When audiences step into the Martha Cohen Theatre this October to see an Alberta Theatre Projects, Banff Centre, and Old Trout Theatre co-production of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow they will be stepping right into the 18th century.

But a part of the 18th century in post-revolutionary America, which is entirely relevant to the modern politics of today.

On the stage are the politics of a fractured American culture seeking to find meaning between the realms of superstition, tradition, and immigration.

So it is only fitting that the Scottish-born Matthew Mooney (Theatre Calgary’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lehman Trilogy, The Mousetrap) is making his debut for Alberta Theatre Projects as Ichabod Crane, the schoolmaster who travels to Sleepy Hollow to woo Katrina (played by ATP veteran, Emily Howard).

“The political landscape of the Americas is an interesting time, especially coming from the UK, and coming and seeing what’s happening here in North America, there’s instability just now, and there certainly seems as if they’re on the precipice of something quite unsettling and massive,” said Mooney.

“Certainly, what Ichabod’s time is going through, that post-revolution, it feels as if there are strong parallels to what was happening before then and what’s happening now… it’s the mirrors of the past. History is always repeating itself, and certainly to come in and play this part as an immigrant, as the outsider, as that new person in town, I understand what that feeling is. You see what’s happening in this province, in this city, and across North America, and it’s totally relevant to what’s happening there.”

He said that there was, however, something beautiful about the period that Sleepy Hollow inhabits. It’s a period where Beethoven’s music was brand new, and there was a poetic language abound about the lives being led.

That the show is both a spooky Halloween treat for audiences, but also says something relevant about our times, was exciting, said Mooney.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is also a delightfully funny adaptation of Washington Irving’s story by Peter Balkwill, Anna Cummer, Steven Kenderes, and Judd Palmer, that in parts lends itself well to the humour that Mooney has become known for on Calgary’s stages over the past several years.

“It’s just a very well-written piece, and I’ve just fit that piece with my own style as well. I enjoy that. I mean, if everything was to be dead serious on stage at all times, there’s no movement for the audience. So, I think that it’s refreshing to have touches a comedy and then it builds into a very serious, dramatic climax,” he said.

Must see theatre this Halloween season

Spoilers for the 205-year-old story that also has the reveal right on the poster, but it is that encounter with the legendary Headless Horseman—brought to life, or in this case, undeath, by the magic of the Old Trout Puppet Workshop—that marks the climax of the production.

“Folks have remarked about how remarkable the final moment is, and it’s interesting because one of the ironies in puppetry is that your biggest, most expensive puppet generally does not have a very long shelf life on stage. You want the audience to be drawn into it and its spiritual qualities, as opposed to its spectacle qualities,” said Balkwill, who is also the co-artistic director for the Old Trout Puppet Workshop.

Throughout The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, puppetry is used to enhance and make real the supernatural elements. Ironically, to such an extent that audience members have thought that parts of the show are projections rather than puppetry, said Balkwill.

“Folks that have seen earlier previews have come out commenting on the projection, but there’s nothing projected. Everything we do is shadow-image-based. I just spent three and a half hours trying to focus the shadow puppets because they’re so sensitive and so delicate,” he said.

“What that does is it brings an analog aspect to the performance. It’s not digital, it’s not projected, it’s shadow puppetry. There’s something about puppetry, when it’s done, that I think trumps out the digital aspect of theatre. It brings us back to what we are, which is human beings. We are flesh and bone and we yearn, in some respect, for the simpler time that the digital age has kind of obscured.”

Balkwill also said the puppets embody darker and more epic themes that the actors themselves would have difficulty reaching.

“How do you bring a specter to life on stage? Well, really, puppetry is about the solution, and it’s exciting,” he said.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow tickets have been selling fast, and audiences are being encouraged by Alberta Theatre Projects to get tickets early, especially for the late-night Halloween showing of the production, which has just a handful of seats left.

The production runs from Oct. 22 to Nov. 9 at the Martha Cohen Theatre. Tickets are on sale at albertatheatreprojects.com/whats-on/2025-26/sleepy-hollow.

Photos from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow