Bahia Watson is superb in Stratford Festival's The Virgin Trial

Bahia Watson stars in The Virgin Trail (Lynda Churilla/Stratford Festival)

To read my review of  The Virgin Trail in the Stratford Beacon Herald click here  

Stratford Festival mounts a powerfully intensive exploration of Bakkhai

Lucy Peacock (centre) as Agave with members of the company in Bakkhai. (Cylla von Tiedemann/Stratford Festival)

To read my review of Bakkhai in the Stratford Beacon Herald click here

Sexual desires with splashes of dark humour elevate Stratford Festival production of The Changeling

Mikaela Davis and Ben Carlson star in The Changeling (Lynda Churilla/Stratford Festival)

To read my review of The Changeling in the London Free Press click here

Hay Fever: Revels in artistic pretensions

Hay Fever
Written by Noel Coward
Directed by Alisa Palmer
June 19-October 11
Avon Theatre
Approximate running time: 2 hours and five minutes (with one 15-minute interval)
Contact: Toll-free: 1.800.567.1600
Local: 519.273.1600

Review by Geoff Dale

STRATFORD – When the curtain rose for the opening act of Noel Coward’s Hay Fever, it was obvious from the thunderous audience applause that Lucy Peacock might be sharing the spotlight for the remainder of the production.

Not necessarily with an actor, though the company was certainly up to the task, but rather to Douglas Paraschuk and his wonderfully cluttered set, with numerous art works strewn about the walls, knick-knacks littering the living space and all those carefully studied but untidy symbols of a well-to-do family steeped in their ridiculous bohemian artistic pretensions.

What a shambles but what a glorious way in which to introduce the truly eccentric Bliss family, their disorderly and high inappropriate of treating – or more to the point – mistreating their guests, their utter disdain for normalcy and convention and their complete lack of understanding of other seemingly normal folks that have the misfortune to spend time with this bizarre clan.

More of a cross between farce and a standard comedy of manners with a touch of theatre of the absurd, the three-act production takes place in the cavernous hall of the Bliss family home. Judith (Lucy Peacock), an on-again, off-action stage actress considering a theatrical return is all wild gesticulations, grandiose theatric statements and an equally odd desire to tirelessly flirt with young men.

Husband David (Kevin Bundy), a rather self-absorbed novelist and the creator of literary works not worth the paper on which his empty flowery phrases appear, like his wife simply doesn’t understand the norms of society – polite or otherwise.

Their culture-vulture son Simon’s (Tyrone Savage) greatest achievement appears to be sketching dreadful looking nudes, whilst lying about on the floor. Daughter Sorel (Ruby Joy) may be the most sensible one of the lot but judging by the standards set by the rest of the family, this is not saying much in her favour.

Entering into the foray are four guests – actually victims – invited individually by different family members for what appears to be an elaborate parlour game at their expense for the amusement of the hosts.

Sandy Tyrell (Gareth Potter), a young boxer and the attention of Judith’s theatric flirtations, is joined by Cynthia Dale’s wonderfully played socialite Myra Arundel; an innocent and confused flapper Jackie Coryton (Ijeoma Emesowum) and a stiffer-than-stiff diplomatist Richard Greatham (Sanjay Talwar).

Overseeing this motley crew is the ever-smoking, wisecracking working-class maid Clara (Sarah Orenstein) who, apparently because of class distinction, doesn’t deserve a last name. Without question, she symbolizes what sanity and common sense there is to find in this other-worldly household.

All cast members, particularly Peacock, Talwar and Potter, simply eat up their roles and, while it is in most cases a criticism, over-act to the max, gobbling up their juicy bits of Coward dialogue, spitting them out with relish at rather ear-piercing levels at times. Chaos in this particular world equals unabated laughter.

Dale does wonders with her meaty role, cast in a part that does not simply require glamour and a lot of posturing. No longer the play’s naïve flirty ingénue, she sinks her teeth into the character, shooting out witticisms and wise cracks at a rapid-fire place.

Peacock, once a well-respected operatic singer gets the chance once again to momentarily show off her still considerably impressive vocal prowess with her rendering of Oscar Straus’ Tout Paris m’a fait, ce soir, un accueil plein de gentillesse, sung with a strange mix of levity and authority.

