A Shakespearian moment at Stratford…
May 25, 2008
Season Opening time for the Festival…Garden party this afternoon. On the grounds of this grand old Victorian residence, the Alexandra Estate; party proudly hosted by the current owners Alex and Shirley Jackson (built by a retired judge towards the end of the 19th century, Alex explains to us – they also operate a B&B http://www.alexandrainn.ca/index2.html ; running B&B’s is very popular occupation in Stratford, and for good reasons!). Under a huge canopy, in case of rain as they had preceding years; not this year though as we are blessed by a radiant sun!
Some 200 guests I would say, in summer and “garden party” gears; champagne and wine flowing freely. Many retired people and long-standing patrons of the Festival; many Americans too – met a few from Michigan and New-York states. Following Cynthia, doing the round, greeting people she knows and meeting people she doesn’t know – she is so good at this! Happy just to go along…
Learn quite a bit about Stratford too. Festival of course is key to the city, but also the winter arts activities, including a jazz festival which brings in quite a few aficionados. And the industrial part of it, a nearby auto parts plant – Toyota I think that has replaced departing American automakers. And the $10M University campus coming up, as part of the nearby Waterloo University, growing on the strength of Research-in-Motion’s astonishing growth and wealth (RIM is the inventor and manufacturer of the BlackBerry)
Simple dinner at a favorite local pizza joint: Pazzo (http://www.pazzo.ca/); sitting at the counter, at the corner, has become customary…
May 26,
Breakfast as a guest of Susan & Larry, an American couple operating a B&B here for the last couple of years; good friends of Cynthia (who is at work as we breakfast). We go to Foster’s Inn as Susan reckons it is the best breakfast place in town – don’t know if it is the case but I would agree it is good – egg Benedict on steamed spinach and smoked salmon, a favorite of mine and it’s a delicious one! (http://www.fostersinn.com/home.html)
Main event: the Opening Night. A formal affair; black tie and evening gown. Champagne cocktail in the foyer of the Festival Theatre, followed by a sitting dinner in the long glassed hall facing the Avon River. At our table Bert Carrière and his wife Nancy (Bert is retiring music director of the Festival and a member of SOCAN; Nancy tells me all about their recent, 3-week tour of India; she is thrilled that I can corroborate some of her comments and impressions!); Richard Costley-White and his wife Caitlin Adamson (Richard is a member of the Festival’s Board of Directors, and owner of a chain of radio stations in Southern Ontario; based in London, Ont.; knows SOCAN well as he pays us license fees…Caitlin – probably Gaelic for Catherine – is from Wakefield, an outdoor woman who worked at Whistler as trekking guide and also who went down rivers in B.C. before “settling” – she’s got 2 wonderful toddlers whom we met at the garden party…); Marg Rappolt, and her escort for the night, Lisa Clements (Marg is current deputy minister for Ontario’s Ministry of Culture; classic trajectory for senior bureaucrats – graduate from Queens in Public Administration; stint in Saskatchewan with her husband; returned to Ontario public service; couple of other DMships – speaks and has the manners and behavior of a senior bureaucrat…her date Lisa is a politico; works in the Minister’s office; keen on all the politically savvy things – China, the Liberal party of Ontario, etc…). Elegant dinner – shrimp and Dungeness crab, with a Goundrey Chardonnay; pan-fried breast of Guinea fowl, served with an Inniskilin Cabernet Franc; chocolate cream with zabaglione – prepared by local famed Rundles restaurant.
Discours d’usage: le président du Conseil, le commanditaire (SunLife Financial Canada); le député provincial ; le député fédéral, le maire, puis le directeur du Festival, Antoni Cimolino (voir plus bas), et enfin le directeur artistique, Des McAnuff qui dirige la pièce d’ouverture, Roméo et Juliette. McAnuff est de stature internationale, l’homme derrière le « Jersey Boys », présentement sur Broadway, et semble-t-il la cause première de la démission récente des deux autres directeurs artistiques qui devaient ensemble constitués le triumvirat de la relève du Festival…scandale local qui à tout de même fait la une des journaux de Toronto, et relevé par le New York Times…
Et puis « Roméo et Juliette ». Bien réussi ; sauf que je comprends mal le début et la fin en cadre moderne, moto-bicyclettes et mitrailleuses à l’appui – sans doute une façon de vouloir surprendre et de se différencier des centaines d’autres productions de la pièce…les deux protagonistes font du bond travail, mais la voix de Gareth Potter en Juliette porte peu…La critique le lendemain est mixte…
Dernier verre à la sortie, pour se mêler avec la faune théâtrale ; félicite McAnuff ; longue conversation sur le parvis avec la célébrité du moment, l’acteur Brian Dennehy, à Stratford pour jouer Krapp's Last Tape & Hughie, plus tard dans la saison. Journée et soirée bien remplies…
Repart le lendemain par train sur Toronto. Cynthia reste – une ouverture par soirée pour le reste de la semaine…Nous reviendrons tout au cours de l’été; on aura jamais vu autant de Shakespeare et de théâtre je dois avouer que cette saison…
Le 28 mai 2008
P.S. les remarques de Cimolino au dîner :
ANTONI CIMOLINO
SEASON OPENING NIGHT
MONDAY, MAY 26, 2008
I’m delighted to welcome you to this, the 56th season of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
It’s a very exciting time for us: our first season under our new artistic director, Des McAnuff, whose production of Romeo and Juliet you’re seeing tonight.
