The Trouper-Royale Orpheum Galaxie Theatre is a jewel in the entertainment crown of Niagara Falls. At least, that’s what the marquee out front says. To the Fabulous Trouper Quintuplets their family’s old theatre is a thorn in the crown of their adolescent memories.

Under their famous-child-actor-turned-director father’s overbearing, and narcissistic eye, the quintuplets are raised on a strict diet of Golden Age entertainment and homeschooling to mold them into the best actors of their generation. But through a series of hilarious and tragic events, the siblings begin to develop their own personalities and ambitions, rebelling against their father’s aspirations for them. The tension rising from the quintuplets’ newfound individualism sparks an onstage brawl during a performance on their 18th birthday that changes the trajectory of all their lives.

Twenty years later, the quintuplets reunite for the reading of their father’s will and his demand for one last performance.

Richard Scarsbrook grew up in the tiny rural community of Olinda, Ontario. He lived and taught in Petrolla for nearly a decade, where he acted, directed, and served as a member of the board of directors for the community theatre. In Petrolia, he also wrote original songs, and played the drums and sang in a band called The Know. He also began publishing his first short stories and poems at this time. Scarsbrook now makes his home in Toronto where he teaches creative writing courses at Humber Colege and George Brown College. He also plays and sings in the rock bands The Featherless Bipeds, The Nerve, and Disorderly Conduct, and has performed in venues such as The Rivoli, The Guverment, Healey's Roadhouse, The Opera House, The Tattoo Rock Parlour, The Royal York Hotel, The Hard Rock Cafe and The Black Swan (all in Toronto), The Hard Rock Cafe and The Liquor Store Bar in Ottawa, and The Just For Laughs Studio in Montreal. Scarsbrook's fiction and poetry have appeared in journals and Magazines in Canada and internationally including The Guardian Unlimited (UK), The FISH Anthology (Ireland), Verbicide (US), Prairie Fire, Descant, Matrix, Carousel, The Dalhousie Review, PRECIPICe, Rampike, Storyteller, The New Orphic Review, The Nashwaak Review, The Harpweaver, The Backwater Review, NeWest Review, Lies With Occasional Truth, The Moose and Pussy, Jones Avenue, Surface and Symbol, and Zygote. His stories and poems have won praise and prizes including the 1998 Hinterland Award for Prose, the 2001 New Orphic Short Story Prize, the 2001 Scarborough Arts Council Poetry Prize, the 2002 Lawrence House Centre for the Arts Short Story Prize, and the 2009 Matrix LitPop Award for Fiction. His first book publication was Guessing at Madeleine, a collection of poems which won the 1996 Cranberry Tree Press Poetry Prize. Scarsbrook's first novel, Cheeseburger Subversive (Thistledown Press), 2003) received positive reviews and great reader response.  Renowned author W.P. Kinsella (Shoeless Joe, Dance Me Outside), wrote this in Books in Canada: "Cheeseburger Subversive is a coming of age story written with humour and panache. Scarsbrook has a special eye for the absurd, a wonderful way of looking at the world that turns tragedy into humor. A very funny and heart-warming debut." Cheeseburger Subversive was short listed for The Canadian Library Association's 2004 Young Adult Book of the Year Award, The Ontario Library Association's 2005 White Pine Award, and the 2005 Stellar Book Award. Featherless Bipeds ( Thistledown ,2006), its sequel, was also short-listed for short listed for the Canadian Library Association's 2007 Young Adult Book of the Year Award, and listed for the 2008/2009 Stellar Book Award.  Storyteller: Canada's Short Story Magazine wrote: "Featherless Bipeds remains at all times as tightly focused as the best short stories...Fans of live pop music will enjoy Scarsbrook's wonderful evocations of the characters, venues, trials, and successes of such a career, as well as the experience of making music, both onstage and off. " Scarsbrook's latest novel The Monkeyface Chronicles won the 2011 Ontario Library Association's White Pine Award. CM Magazine called the book a "multi-layered, engrossing, complex tale", and Resource Links said "Scarsbrook is an excellent writer with great comic overtones".  A review by author Ann Ewan (Firedrake, Brondings' Honour) said of The Monkeyface Chronicles, "It reminds me of the books of Paul Quarrington and John Irving, creating an over-the-top yet close-to-real world." 

Richard Scarsbrook's profile page

• Short-listed, ReLit Award - Novel

“In The Troupers, Richard Scarsbrook creates a family like few others. I mean, how many parents are blessed with five children born on the very same day? Each of the quintuplets has their own personality, quirks, and crosses to bear as they are moulded by their flawed father and family patriarch, the legendary actor, John Lionel Trouper. By turns hilarious and heart-rending, this brilliantly written tale is one wild ride that will stay with you long after the curtain falls.”

Terry Fallis, two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour

“Combining the best elements of theatre, mystery and cinema, The Troupers will keep you engaged till the credits roll.”

What Is Ms. Aalbers Reading?

“Humour set against a backdrop of sadness is the best way to describe the atmosphere of this story, but the constant presence of all five siblings ... ensures there is always someone to rely on, or commiserate with. ... I could have read another 100 pages about these Troupers.”

I've Read This

“The Troupers is still a roller-coaster ride well worth taking, created by a fine wordsmith who has mastered his art.”

Not the Public Broadcaster