Review: (Shaw) Arcadia

Kate Besworth and Gray Powell (photo by David Cooper)

Chaos theory, Newtonian physics, and Lord Byron
Tom Stoppard’s play gifts us with knowledge and humour
by Dave Ross

Arcadia opened last night at the Studio Theatre at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake with great expectations. Sitting in my seat before the show, the audience was chatting amongst themselves about Tom Stoppard’s play, and about what they were expecting. No one was disappointed – Arcadia is a barn-burner. 

I will not single out any performers here, as the entire cast has given so much to each character. Set in 1809-1812 and the present day, in the same location in both timelines, it could be very easy for characters (particularly in the earlier time frame) to become poncey caricatures, but the performers have ensured this does not happen. These dual time frames are integrated so tightly, but kept distinct, with only one actor having a role in both periods, and even then, it is only briefly. This prevents any overlap between performances, and was a wise decision on Stoppard’s part.

Review: (Shaw) Lady Windermere's Fan

Marla McLean (photo by Emily Cooper)

Oscar Wilde and Katy Perry lie in the gutter...
But look up at the stars
by Dave Ross
@dmjross

Lady Windermere’s Fan was written by Oscar Wilde, and followed the publication of A Picture of Dorian Grey. It is a biting commentary on the good and bad in both men and women, and fittingly, this production at the Shaw Festival contains both the good and the bad. 

First, the good – the performances in this show are, unsurprisingly, excellent. Marla McLean as Lady Windermere does wonderfully portraying a tortured, tried young society woman. Guy Bannerman has a small role as Parker, the Windermeres’ butler, and is stodgy and nosey to the delight of the audience (and annoyance of the Windermeres). Kyle Blair’s Mr. Cecil Graham is perfectly, irritatingly foppish. Indeed, the cast have all mastered the art of tittering, gossipy society folk. Worth special mention is Tara Rosling as Mrs Erlynne. Her performance is refined, and in places deliciously executed. Her stage presence is undeniable. 

Review: (Shaw Festival) The Light in the Piazza

l-r Juan Chioran and Jeff Irving (photo by Emily Cooper)

Florence arrives in Niagara on the Lake

and brings lovely voices with it.

by Dave Ross

@dmjross

Musicals are one of those strange art forms. When someone raises them in conversation, most minds leap to the ‘big’ musicals – Phantom of the Opera, CATS, Les Miserables, etc. From this stems a typical love/hate reaction, usually assuming that these musicals represent the only form of musical that exists. This is so far from the truth on many levels, and something that I too was reminded of when the lights came up on Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’s The Light in the Piazza at the Shaw Festival in Niagara on the Lake. The musical is small, delicate, intimate, and emotionally exhausting. In a word – excellent.

The Light in the Piazza tells the story of Clara (Jacqueline Thair) and her mother Margaret (Patty Jamieson). They travel to Florence together, and Clara attracts the eye of Fabrizio (Jeff Irving), and the two become completely besotted. However, there is something about Clara that makes her different from other girls, and Margaret struggles with how to tell Fabrizio’s family. The tension between her conscience and Clara and Fabrizio’s love creates the story, leaving us to wonder if it is better to have loved and lost…

Sunday Feature: Director Carly Chamberlain on a Shaw/LaBute Double-Bill

(photo credit: Denise Grant)

Mad Science
The contrast in writing style and tone opens up an opportunity to go as far as possible in contrasting the direction and acting style
by Carly Chamberlain (Artistic Producer of Neoteny Theatre and director for Overruled by GB Shaw & Romance by Neil LaBute)

My favourite part of telling people I am working on a double bill of plays by Shaw and LaBute is clocking the reaction on their faces. My very unscientific analysis is that the reactions typically start with confusion and move toward skeptical curiosity. And I have to admit I get a certain amount of pleasure from being viewed as some sort of theatrical mad scientist, combining seemingly disparate ingredients into a volatile compound. But the truth is, the combination is far from mad.

Theatre for Thought, August 27, 2011

George Bernard Shaw vs. Terror and Pity

Whatever you think of Shawfest, it should always be applauded for single-handedly keeping Shaw’s work alive in North America.

joel fishbane