It’s one of five great Shakespeare productions we’re presenting this season, along with all the other variety our patrons and supporters have come to expect: two spectacular musicals, a Greek tragedy, a double bill of one-act plays by Samuel Beckett and Eugene O’Neill (both starring Tony Award-winning actor Brian Dennehy), a play from the Golden Age of Spanish drama (something we’ve never done before), and the world premières of plays by two outstanding Canadian playwrights, Joanna McClelland Glass and Morris Panych.
Later in the season, we’ll have Christopher Plummer starring in a production of George Bernard Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra, along with tonight’s Juliet, Nikki M. James.
Also later in the season, Simon Callow, whom many of you will recognize from the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, will be here to perform his own one-man show on Shakespeare’s sonnets.
We’ll even have a play in German: the Deutsches Theater Berlin’s sensational production of Emilia Galotti, which has been garnering rave reviews everywhere it has gone.
But don’t worry: there will be surtitles.
And we have yet another innovation to look forward to: Peter Hinton’s open-air presentation of Shakespeare’s Universe, a multidisciplinary experience that will give you fascinating insights into the world in which Shakespeare lived and wrote.
All this and a new lobby too, which is going to be a great venue for the party after tonight’s show.
A renewed focus on Shakespeare and the classics, a greater connection to the international theatre community, and a strong commitment to the development of Canadian artists – these are the three cornerstones of our future.
I’m thrilled to be working with Des to build that future, and I hope that you’ll share the excitement we both feel tonight as we stand on the threshold of a whole new era.
New, but not disconnected from our past. Everything we’re doing this year – the emphasis on Shakespeare, the international outreach, the development of Canadian artists – springs directly from the vision of our founders.
When this Festival began in 1953, it was founded on those very same principles. What we’re doing is recapturing the sense of innovation, of surprise, of risk-taking and, ultimately, of triumph that attended that first season, while still remaining true to our roots and core values.
It’s going to be an amazing season, ushering in an amazing future. I hope you’ll all continue to be part of that future.
Thank you.
May 25, 2008
Season Opening time for the Festival…Garden party this afternoon. On the grounds of this grand old Victorian residence, the Alexandra Estate; party proudly hosted by the current owners Alex and Shirley Jackson (built by a retired judge towards the end of the 19th century, Alex explains to us – they also operate a B&B http://www.alexandrainn.ca/index2.html ; running B&B’s is very popular occupation in Stratford, and for good reasons!). Under a huge canopy, in case of rain as they had preceding years; not this year though as we are blessed by a radiant sun!
Some 200 guests I would say, in summer and “garden party” gears; champagne and wine flowing freely. Many retired people and long-standing patrons of the Festival; many Americans too – met a few from Michigan and New-York states. Following Cynthia, doing the round, greeting people she knows and meeting people she doesn’t know – she is so good at this! Happy just to go along…
Learn quite a bit about Stratford too. Festival of course is key to the city, but also the winter arts activities, including a jazz festival which brings in quite a few aficionados. And the industrial part of it, a nearby auto parts plant – Toyota I think that has replaced departing American automakers. And the $10M University campus coming up, as part of the nearby Waterloo University, growing on the strength of Research-in-Motion’s astonishing growth and wealth (RIM is the inventor and manufacturer of the BlackBerry)
Simple dinner at a favorite local pizza joint: Pazzo (http://www.pazzo.ca/); sitting at the counter, at the corner, has become customary…
May 26,
Breakfast as a guest of Susan & Larry, an American couple operating a B&B here for the last couple of years; good friends of Cynthia (who is at work as we breakfast). We go to Foster’s Inn as Susan reckons it is the best breakfast place in town – don’t know if it is the case but I would agree it is good – egg Benedict on steamed spinach and smoked salmon, a favorite of mine and it’s a delicious one! (http://www.fostersinn.com/home.html)
Main event: the Opening Night. A formal affair; black tie and evening gown. Champagne cocktail in the foyer of the Festival Theatre, followed by a sitting dinner in the long glassed hall facing the Avon River. At our table Bert Carrière and his wife Nancy (Bert is retiring music director of the Festival and a member of SOCAN; Nancy tells me all about their recent, 3-week tour of India; she is thrilled that I can corroborate some of her comments and impressions!); Richard Costley-White and his wife Caitlin Adamson (Richard is a member of the Festival’s Board of Directors, and owner of a chain of radio stations in Southern Ontario; based in London, Ont.; knows SOCAN well as he pays us license fees…Caitlin – probably Gaelic for Catherine – is from Wakefield, an outdoor woman who worked at Whistler as trekking guide and also who went down rivers in B.C. before “settling” – she’s got 2 wonderful toddlers whom we met at the garden party…); Marg Rappolt, and her escort for the night, Lisa Clements (Marg is current deputy minister for Ontario’s Ministry of Culture; classic trajectory for senior bureaucrats – graduate from Queens in Public Administration; stint in Saskatchewan with her husband; returned to Ontario public service; couple of other DMships – speaks and has the manners and behavior of a senior bureaucrat…her date Lisa is a politico; works in the Minister’s office; keen on all the politically savvy things – China, the Liberal party of Ontario, etc…). Elegant dinner – shrimp and Dungeness crab, with a Goundrey Chardonnay; pan-fried breast of Guinea fowl, served with an Inniskilin Cabernet Franc; chocolate cream with zabaglione – prepared by local famed Rundles restaurant.
