St.
Jan. 10 to 19 Tickets are $28.25 and available here