While the play is still considered to be quintessentially English, many observers including the great Simon Fallow, say the inspiration actually came to Coward while visiting and staying with the actress Laurette Taylor, her husband Hartley Manners and their children in America.

Callow, writing for The Guardian in 2006, points out that their house parties were “notorious for the family’s eccentric behaviour, for the obscure and outlandish games to which the guests were subjected, and for the heady atmosphere of flirtation – much of which was imported wholesale into Hay Fever.”

Whatever the origins, the play is still loud, outrageous and, because pretentious behaviour never ceases to be a great subject to ridicule and laugh about, not the least bit dated.

Thanks to Douglas Paraschuk’s creative set design, it helps validate Coward’s belief that journeys can be taken by characters without having to frantically change scenes. The key here is one standout set and the work of a highly skilled cast, enabled by the sure hand of director Alisa Palmer.

The greatest pleasure audience members may derive from such a frenetically funny outing is that they, unlike the Bliss house guests, are not captive prisoners left to their own devices on how to escape. Laughter reigns supreme here, nabbing a solid four and half out of ***** stars.

This review also appeared online at Donald's Dish.

The Merchant of Venice: splendidly rendered and still painful to behold

To read my review of Stratford Festival's The Merchant of Venice, click here.
Cutline: Scott Wentworth is pictured as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice. (Photo by David Hou)

Othello: beautifully acted and stunningly presented



To read my review of Othello at this year's Stratford Festival click here.
Cutline: Pictured from left are Bethany Jillard, Dion Johnstone and Graham Abbey from Othello. Photo by Don Dixon

The Thrill: Peacock at the top of her game

To read my review of The Thrill starring Lucy Peacock at the Stratford Festival, click here .

Taking Shakespeare: a glimpse into the Bard's continuing presence

Taking Shakespeare
Stratford Festival 2013
Written by John Murrell
Directed by Diana Leblanc
The Studio Theatre
Runs until September 22
Approximate running time: two hours and five minutes (with one 15-minute interval)
Tickets: 1-800-567-1600 or online www.stratfordfestival.ca

Review by Geoff Dale

STRATFORD – There are several solid reasons to take in John’s Murrell’s often compelling Taking Shakespeare but watching Martha Henry shine in a role custom-made for her talents is clearly at the top of the list.

The storyline is quite straightforward. A somewhat grizzled and weary Prof (played to perfection by Henry) is alone in her book-filled apartment, frustrated with the world – both her own and the isolated academic life that she has become accustomed to and almost fallen prey to over the decades.

Often a tad haughty, arrogant, impatient and clearly a social misfit at odds with a technologically-driven world, she clings to her role as a small-town university professor, shunning outside influences and steering clear of contact with others, even her own students, within her community.

Her saving grace is the works of William Shakespeare, particularly the complex and moving The Tragedy of Othello, a work she describes as “my Shakespeare” and the key to Murrell’s often somber two-person production, enhanced at times by several witty exchanges between the two central figures.

The other character is 24-year-old Murph (nicely played by Luke Humphrey), an outcast at least terms of academia, a video-crazed slacker and the son of the Dean of Humanities (a former student of the Prof) who has enlisted her old teacher to tutor him and to help bring him up to her “expectations”, a word that is repeated oft times through the production.

It’s an intriguing study of two individuals, separated by generations, experiences and common interests yet strangely drawn together by a single literary thread – Othello. Both actors, the supremely gifted Henry and the relative newcomer Humphrey (also in this year’s The Three Musketeers), handle their respective roles with an ease and comfort that makes the strange bond between the two believable and quite touching in places.

“By the time you’re old enough to understand Shakespeare, you’re too old to feel it,” the Prof moans with monotone displeasure, as she sees her life slipping away. Aside from the marvelous recitations from the Bard’s wonderfully tragic work, this may be the most telling of Murrell’s lines – one that to a large degree defines what sadness is for one person and how she or she copes with it.

Telling because it is one of the themes explored by Shakespeare and ultimately by these two characters drawn together, both for very different reasons. The Prof is a veritable well of information to be tapped by her initially reluctant student. Murph, on the other hand, believes the literature forced upon him just doesn’t connect and, besides, the titles are all too long.

The manner in which the two come to a mutual appreciation of the tragic Moor and the duplicitous machinations of his demonic tormentor Iago is moving and well-constructed, testament not only to the skill of the two actors but also director Diana Leblanc, who offers a firm, steady hand throughout the two hour production.

