Ah. The 2007 season at the Stratford Festival has started up, and I could not be happier to see one of my favourite plays on the Playbill this year. And - indeed - there is nothing as thrilling as entering that hallowed theatre and sitting mere feet from that jutting stage. When you are close enough to see the spit flying from the mouth of each actor like fountains, you can truly appreciate the atmosphere that is the theatre.
But then, of course, you are someone like me. You realize that while you may want to see an amazing show like King Lear, your lectures happen to start on the date performances start. Oh, cruel fate.
The worst part is, I even signed up for that PlayON program where they promote cheap tickets for certain people at certain performances. The problem is, after you have signed up for the program, you cannot find a single good ticket for any performance. They have one eligible performance per play and, if you cannot make it, then you are fucked.
Ugh…
Anyway, here are the plays that I was looking forward to see:
King Lear
King Lear is one of Shakespeare’s most depressing trategies. In the final scene of the play, it seems that nearly everyone dies. My humblest apologies if I just spoiled Lear for you, but you have surely heard the bulk of the story by now. An old king decides to divide his kingdom amongst this three daughters based on who can profess their love the most. Goneril and Regan, his elder daughters, each speak false words of affection for their father in order to gain his favour. Meanwhile, Cordelia - the youngest and most loved - finds that she cannot ‘heave her heart into her mouth’ and that she can say nothing to top her sisters compliments. At this point, the old king - in the biggest overreaction conceivable, decides to disown his daughter Cordelia (although she ends up getting into bed with French royalty, so…). The story that follows is a malicious plot of betrayal: fathers against daughters, sons against fathers, and friends against friends.
This production stars Brian Bedford as Lear. The name meant very little to me (as my interest in Shakespeare is only a few years old), but he is a regular Shakespearean. He also does the voice of Robin Hood from the 1973 Disney movie, which is where the Hamster Dance lifted its tune from - in case you were interested. It also stars Wayne Best (Andrew and Binkle should still remember Mattie) in the role of the Duke of Cornwall. This means that Mattie’s dad will get to be a total douchebag, and his scene with the Earl of Gloucester (Scott Wentworth - Sky Masterson from Guys and Dolls) will be a real ‘eye-opener’ for all those who see it.
Synopsis: Dividing his kingdom among three daughters, an aging monarch makes a catastrophic error of judgment that plunges him and those around him into a terrible abyss of suffering.
This heartrending drama of madness, loss and reconciliation is widely considered to be Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy - perhaps even the greatest play ever written.
To Kill A Mockingbird
A play that is sure to be full of pirates and ninjas battling to destroy the malevolent Mockingbird, this play is somehow going to incorporate a final battle in space which will involve the throwing of bears at giant robot space ships and people blowing rockets up with the moon. Crazy shit.
Oh, wait. This is that story by Harper Lee. The one about racism and loss of innocence. Synopsis: Widowed lawyer Atticus Finch is raising his children in racially divided Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression.
A man of high principle, Atticus agrees to defend a young black man falsely accused of raping a white woman - but who will pay the price for his courage?
I loved reading this book in high school, and I was really looking forward to seeing this play. But alas, it appears it was never meant to be.
Othello
This is one of those Shakespearean tragedies that I have not have the pleasure of seeing or reading (yet). I’ve been slowly chugging through the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, which I purchased at Yesterday’s Books and Things, but it is time-consuming.
Anyway, this play is supposedly very intense. And I really wanted to see it. Synopsis: The overwhelming and sometimes destructive power of human emotion becomes all too clear when an honourable soldier, misled by treachery and consumed by jealousy, is driven to murderous lengths.
A sinister and vindictive plot plants the seeds of doubt to corrupt a pure and honest love, with devastating consequences.
Shakespeare’s Will
A play that looked fairly interesting when I first read about it, Shakespeare’s Will is apparently a story of Anne Hathaway coping with Shakespeare’s death, and the information left in his last will and testament. One woman play. Stars Seana McKenna, who I last saw in Taming of the Shew.
Synopsis: On the even of William Shakespeare’s funeral, a solitary woman considers the poet’s last will and testament. What emerges is the fascinating story of Anne Hathaway, wife to the world’s greatest playwright - and a woman hiding dark sorrows of her own.
The Blonde, The Brunette, and the Vengeful Redhead
This play is returning from last year’s lineup. Apparently, it was unbearably hilarious, and so they brought it back. I’ve always struggled to believe this, since the last play that I saw Lucy Peacock in was Macbeth, where she played Lady M. And her performance was scary. She was so evil. Synopsis: An adulterous husband, a meddlesome neighbour and a dropped ice-cream cone are among the circumstances that combine to shatter the life of suburban housewife Rhonda Russell.
In this acclaimed Australian play, Rhonda’s loss of control ricochets through the lives of seven different characters - all portrayed by the same performer.
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The Odyssey
A play inspired by that minivan Homer rented. While I was never able to bring myself to read the copy that I borrowed from Josh once upon a time, I figure I should be able to stomach a stage adaptation for it. But, now I wont get to see it.
Synopsis: Matching wits with gods and conquering unspeakable terrors, Odysseus will stop at nothing to reach his island home. Nobel Prize-winning author Derek Walcott fuses the rich traditions of the Caribbean into an ingenious modern retelling of one of the greatest epics of the western world.
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It is a shame that they do not make the plays more accessible to kids who may be at university. Oh well. Maybe the residences will have another one of those trips to Stratford to see a play (hopefully Lear), and then I can kill two birds with one stone. I get to see Lear, and I get a ride home for the weekend.
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