Lawren Harris “Grey Day in Town” (oil on canvas, 1923/1930) Credit: Art Gallery of Hamilton
Welcome to Small Change. It’s wonderful to be able to introduce listeners to Raymond Beauchemin. Ray is the author of two traditionally published works of fiction, the novel, Everything I Own (Guernica 2011), and the novella collection, The Emptiest Quarter (Signature Editions, 2023). Ray authored the cookbook, Salut: The Quebec Microbrewery Beer Cookbook (Véhicule Editions, 2003) and was a literary anthologist of 32 Degrees; Future Tense; and The Urban Wanderers Reader— the latter two co-edited with author Denise Roig.
Ray worked as a journalist most of his life, in Hartford, Connecticut; Boston, Massachusetts; Montreal, QC; Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi; and Toronto, ON. He is also a playwright and an actor.
I met Ray at Hamilton Fringe Festival this summer where his play, 3 Hours,10 Minutes, not only debuted, but was awarded Best in Venue for the festival’s Mini Series and entertained an over capacity crowd at its last performance!
3 Hours,10 Minutes, performed by Mark Gamache and Melissa Murray-Mutch, revolves around a man intently focused on a single painting – even though the actor is actually looking out at the audience.
Eventually, a woman wanders over and strikes up a conversation about the painting. That’s when we learn this man recently read an article challenging readers to do one thing for a full ten minutes that did not involve technology. Turns out he has been staring at the painting for three hours.
But has he really seen this painting and all of its intricate details? Apparently not and it annoys him to no end that this woman who has just wandered over immediately spots details that he completely overlooked.
Yet, as they continue their conversation, which eventually turns their gaze to each other, what initially appeared to be a dark, gloomy and hopeless scene turns into the hopeful start of a brand new day filled with possibility – including the possibility of a brand new tech-free relationship.
Ray discusses why he tackled the challenge of focusing on a work of art and what that means in today’s technology addicted society. He also explains why he chose Lauren Harris’ painting, Grey Day in Town (1923) from the Ward series. Harris’ Ward series depicts the modest, densely packed homes inhabited by immigrants that made up the neighbourhood where Toronto City Hall is now situated.
The Art Gallery of Hamilton is hosting performances of 3 Hours and 10 Minutes at 2 pm and 6 pm on November 22, 2025. It’s a completely new production, followed by a question-and-answer period with Ray and the cast members. Audience members will also be invited to visit the AGH gallery to find a painting they connect with and tasked with observing it before reflecting back on that work during the Q & A.
Ray discusses why engaging community and including other voices is an important part of everything he does.
The Marketplace, an excerpt from Ray’s as yet unpublished novella, Commerce, was published on Out of Print: the short story online, a publication focused on the Indian subcontinent.
The Marketplace is a beautiful story about a young man who is expelled from school immediately after his grandmother dies because there’s no one to cover his school fees. He is simply instructed to meet a mother he has never seen in nine years.
His mother, a Dalit or untouchable, is a sex worker. During the day she needs her son to keep himself busy so he explores the market while she works. Then, his mother unexpectedly dies leaving him to his own devices to survive.
Ray tells Small Change listeners what inspired this story and the message he was conveying to readers about the inequalities and unfairness of life.
Ray’s first venture into acting was playing several characters in Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Irregulars, adapted by Eric Coble from graphic novels by Tony Lee and Dan Boultwood. Ray played several characters including Mayhew, a former kidnapper who wants to do something good with the remainder of his life. That production was performed in Brantford, ON, in June 2025.
Ray is currently performing in The Birds and The Bees at Theatre Burlington until November 1st. The plot centers around newly divorced Sarah who has moved back home to live with her mom, Gail. But Gail has other things on her mind. This comedy examines all types of relationships leaving audience members with a full heart. Ray tells Small Change listeners why he decided to try his hand at acting and why they should see The Birds and The Bees.
Ray has authored many brilliant articles for the Hamilton Spectator covering seemingly divergent topics including monthly book readings at The Staircase Theatre; pretty much every aspect of The Hamilton Fringe Festival; Kevin Mutch’s new book The Moon Prince, science fiction without the racist and colonialist overtones; and a beautiful article about Terrance Odette’s documentary, Unimaginable, chronicling the life of Ontario Basic Income Pilot recipient, Lance Dingman.
Ray tells Small Change listeners about Lance, how a Basic Income changed his life, and, what happened to Lance when the Ford government unexpectedly ended the pilot.
Many folks in Hamilton also knew Michael Hampson who thrived while living on the Ontario Basic Income Pilot. Michael died after being thrust back into deep poverty by the cancellation of the program which forced him to live on Ontario Disability Support Payments (ODSP) of approximately $1,408 per month.
That is the very definition of social murder, a term coined by Friedrich Engels in his book The Condition of the Working-Class in England (1845). Social murder was used to describe the abominable working and living conditions in Manchester, England, during the Industrial Revolution.
The term was revived after the Grenville Tower fire in West London killed 72 people and left as many injured. It’s become mainstream language amongst those fighting for social justice in Canada. Ray discusses the cancellation of the Ontario Basic Income Pilot as an act of social murder.
We also discuss Senator Kim Pate’s Bill S-206, An Act to develop a national framework for a guaranteed livable basic income, which passed first reading on May 28, 2025 and is currently in the second reading. Bill S-206 would ensure an unconditional Guaranteed Livable Basic Income (GLBI) for all persons over 17-years of age across Canada.
This discussion may appear a bit disjointed at first glance. Instead, think of this podcast as a good piece of jazz where everything initially sounds disconnected before coming together to create something meaningful and impactful — because those individual bits actually intersect and fit together perfectly.
Get tickets to Theatre Burlington’s production, The Birds and the Bees here.
Get tickets to 3 hours, 10 minutes at the Art Gallery of Hamilton here.
The Manitoba Story: A Basic Income Film by Ken Fisher (2018/ 20 mins.) can be viewed by contacting the Ontario Basic Income Network. Watch the trailer here.
Humans of Basic Income photography series by Jesse Golem documented the folks participating in the Ontario Basic Income Pilot (OBIP) and what they used the money to buy — and it wasn’t beer and cigarettes. I encourage you to meet the individuals from across Ontario who thrived while on the OBIP here.
Golem’s project, Humans of Basic Income, became the impetus for documentary filmmakers Luke Mistruzzi and Simon Brothers to create their award-winning documentary, A Human Picture (2023/17 mins.) Host a screening of A Human Picture by contacting Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction at info@hamiltonpoverty.ca
Hear my interview with Luke Mistruzzi here.
Thanks to everyone who read today’s article and listened to my podcast. With your financial support, a little Nicoll can make a lot of change.
You can also find my work in Public Parking Publication, herizons, rabble.ca and on my Wix site. Follow me on Instagram, X @doreennicoll61, Bluesky @nicollneedschange and Facebook.
Music: Real Estate by UNIVERSFIELD is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License. freemusicarchive.org.
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