While this may not provide the kind of excitement offered by other Festival offerings this year like Tommy or even Humphrey’s other outing The Three Musketeers, Taking Shakespeare serves up a more relaxed, intriguing look at human nature and the greatness and, even more importantly, the timelessness of the Bard and its effect on people centuries later.

For those drawn to making comparisons, they might find a few parallels with playwright Terence Rattigan’s The Browning Version, the tale of an unlikely bond between aging classics teacher Andrew Crocker-Harris, derogatively referred to by many as the Himmler of the lower fifth, and his eager young student simply called Taplow.

The connection between the two in Rattigan’s work is Robert Browning’s translation of Aeschylus’Agamemnon. Unlike Murrell’s production the scenes shift from classroom and beyond, played out in the real world with other characters. But many of the sentiments are similar in tone.

Taking Shakespeare, when done properly as it is here, is a true actor’s clinic. Slow-moving at times perhaps, it is nonetheless one of the successes of the Festival’s 2013 season and merits.

Photo: Martha Henry as the Prof with Luke Humphrey as Murph in Taking Shakespeare. Photo by V. Tony Hauser.

3 1/2 out of 4 stars

This review was originally posted online at Donald's Dish.

Sights and Sounds of Stratford Festival 2013

Sights and sounds of Stratford Festival 2013
Article and photos by Geoff Dale
The Beat theatre critic Geoff Dale was on hand with his camera to catch some of the Monday evening highlights. More productions will open in late June, July and August. Keep reading The Beat for reviews and commentary. - Editor

It was a glorious opening to the Stratford Festival 2013 with a wide array of local, national and international stars from stage and screen milling about, a wide array of beautiful flowers in bloom on display and music of every kind.
Under seasonably mild and sunny conditions, the event drew a good crowd of spectators, Festival insiders and participants, along with those curious folks simply interested in getting a bird’s eye view of the annual opening ceremonies.
The festivities began around 6 p.m. Monday, May 27 with the pipe and band corps signaling the start to this year festivities, followed by the arrival of special red carpet guests and the 7:30 p.m. opening night presentation of Romeo and Juliet.
Actors, musicians, directors and Festival dignitaries were seen chatting with members of the general public, being interviewed by various media outlet representatives and generally enjoying and participating in the moment.
Colm Feore, recently seen on TV’s The Borgias was on hand with his wife Donna, director and choreographer of Fiddler on the Roof.
With several works about to hit the screen, one of the busier actors around Graham Greene was there, as were stars from various productions including Romeo and Juliet and Fiddler on the Roof. 
The prolific American actor of the big screen, television and stage, Brian Dennehy, was also seen in various spots inside and outside of the Festival Theatre.
The two gifted stars of the dynamic production of Mary Stuart (http://www.thebeatmagazine.ca/index.php/theatre-reviews/1662-peacock-and-mckenna-shine-in-mary-stuart), Lucy Peacock and Seana McKenna were also making the rounds.

In addition to the traditional sounds of a pipes and drums band getting the proceedings underway, an intriguing duet from Kitchener, The Vaudevillian, kept things lively, playing a number of eclectic songs on the lower sidewalk below the Festival Theatre.

Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was also in attendance for the official ceremony.
The ceremony kicked off the 2013 season which was highlighted by the first week of seven debuts of: Romeo and Juliet, Fiddler on the Roof, Measure for Measure  , Mary Stuart, Tommy (which featured an appearance on opening night by Pete Townshend of The Who);  and the Saturday double feature of The Three Musketeers and Blithe Spirit .  This feature also appeared online at The Beat Magazine.

Photos: 1. Donna and Colm Feore were on hand for the event; The musical opening of the Stratford Festival 2013; Flowers were in bloom everywhere;The pipes and drums corps was led by a proud drum major; One of the stars of this year’s Festival is Matthew G Brown; Geraint Wyn Davies is pictured with Donna Feore; The two stars of Mary Stuart, from left Sean McKenna and Lucy Peacock; One of the highlights of opening night was the lively music of the Kitchener based duo – the Vaudevillian; Minstrels from Romeo and Juliet took in the sights and sounds.

