Shakespeare In The City

Episode 44 of This Is Toronto is now available!

This latest edition features the Spur-of-the-Moment Shakespeare Collective, a group of Toronto actors who strive to make the works of William Shakespeare more accessible.

www.thisistorontopodcast.blogspot.com

NEXT EPISODE: Feb. 11, 2011

Use Your Imagination

Finding connection in the messy days of March is a challenge.

There's a dirty order to the snowbanks lining Toronto streets, exacerbating the isolation winter brings. People are packed away under layers of sweaters, riding alone in cars, subways, and streetcars; they're lost in their i-pods, glued to their Blackberries, stuck to television screens. Roads and sidewalks separate people, people separate themselves, and pretty soon one looks in the mirror to find a pale, puffy stranger in need of Greens Plus and a case of Prozac.

Yet there is an alternative to all this "in the bleak midwinter" stuff. Toronto's lively arts scene is full of inspiration and wonder, as evidenced in Soulpepper Theatre Company's current production of As You Like It.

Lest you feel tempted to emit a yuck-Shakespeare groan, be aware that this isn't a production full of big wigs, tight bodices, pointy shoes, grave tones or that most tiresome of classical performance habits, U-S-A-ing, otherwise known as Urgent-Shakespeare-Acting. Far from it.

As You Like It, now on at the Young Centre, is chock-a-block with fresh-faced members of the Soulpepper Academy -so fresh, in fact, that one wonders if they were kept in a hyperbaric chamber since July. The casting and presentation give much-needed jolts of youth, joy, and vitality to one of Shakespeare's most complex and layered works.

This is a production that is deeply satisfying in its simplicity: accessible but never patronizing, intelligent but never impenetrable.

Instead of imposing large ideas or hokey concepts, Soulpepper Artistic Director Albert Schultz directs As You Like It with a deft and knowing hand, allowing the poetry of Shakespeare's words to reveal and illuminate. He inherently understands that the Bard requires no gimmickry or interference, that characters and their dilemmas can -and do -speak for themselves.

In place of a recognizable period and locale, there is a mixed bag of visual and aural references to chew on. But far from being confusing, these elements, used in tandem with a consistent palette of colours and sound effects, combine in challenging the audience to use their own imaginations, much in the same way Shakespeare would have done with his own audience.

The story is simple enough, with Rosalind, daughter of Duke Senior, banished by her usurping uncle, and fleeing with cousin Celia to the Forest of Arden, where both meet love and life experience, and encounter a sense of community their court existence had deprived them of.

The dualism of the plot can, of course bewilder: Rosalind pretends to be a man, but then acts as a woman, in order to court her beloved Orlando, even as Rosalind, as a man, is wooed by another woman. Then there's the terrible twos: two sets of brothers share a terrible animosity, there are two (very different) fools, there are two country girls, and there are two sets of two weddings. That's a lot for any audience to keep track of, let alone one director.

Yet Schultz keeps things flowing, choosing lights, props, and staging that emphasize a sensitive balance between intimacy and openness. The stage of the Baillie Theatre is refreshingly uncluttered, and Lorenzo Savoini's clean design goes a long way to telling a story that has implications far past the mythic forest of Shakespeare's imagining.

The stark, white, geometric precision and hard angles that characterize the world of Duke Frederick are replaced with pungent, cushiony scarlets and the rich, billowing browns of forest life. Fraying red ropes hang like random umbilical cords, whispering a confirmation of sustenance and shelter. There is a natural balance to life here, which reminds the audience of the essentially dualistic nature of the play.

Thus, dualism is acknowledged, both inventively and economically. Something as simple as a cooking pot in Arden becomes an instrument of torture in the Duke's court. Bare, cold walls become soft, satiny moss. Dualism even extends to casting, with Mike Ross doubling as Oliver (angry brother to the smitten Orlando), and Amiens, the chief musician who serenades Celia (an effervescent Jennifer Villaverde) at a moment when she needs it most.

The importance -indeed, necessity -of creativity (again, between the characters, audience and performers) is underlined repeatedly. The mask of a wrestler near the play's start bares an unmistakable resemblance to Strongbad (an online cartoon character), adding a nice element of playfulness. A babbling brook (the edges and stepping stones of which are indicated with rope) that divides the stage for many of the Arden scenes acts as a reminder of what the play's characters -and perhaps audience -seek: purity, cleansing, redemption.

Music is another element that creates a sense of community between performers and audience. But instead of tinkling Elizabethan tunes or peppy modern pop, composer Mike Ross has opted for a Celtic-Appalachian sound. It's Bill-the-Quill-meets-Bron-Yr-Aur-Stomp, and it works well in complementing the clear, elegant aesthetic of the production, while never robbing it of joyful vivacity.

Making the most of this joy is Sarah Wilson, who infuses her Rosalind with youthful zeal. Despite the gravitas of being one of Shakespeare's greatest female parts, here she is presented precisely for what she is: a young woman on the edge of adulthood.

It's fascinating to watch Wilson as she explores her character's feminine identity through that of her male alias, Ganymede. Particularly charming are the scenes with Michael Blake's enthusiastically love-crazed Orlando. We see the two frequently navigate between awkwardness, openness, vulnerability, hurt and adoration, and we recognize every single moment on that bumpy road to love.

Diego Matamoros brings a wry, dry, eminently-watchable energy to the role of the famously-melancholy Jaques. Not so much melancholy here as too smart and self-aware by half, his combination of weariness, wit, and honesty is particularly effective when placed with the altogether hilarious, kinetic energy of Oliver Dennis' Touchstone. You don't have to be familiar with Soulpepper's history to sense the casting genius in having these two talented actors, in these particular roles, verbally sparring and playing off one another's energy.