Discours d’usage: le président du Conseil, le commanditaire (SunLife Financial Canada); le député provincial ; le député fédéral, le maire, puis le directeur du Festival, Antoni Cimolino (voir plus bas), et enfin le directeur artistique, Des McAnuff qui dirige la pièce d’ouverture, Roméo et Juliette. McAnuff est de stature internationale, l’homme derrière le « Jersey Boys », présentement sur Broadway, et semble-t-il la cause première de la démission récente des deux autres directeurs artistiques qui devaient ensemble constitués le triumvirat de la relève du Festival…scandale local qui à tout de même fait la une des journaux de Toronto, et relevé par le New York Times…
Et puis « Roméo et Juliette ». Bien réussi ; sauf que je comprends mal le début et la fin en cadre moderne, moto-bicyclettes et mitrailleuses à l’appui – sans doute une façon de vouloir surprendre et de se différencier des centaines d’autres productions de la pièce…les deux protagonistes font du bond travail, mais la voix de Gareth Potter en Juliette porte peu…La critique le lendemain est mixte…
Dernier verre à la sortie, pour se mêler avec la faune théâtrale ; félicite McAnuff ; longue conversation sur le parvis avec la célébrité du moment, l’acteur Brian Dennehy, à Stratford pour jouer Krapp's Last Tape & Hughie, plus tard dans la saison. Journée et soirée bien remplies…
Repart le lendemain par train sur Toronto. Cynthia reste – une ouverture par soirée pour le reste de la semaine…Nous reviendrons tout au cours de l’été; on aura jamais vu autant de Shakespeare et de théâtre je dois avouer que cette saison…
Le 28 mai 2008
P.S. les remarques de Cimolino au dîner :
ANTONI CIMOLINO
SEASON OPENING NIGHT
MONDAY, MAY 26, 2008
I’m delighted to welcome you to this, the 56th season of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.
It’s a very exciting time for us: our first season under our new artistic director, Des McAnuff, whose production of Romeo and Juliet you’re seeing tonight.
It’s one of five great Shakespeare productions we’re presenting this season, along with all the other variety our patrons and supporters have come to expect: two spectacular musicals, a Greek tragedy, a double bill of one-act plays by Samuel Beckett and Eugene O’Neill (both starring Tony Award-winning actor Brian Dennehy), a play from the Golden Age of Spanish drama (something we’ve never done before), and the world premières of plays by two outstanding Canadian playwrights, Joanna McClelland Glass and Morris Panych.
Later in the season, we’ll have Christopher Plummer starring in a production of George Bernard Shaw’s Caesar and Cleopatra, along with tonight’s Juliet, Nikki M. James.
Also later in the season, Simon Callow, whom many of you will recognize from the film Four Weddings and a Funeral, will be here to perform his own one-man show on Shakespeare’s sonnets.
We’ll even have a play in German: the Deutsches Theater Berlin’s sensational production of Emilia Galotti, which has been garnering rave reviews everywhere it has gone.
But don’t worry: there will be surtitles.
And we have yet another innovation to look forward to: Peter Hinton’s open-air presentation of Shakespeare’s Universe, a multidisciplinary experience that will give you fascinating insights into the world in which Shakespeare lived and wrote.
All this and a new lobby too, which is going to be a great venue for the party after tonight’s show.
A renewed focus on Shakespeare and the classics, a greater connection to the international theatre community, and a strong commitment to the development of Canadian artists – these are the three cornerstones of our future.
I’m thrilled to be working with Des to build that future, and I hope that you’ll share the excitement we both feel tonight as we stand on the threshold of a whole new era.
New, but not disconnected from our past. Everything we’re doing this year – the emphasis on Shakespeare, the international outreach, the development of Canadian artists – springs directly from the vision of our founders.
When this Festival began in 1953, it was founded on those very same principles. What we’re doing is recapturing the sense of innovation, of surprise, of risk-taking and, ultimately, of triumph that attended that first season, while still remaining true to our roots and core values.
It’s going to be an amazing season, ushering in an amazing future. I hope you’ll all continue to be part of that future.
Thank you.