Tommy - a largely successful assault on the senses

Tommy
Stratford Festival
Music and lyrics by Pete Townshend
Book by Pete Townshend and Des McAnuff
Additional music and lyrics by John Entwistle and Keith Moon
Directed by Des McAnuff
Avon Theatre
Runs until October 19
Approximate running time: 2 hours and five minutes (with one interval)
Tickets: 1-800-567-1600 or online www.stratfordfestival.ca 

Review by Geoff Dale: an Oxford County theatre reviewer and freelance writer/photographer

Arguably there are three ground-breaking musical events that marked a dramatic shift in the tone of rock music: Bob Dylan’s Like a Rolling Stone (1965); the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) and the Who’s Tommy (1969), the latter acknowledged by most as the prototype rock opera.

Lest quibbling facts get in the way, let’s first acknowledge that Tommy was not the first rock opera, although the most famous of the Swingin’ Sixties. It was predated by the group’s own A Quick One While He’s Away, a nine-minute thematic suite from the 1966 album A Quick One; the little known The Story of Simon Simopath by a band called Nirvana (not the Kurt Cobain-led group of a decade later) and The Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow of 1968.

Annoying history notes aside, suffice it to say Tommy took its rightful place as the most influential of the early rock operas, being transformed into a delightfully gaudy flick by director Ken Russell (landing both Townshend and Ann-Margaret Oscar nominations) and lastly Des McAnuff’s wildly successful Tony-award winning Broadway hit of 1993.

So there was one simple double-barreled question overshadowing the grand opening of the revisited classic at the Stratford Festival this past week: Does Townshend’s work still maintain its status as a power-punching raucous pop music entity, aided and abetted by McAnuff’s well-documented love of flare and theatrical pyrotechnics or is it merely a dusty old relic of the past, suited only to the tastes of aging hipsters with ill-fitting rugs and giggly youngsters curious about dear old mom and dad’s penchant for the absurd?

The first part of the inquiry may be more to the point, albeit with a reservation or two. The story of the deaf, dumb and blind kid Tommy, in search of salvation via his mastery of the light-flashing, flipper-rattling pinball machine (paying homage to the wasted youth of our late 60s and early 70s), still holds real power.

Even in this annoying prefabricated age of instant celebrity (thank you reality TV), the story of a young child of World War Two, traumatized by his father’s murder of his mother’s love is still fascinating. He descends into total sensory deprivation to become an international superstar merely because of his mastery of an arcade game. He does so without the aid of sight, sound and real perception.

And Townshend’s songs still pack that proverbial punch, particularly the still-haunting "See Me, Feel Me", the rousing anthem-like "Pinball Wizard" and the manically frenetic "The Acid Queen", a blistering ode to hallucinogenic therapy sought out as a cure by Tommy’s parents. Jewelle Blackman does justice to the Tina Turner version in the Russell flick, competing both for vocal screaming rights and perhaps even the longest legs on stage. Yet watching her slink gracelessly after the number ends, into the murky shadows clutching the tools of a heroin addict is both painful and terribly sad.

There are many positives to be showered upon Tommy 2013, largely because the energy of the original text is intact, thanks to a tireless company of actors, dancers and musicians who never seem to sit still for a moment. They get the message out in full volume, leaving the audience presumably bathed in sweat but cheering for more.

Yet one has to wonder if the production would have been even more successful had McAnuff reigned in just a bit of his desire to swamp his creations with never-ending eye-popping effects that takes us all on a video-enhanced journey from the Second World War right through to the ‘60s, accompanied all the while by ear-piercing elements of pure sound and fury.

All of this is admittedly cleverly staged, with both McAnuff and a superior technical crew deserving highest marks for figuratively lifting the roof and walls of the Avon Theatre from its very foundations. But there are moments when one wishes the director’s passion for technical wizardry would give way, at least momentarily, for some solitary scenes of reflection without the aid of all those high priced bells and whistles.

That may be too much to ask and one has to wonder out loud whether McAnuff, Townshend and company are eying another shot along the Great White Way in the Big Apple, proving there is still plenty of room to stage a blockbuster revival.

The cast is certainly first rate. Robert Markus is an intriguing Tommy with a good set of pipes for handling the intricacies of Townshend’s track. Kira Guloien and Jeremy Kushnier are nicely matched as his troubled parents endlessly seeking reasons and ultimately a cure.

Depending on which night it is, either Arden Couturier or Adrienne Ennis will be onboard to tackle the role of the four-year-old Tommy while Conor Bergauer and Joshua Buchwald take turns at playing the lead character as a 10-year-old.

