Announced as “Adventures with Peter O’Toole, Life and Buddhism,” Elizabeth Richardson’s unusual one-woman show, “Going On,” on March 3 and 4 was the first production in Lakeside Little Theatre’s occasional Spotlight Series featuring visiting performers from further afield.
Audience members may have recognized Richardson from her successful TV roles, such as Nancy Fortuna in “Haven” and Tabitha Watkins in “Copperhead,” or movies such as “Mad Headroom,” “War Brides” and “Margaret’s Museum.”
Accompanied by appropriate and superbly timed sound and lighting effects, she interspersed details of her struggles as a young actress on tour with Peter O’Toole in Canada and the United States with details of becoming a Buddhist during a three year meditation retreat. 
Richardson’s hour-long performance incorporated seamless transitions between her characters and included realistic impersonations of Peter O’Toole playing Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” and Garry from Noel Coward’s “Present Laughter,” as she played her own roles opposite that overwhelming and somewhat supercilious thespian.
Other well drawn characters inhabit the capricious and somewhat tenuous storyline, including her bewildered mother and various theatrical influences as she moves from training in London, to Canada, via multiple understudy jobs, roles in theater, film and TV in London and Canada, via divorce and “discovering” Buddhism.
Her pleasant singing voice and several amusing anecdotes cleverly balanced and enhanced the poignant, insightful elements of the show, as she performed with just a single chair on the stage apron.
In addition to extensive acting work, Richardson has been a practitioner and teacher of mindfulness mediation in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition for over twenty years. It was this combination of experiences that encouraged her to write and perform “Going On” which has played in Halifax, Nova Scotia, New England, San Francisco, Toronto and San Miguel de Allende.
As she left for Patzcuaro, Richardson said, “I have just loved performing in Mexico. I was completely surprised and delighted to find such a jewel of a theatre and I’d be thrilled to perform here again. The folks at the theatre were incredibly warm and welcoming. It has been a wonderful experience all round.”