Alberta Report, November 4, 2011

Launching the Canadian Comedia of Stewart Lemoine

Why is this brilliant playwright still a local boy?
by Anne Nothof

On Sunday, October 16, NeWest Press and Teatro La Quindicina threw a party in the Varscona Theatre, Edmonton for the launching of Witness to a Conga and Other Plays by Stewart Lemoine.  The playwright appeared as himself onstage, seated on a comfortable chair, and interviewed by CBC radio host, Peter Brown.  He spoke about the genesis of his plays, his use of music, and the ways in which his characters are informed by the actors for whom they are created.  Although a great time was had by all, the launch was attended by only a few loyal fans, theatre people, and NeWest staff, although the playwright has a large and enthusiastic following in the city.  Even with free food and wine, book launches attract small audiences.  And, inexplicably, with a couple of exceptions, Lemoine’s plays have yet to reach an audience in theatres across Canada.  

This is the third publication by NeWest of Lemoine’s works, following A Teatro Trilogy: Selected Plays (2004), and At the Zenith of the Empire (2007).  They are not best-sellers. So why launch the publication of a play collection?  Why even publish plays?  Because they are good.  Because they deserve a wider audience.  Because Lemoine has a distinctive, unique style that is not dependent on specific venues or particular actors. 

Report From Alberta

West is East and East is West, and Sometimes in Alberta

There’s not much happening in the Canadian theatre scene that doesn’t happen in Alberta.  

by Anne Nothof

Borders are blurring, Canadian plays are migrating, and in Edmonton Alberta, new arrivals are on centre stage.  Although fewer plays are being developed in-house, the repertoire range is wider, the offerings more diverse.  There’s not much happening in the Canadian theatre scene that doesn’t happen in Alberta.  

Edmonton’s Northern Light Theatre opened its 2011-12 season with Heroine, a tale of two women pirates by Karen Bassett, who is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Heroine is an action-filled feminist work set in the early 1700s, which features two women imprisoned in a Jamaica cell and condemned to be hanged.  It is based on the lives of Irish-American pirate, Ann Bonny, and British cavalry officer, Mary Read, who disguised herself as a man and fell in love with her commanding officer before her capture by pirates and decision to defect. Barry fights for independence and excitement, and Read for glory and honour, and they are ready to defend their very different values with their swords. Both also courageously resist the limitations imposed on them by a repressive society. Playwright Bassett acted Mary Read in the premiere production at BusStop Theatre 2010, a role which requires strong fighting skills, and a great deal of stamina. The Northern Light Theatre production (September 16-24, 2011), directed by Trevor Schmidt,  featured Lora Brovold and Natascha Girgis, both of whom demonstrated extraordinary prowess in swordfighting and acting.