Paul Nolan achieves the unthinkable with brilliance, transforming the thuggish cousin Kevin from a simple brute into a viciously engaging sound and dance man, leading his equally nasty cohorts through some wonderfully engaging moments choreographed by Wayne Cilento.

The only really disconcerting aspect of the production – not just this version but also the album, movie and Broadway presentations – can be found in these lyrics sung in wickedly sleazy fashion by Steve Ross as Uncle Ernie:

I'm your wicked Uncle Ernie
I'm glad you won't see or hear me
As I fiddle about
Fiddle about
Fiddle about !

In the movie the late Who drummer Keith Moon played the role with such intense depravity, there was simply no way one could find a redeeming quality of the character. Yet here he is now, strutting about in comically burlesque fashion, almost becoming a tragic figure of sorts.

Ross is simply brilliant. While a somewhat larger fellow, he moves about with grace, dancing with real authority and singing with unabashed glee (Tommy’s Holiday Camp). But when was a slavishly drunken pedophile like this ever really a symbol of pity or vaudevillian humour?

Wildly different interpretations noted – Moon’s sadistic monster or Ross’ marginally more sympathetic uncle – the troubling mystery of how to treat such a role remains unanswered for some of us.

Certainly not a perfect production, the four curtain calls this particular night demonstrated more than adequately that Tommy will be a seasonal cash cow for the good folk at the Festival and could be back in New York City, before you can score a million points on your personal pinball at home.

Townshend and McAnuff have a winner on their hands – warts and all. Give the kid ***1/2 out of 4 stars.

This review was originally seen online at The Beat Magazine

Photo by Don Dixon: Robert Markus is pictured with Joshua Buchwald in the foreground. 

Blithe Spirit a delightful quirky drawing room romp

Blithe Spirit
Stratford Festival
Written by Noel Coward
Directed by Brian Bedford
Avon Theatre
Runs until October 20
Running time: 2 hours and 25 minutes (with two intervals of 15 and 10 minutes)
Tickets: 1-800-567-1600 or online www.stratfordfestival.ca 

Review by Geoff Dale

So what can you say about a play that’s been produced by countless theatre troupes around the globe for the past 72 years, won an Oscar for best cinematic special effects in 1945 and ended up as Noel Coward’s most popular work, despite the fact it only took him six days to write?

We’re guessing not very much – considering it appears yet again to be making the theatrical rounds all around the world. This latest batch includes a delightful outing at the Stratford Festival, a wonderfully amusing effort directed in grand style by the venerable Brian Bedford and starring the incomparable Seana McKenna.

So why the seven decade long interest in a drawing room work that is lightweight by any standards? Coward’s own words, when describing the play, are curious yet might explain why: “There’s no heart in the play,” he said. “If there was a heart, it would be a sad story.”

So it’s a happy but quirky play, an unlikely farce about life and love in the here-and-now and the hereafter. The focus is on a rather suave, genteel author, Charles Condomine (Ben Carlson), presumably fashioned much in the vein of Coward himself.

Thanks to the other-worldly activities of invited guest Madame Arcati (Seana McKenna), an annoying local bike-riding crackpot, author and psychic, who takes herself very seriously, poor Charles finds himself haunted by his morally loose first wife Elvira (Michelle Giroux).

That in itself presents a moral dilemma for the man, still very much married to his current and more staid spouse Ruth (Sara Topham). What it does for the storyline is provide all the laughs generated from what could be best described as a bizarre ménage à trois, of which no-one wishes to be part.

McKenna, who excels as Queen Elizabeth in the current Festival production of Mary Stuart, demonstrates here she is also a master of comedy. She can trade quips and barbs with the best of them and knows exactly how and when to milk laughs from the occasional pratfall, miscue and the oddly entrancing movements of the village’s rhythmically challenged medium.

Carlson does real justice to the role, showing all of us the author’s obvious disdain for the animalistic elements of passion, long-lasting relationships like marriage and morally questionable behavior, both from women and men. 

Proving to be quite the heel at times, he can also be quite ruthless and even cruelly hurtful in his interaction with his current wife:

“If you’re trying to compile an inventory of my sex life, I feel it only fair to warn that you’ve omitted several episodes. I shall consult my diary and give you a complete list after lunch.”

