A Bold, Boisterous Game of Chess
British lyricist, Sir Tim Rice, centre, was in the house at the Princess of Wales Theatre for yesterday’s opening night performance of Chess: The Musical. A big hit with critics, the show — which has never played in Toronto before — is boisterous and bold with a graphic stage set, camp costumes and virtually non-stop singing from a veteran West End cast. The show runs through October 30.
Photo by Tracey Nolan
Warm-up For War Horse
Master puppeteers Basil Jones, left, and Adrian Kohler, right, touched down at the TIFF Bell Lightbox this morning to kick-start the buzz on the Mirvish production of War Horse, opening in February at the Princess of Wales Theatre. Based on a novel by Michael Morpurgo and adapted by Nick Stafford in association with Handspring Puppet Company, War Horse explores the role played by horses in World War 1. The life-size horse puppet, above, requires three operators and is staggeringly realistic in its movements, its ribs even expand and contract to mimic breathing. Conceived and created by Britain’s National Theatre, the show went on to capture five 2011 Tony Awards, including Best Play. Single tickets for the Toronto run go on sale September 26.
Walter Carsen Prize for Richard Rose
Toronto theatre veteran Richard Rose has won the $50,000 Walter Carsen Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts. The honour recognizes the highest level of artistic excellence and distinguished career achievement by Canadian artists who have spent the major part of their career in Canada in dance, theatre or music.
“Richard Rose’s artistic vision and directorial strength continue to move audiences year after year,” said Robert Sirman, Director and CEO of the Canada Council. “His intense passion for interpreting and presenting stories in new and creative ways aligns perfectly with what Walter Carsen intended for this prize.”
Nominator Peter Hinton, Artistic Director of the National Art Centre’s English Theatre, said, “Richard Rose encourages us to understand our own plays amidst the repertoire of contemporary works from the world stage. His work demonstrates an inherent understanding of the theatre’s power to speak to us and transform the way in which we see our world.”
The Dark Heart of Hansel and Gretel
There’s nothing run-of-the-mill about a Shadowland Theatre production and this week’s run of Hansel and Gretel: A Case Study is no exception. The show takes the classic Grimm fairy tale and combines it with the music of Brecht and Weill’s Threepenny Opera while calling upon Sigmund Freud to narrate and make sense of this dark, coming of age tale.
Shadowland co-founder Brad Harley below left as Sigmund Freud, says he and his wife, director Anne Barber, right, are using the Grimm story to work through their feelings about their own children, ages 17 and 20, leaving home.
“This story is about a rite of passage,” he says, “because all kids have to leave home at some point. But the anxiety this creates in the kids’ minds is what this story is all about. What Freud brings to our play is the interior monologue and answers the question, why has this story been so successful for hundreds of years? We think it’s because everybody’s own personal rite of passage is very similar to what happens to Hansel and Gretel. They have to deal with the witch and their parents and get out there and survive and if they do all that stuff successfully they’ll get the treasure and proceed into adulthood. And then they’ll have kids of their own and the saga will begin all over again.”
No Stage? No Problem for Humber River Shakespeare Co.
What started four years ago as a bit of summer fun for Humber River Shakespeare Company founders Sara Moyle and Kevin Hammond, left, has turned into a “year-round beast.” Currently in the midst of its month-long regional tour with the Bard’s Comedy of Errors, the company has other commitments booked for August, September and October.
“We thought it would be something we could do in the summer and have some fun but almost from day one the support and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Hammond. “People are constantly asking what are you doing next season? Are you doing something in the winter?”
Hammond is an old hand at the Shakespeare game. He was a kid when he attended the first CanStage Dream in High Park 29 years ago and he’s a former artistic director of Shakespeare in the Rough, which performed in Withrow Park for more than a decade until 2006. READ MORE
