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Reflections: How a Stratford shoemaker saved the show

Sid Mansz helped with the emergency repairs of dozens of shoes needed for a 1955 touring performance of Macbeth

Local shoemaker Sid Mansz stepped up to save the show more than once.

In 1955, a touring performance of Macbeth was on the eve of arriving in Stratford, and the Canadian Players reached out to Mansz for help. A shipment of shoes had been ordered from Toronto, but they needed to have rubber soles attached to prevent the actors from slipping on stage. A Kitchener company was able to provide the rubber soles at the last minute, but the shoes had failed to arrive when expected. Finally, shoes and soles were on hand, and Mansz got to work in his Downie Street shop. The crepe rubber from Kitchener turned out to be too thick and the soles had to be ground down by half before they could be attached to the shoes. That took all day. Then Mansz spent the........

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