Topham is a wonderfully nagging wife while Giroux is a “spirited” addition to the less-than-happy household, getting under her husband’s skin at the most inappropriate times, leading to some of the play’s most entertaining and prickly encounters between the three.

If there’s a downside side to the levity, it may simply be that Coward appears to have little time for women, portraying Elvira as loose, Ruth as a constant nag, Arcati clearly not in full possession or her faculties and the maid Edith as a bumbler of the highest order. 

With that in mind, it’s no shocker to suggest there is never any real sense that Charles does or will ever miss either one of his two wives.

James Blendick and Wendy Thatcher add nice supporting roles as Dr. and Mrs. Bradham, guests at the initial séance, while Susie Burnett rounds out the cast as the oft-times incoherent Edith.

Blithe Spirit is a fairly gentle, humorous way to end the first week of Festival debuts, thanks to the fine work of McKenna, Carlson and company. Director Brian Bedford knows the drawing room by heart – both in and outside of this world – resulting in three out of **** stars.

This review was originally seen online at The Beat Magazine.

Photo by Don Dixon: top Michelle Giroux bottom l-r Sara Topham, Seana McKenna, Ben Carlson

The Three Musketeers promise but hardly deliver

The Three Musketeers
Stratford Festival
Written by Peter Raby
Adapted from the Alexandre Dumas novel
Directed by Miles Potter
Festival Theatre
Runs until October 19
Approximate running time: 2 hours and 55 minutes (with one 20-minute interval)
Tickets: 1-800-567-1600 or online www.stratfordfestival.ca 

Review by Geoff Dale : an Oxford County theatre reviewer and freelance writer/photographer.

The opening sequence featuring some wonderful no-holds-barred swordplay between a boisterous young D’Artagnan (Luke Humphrey) and his well-skilled father (played by Wayne Best) gives one the impression this could be a swashbuckler for the ages.

Sadly, such is not the case.

The story proceeds at an often tedious pace, revealing this as a production that could have been great but rapidly becomes victim to some genuinely off-putting performances, snail-like delivery of action sequences and unnecessary comic banter between the principles, much of it unfunny and uninspired.

That’s a shame because the four leads are up to the task of providing the feeling of camaraderie essential in fuelling the now famous motto “all for one and one for all”. 

Humphrey brings youthful swagger to his D’Artagnan. A well-padded Jonathan Goad is well cast as the fun-seeking Porthos. Graham Abbey is a thoughtful Athos, while Mike Shara handles Aramis’ shifts from his penchant for rabble-rousing to his desire to add substance to his life through religion, with ease.

Given the fact that the quartet is so well-suited to their respective characters and Alexandre Dumas’ text provides ample opportunities to provide excitement and non-stop action, you’d thought playwright Peter Raby and director Miles Potter would have had enough literary ammunition to figuratively explode onto the stage.

It doesn’t happen because there’s far too much humorous chit-chat and far too little of the swordplay and leaping from scene-to-scene that made the first scene such an exciting beginning.

How can one miss with the exploits of D’Artagnan and his three new-found friends in the compelling and complex court of the devious Cardinal Richelieu (Steven Sutcliffe), his chief henchman The Comte de Rochefort (Michael Blake) and the devious Milady de Winter (Deborah Hay)?

Well, therein lies another one major problem for the production. Sutcliffe’s Richelieu is an unqualified bore, barely able to serve up even the minimal required taste of evil. He’s simply reading the lines and rarely with any discernible emotion. He should have been stirring up the true hatred one normally feels for an evil villain of the Cardinal’s ilk. Instead you’re left contemplating a rather ho-hum realization of the man.

Blake, while an imposing figure, offers far-too few samples of The Comte de Rochefort’s villainy. His confrontations with D’Artagnan are abrupt, lacklustre and fail to suggest there will be a substantive conclusion or resolution to their conflict any time soon. 

Meanwhile, Hay does her best as the arch-villainess Milady but that amounts to little more than a few snarly, hissy moments, certainly not tantamount to the kind of emotions you would expect from a devious woman of her stature.

Then there’s Keith Dinicol bizarre characterization of Louis XIII, who at times sounds and even looks eerily like Bert Lahr’s Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz, huffing, puffing and prancing about, looking all-the-world like a court clown, the farthest thing from a genuine regal figure.

