Jeff Lillico, Gregory Prest (photo by Cylla von Tiedemann)
From Page to Stage (and Screen?)
by Greg Bunker
It is a curious thing that the classic British novel, Of Human Bondage, written by W. Somerset Maugham in 1915, has not been adapted to stage until now. Maugham was a playwright as well; his novel is considered one of the best ever written; and there are three film adaptations of it – the first of these launched Bette Davis’s career in the 1930s. Adapted by award-winning playwright Vern Thiessen, and brought to life by director Albert Shultz and an impeccable Soulpepper cast at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, this world premiere offers up some big artistic risks that for the most part are exquisite and rewarding. The story, though, is a tad belaboured in the beginning, and come intermission, I was nervous about where it was all going.