The first act, long as it was, at least had a modicum of action and even those moments of comedy helped move the pace along at a passable rate. The second act was another story. Painfully slow, even the four musketeers appeared to be bogged down from time in time in a sort of theatrical quick sand.

Fight director John Stead, set designer Douglas Paraschuk and costume designer Gillian Gallow get high marks for their contributions but Potter needs to do some rethinking on how to add some spark to what turned out to be a drawn out mixed bag of goodies, long on talk and short on action. 

The Three Musketeers take home **1/2 out of four stars.

This review was originally seen online at The Beat Magazine.

Photo by Don Dixon: l-r Jonathan Goad, Luke Humphrey, Graham Abbey and Mike Shara. 

Peacock and McKenna shine in Mary Stuart

Mary Stuart

Stratford Festival
Written by Friedrich Schiller
In a new version by Peter Oswald
Directed by Antoni Cimolino
Tom Patterson Theatre
Playing to September 21
Running time: two hours, 47 minutes (with one interval)
Tickets: 1-800-567-1600 or online www.stratfordfestival.ca 

Review by Geoff Dale

One key element in Friedrich Schiller’s play, skillfully updated by Peter Oswald, is that the storyline is historically correct in many details, except for one intriguing “what if” scene – the meeting of Queen Elizabeth 1 and her imprisoned cousin Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland.

While this work is clearly not the alternative history associated with present-day author Harry Turtledove (Hitler’s War) in which largely fictitious means dictate a complete reversal of the real ending, it is still the powerful and totally imagined scene between the two regal rivals that drives this play along emotional and intellectual journeys.

Equally important is that casting for Mary Stuart be without question or second thoughts. It requires top-flight performers known for flexibility of presentation, able to convey sincerity and compassion at all times through the nearly three-hour play.

Fortunately Lucy Peacock (Mary Stuart) and Seana McKenna (Elizabeth), two of the finest stage actors to be found anywhere in the theatrical world, landed the lead roles. Both exceed reasonable expectations, delivering spell-binding performances that reveal the complexities, power and even frailties of the regal cousins.

The imagined meeting of the two is simply chilling.

Peacock’s Mary Stuart is mesmerizing. As her cousin’s prisoner, she is deprived of her physical freedom but also tormented by her guilty conscience arising from her supposed role in the death of her husband Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.

She is also at the mercy of several plots, engineered by the free-spirited Mortimer (played with delightful rage by Ian Lake) and the two-faced Earl of Leicester (portrayed with uncomfortable nastiness by Geraint Wyn Davies). Peacock is at the top of her game, delivering to the audience a conflicted soul, a misunderstood figure and clearly seen by the author as the personification of tragedy.

Yet McKenna is equally successful capturing Elizabeth’s different sides, as a strong-minded woman who is nonetheless trapped in her own metaphysical dilemma. Surrounded, seemingly on all sides, by a host of benign court sycophants and self-serving deviants, she is strangely isolated as a leader wielding ultimate power, yet still victimized by her own inner turmoil. The queen, while in control, is nevertheless a symbol of despair and at times out-of-control.

Each actress is afforded ample opportunities to demonstrate the contradictory nature of their characters and both, with the steady and masterful guidance from director Antoni Cimolino, succeed admirably.

Mary’s scenes with her handmaiden Hannah Kennedy (a gentle, touching portrait from Patricia Collins), her jailer Sir Amias Paulet (nicely underplayed with sense of honour by the always reliable James Blendick) and her confessor Melvil (Brian Tree making the necessary shift here from his usual comic persona  to drama)  are simply riveting.

Meanwhile, as she ponders her cousin’s ultimate fate in front of her royal advisors, McKenna’s stone-faced Elizabeth is electrifying. One just has to sit back and marvel as she contends with the potential consequences of executing another monarch, an unthinkable act for the times.

When she and Mary finally meet, their fictional confrontation becomes a multi-layered and glorious tour-de-force of fury-infused acting by the two leads.

Meanwhile, Brian Dennehy is a gracious, dignified and thoughtful Earl of Shrewsbury, begging his queen to act with humanity, not simply respond impulsively to the deafening screams of the crowds milling about, just outside her royal doors. He pleads with her to deal with her dilemma with caution rather than a knee-jerk reaction to unreasoned mob rage.

Blendick’s Paulet, caught perilously between two worlds, remains respectful to both queens but is nonetheless determined to honour his role as Mary’s protector as long as she lives.

Ben Carlson is an unyielding, bloodthirsty Lord Burleigh with no apparent signs of real passion or humanity– a beautifully crafted villain of the highest order. The audience is never left in doubt as to where his motivations lie, contrary to Wyn Davies’s sly vision of the slithering, ever-changing charmer Leicester.

Hats off to Peacock, McKenna, Cimolino and the full company for a ****out of 4 stars night at the theatre.

Geoff Dale is an Oxford County theatre reviewer and freelance writer/photographer. This review is also posted  in the Theatre Review section of The Beat Magazine 

Photo by: Don Dixon.  Pictured from left, Seana McKenna and Lucy Peacock. 

Stratford's Romeo and Juliet a lacklustre production

Romeo and Juliet
Stratford Festival
Written by William Shakespeare 
Directed by Tim Carroll 
Festival Theatre
Runs until October 19
Approximate running time: two hours and 50 minutes (with one interval)
Tickets: 1-800-567-1600 (toll-free) or 519-273-1600
orders@stratfordfestival.ca 
groups@stratfordfestival.ca 
specialorders@stratfordfestival.ca

If nothing else, this particular Romeo and Juliet may be remembered as one of the strangest versions to make its way to Stratford, not because it tampered in any real way with the basic story but largely due to its incredibly odd ending and some less than spectacular acting.

With all due respect, there is no need for a spoiler alert here, rather a cautionary warning. Yes, both our tragic ill-fated prepubescent lovers die but much to our amazement, they are resurrected just in time to take part in a rousing song and dance number that would make the producers of TV’s cloying Glee recoil in embarrassment and horror.

Whether this bizarre conclusion to the nearly three-hour production was the idea of director Tim Carroll or perhaps one of the music directors, Franklin Brasz or Rick Fox, really doesn’t matter. It was so comically out of place.

Hats off to the efforts of the quartet of talented musicians in other spots but their participation at this particular moment was for another time, another place and certainly not the concluding scene of Shakespeare’s tragic last scene.

Sadly it was difficult to pick out the worthy elements of this production, beginning with the cast. On the positive side, Sara Topham took a gallant and largely successful stab at the 14-year-old Juliet of the Capulets. She exuded passion, sincerity and was believable capturing both the innocence and awakening desires of someone so young.

Jonathan Goad, while clearly hamming it up rather mercilessly as Romeo’s boisterous hot-headed young friend, delivered his lines with exuberance, showing he had learned his rudimentary fencing skills well. His portrayal may not sit well with some purists but it was particularly sad when he is dispatched by the nasty Tybalt (Tyrone Savage) in such short order because it meant the end of one of the play’s more palatable, if not delightfully over-the-top, characters.

Tom McCamus was an effective Friar Laurence, playing the role earnestly and with a much-appreciated helping of wit and Savage was appropriately vile to the core. Those were very decent performances that deserved to be in another more vibrant production, one that didn’t appear much of the time to be absolutely sleep-inducing.

While some cast members seemed downright disinterested, others were simply unbearable. First there was Antoine Yared’s Paris, who was such an annoying fop, one kept wishing he would meet his maker much sooner. Alas the bard’s text does not allow for such wholesale tampering. So he remained to the bitter end, in time to join the vaudevillian chorus line of mourners and the dead.

Unfortunately the least appealing performance of the night came from the apparently miscast Daniel Brière, whose lifeless Romeo was simply wooden, oddly comparable in some ways to Laurence Harvey’s cold-as-ice standoffish juvenile hero in the 1954 flick.

Lastly, the Montagues and Capulets played out their hatred on one of most barren dimly-lit sets to be seen at the Festival in recent times, apparently the director’s nod to what an afternoon show in an Elizabethan playhouse would have looked that. Such minimalism is a key element for plays like Waiting for Godot but Carroll’s grasp at authenticity didn’t work here.

Not a terribly auspicious start to the 2013 Festival.  Romeo and Juliet gets only ** out of 4 stars.

2 stars out of 4

Geoff Dale is an Oxford County theatre reviewer and freelance writer/photographer.

Photo: Daniel Brière as Romeo is pictured with Sara Topham in the role of Juliet. Photo by Cylla von Riedemann.

Stratford Festival 2013 in The Beat magazine

Check out my preview of the 2013 Stratford Festival on page 6 of The Beat