Whether it's Jaques outrageously swaying to Amiens' music like a hillbilly Bob Dylan, or Touchstone wielding his staff like a badly-dressed Gandalf, there is always a constant balance being maintained, here, as in every scene of As You Like It: a balance between smart and silly, anger and forgiveness, love and indifference.

All of this is underlined in the final scene, with the four couples joined in marriage, as red leaves slowly fall around them, marking a transition both without and within, that is as natural as it is poetic.

As You Like It underlines the great need for maintaining balance within a creative environment that fosters, nurtures, and encourages growth. If that sounds complicated, it isn't. Schultz makes it clear -in the most simple and timeless of ways - that As You Like It is every bit as applicable in its call for connection in 2008 Toronto as it was in 1599 London.

This is Shakespeare presented clearly, with much imagination and love. It's a welcome respite from the dirty details of winter, and worth a trip, with toque, Totes, and TTC, down to the snowy lanes of the Distillery District.

Arden awaits.

As You Like It runs at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts through April 19th.
For more information, go to soulpepper.ca.

Hamlet (solo)

Raoul Bhaneja is nothing if not audacious.

The Toronto-based actor, writer, director and musician, recounts the time a former high school saw his one-man production of Hamlet.

"One of my high school teachers came to to me afterwards, and as if he quoting Obama, he says, 'the audacity... to do that!'. It was meant it in a good way, though."

Hailing from Ottawa, Bhaneja's Hamlet (solo) show has been garnering critical praise and developing with every performance. Having already taken the show to Edinburgh, London, and New York, as well as Edmonton's Push Festival most recently, the project has been a labour of love for Bhaneja, as proven by his documentary on the years-long experience, airing Wednesday night on Bravo!.

"That's what the documentary is about - when I look back at my life working on the show, through the filter of a director putting together the story. There's not really a moral of the story, but if you're going to let ppl tell you that you're ... "

He pauses, lost in thought.

"Look," he says with fierce determination, "the play stands as a great example on so many levels, of why it shouldn't work. Lots of people might've said 'oh it won't work', but most of the really good people in the arts world, they nod, and say, 'go for it'." Everybody knows the only way you break through and get to the next level is when you're pushing the boundaries of yourself and concepts about what shows should be, and how they shodl be presented."

The idea for a one-man Hamlet originated in three experiences that Bhaneja still holds dear. One involved a high school English teacher introducing him to the play, ("He got me hooked on Shakespeare"), another was exposure to a theatre company in Ottawa who performed experimental classical theatre on the street, and the other was the much-praised version of Hamlet done by Quebecois theatre artist Robert LePage.

Oh yes, and then there was Claire Coulter, a Canadian actress, who Bhaneja witnessed performing playwright Wallace Shawn's The Fever during his days as a student at the prestigious National Theatre School.

"She did this monologue with no lights, no props, no costumes," he says, with reverence, "She sat in a rotten old loveseat at a rehearsal space in Montreal. I didn't know her, or her work. She pulled up this old chair and two metres from us, and went, 'can I start now?' We looked at each other and said 'um, yeah sure'. And she launched into this amazingly intimate whacky strange world. We were transported."

One can almost hear the smile across the line to Edmonton.

"It was such a big inspiration," he continues, "and it was then I realized, under the right circumstances, all you really need are the words, the actor, and an audience - that's it."

In the documentary, Bhaneja speaks with several famous Hamlets through the years, including Christopher Plummer, Tom Barnett, Ben Carlson, Colm Feore, Soulpepper's Albert Schultz, and everyone's favourite Mountie, Paul Gross.

Bhaneja says that although he was influenced by the many different interpretations of the famous melancholy Prince, "when you see mine, (there are) elements of it you love, but there are also characters there you love from certain (other) productions. The audience tells me what version of Hamlet they want to see -it changes ... sometimes people want it to be funny, other times, they're really listening, waiting to find out what happens next in story. Two years into performing and touring it, it's still a fulfilling experience."

He smiles again, imagining what the famous playwright might say about Hamlet (solo): "why doth one man play my play?"

He's realistic about Hamlet (solo)'s impact in the overall scheme of things, however.

"It's a play, it's Hamlet, it's not the cure for cancer or rocket science, but there is something about it that is personal and unique, " he explains.

"It's rare to see a production where an actor of any level has had eight years to (let) a play ferment and grow inside them -that's quite a special experience. I've been so spoiled by having this play as an organism inside me. I don't know every Shakespeare (play) back to front, I'm not a scholar, but through this one play, Hamlet, I feel like I have a personal, quite intimate relationship with Shakespeare, because of how long I've been on ride. It's a real gift."

Hamlet (solo): The Documentary airs on Bravo! Wednesday, January 30th, at 10pm.

For more information, go to www.bravo.ca
For information on the work of Raoul Bhaneja, go to http://www.raoulbhaneja.com/.

no good reason

Didactic art can be such a drag.

Plays are, I find, particularly trying.

All those people, working so hard, just to push through some simplistic, and frequently obvious message -without a whiff of subtlety, insight, or actual passion.
Reminds me of those mini-plays we'd put on in elementary school: SMOKING IS BAD. DON'T STEAL. HELP YOUR PARENTS.

Oh brother. I'd like to think adult audiences are a bit past the preaching, and ready for something a bit more challenging.

So would Leslie O'Dell, it turns out.

O'Dell is the director of No Good Reason, a two-man play opening at the Young Centre November 1st.

In it, two soldiers who have survived World War One recount their experiences and work to try to find a way to live with their wounds -both outer and inner.

"We're trying to resist the obvious or sentimental, or direct, striaght-forward peachy themes and go for something tougher,", she explains, "something more dangerous, and raw, where we back off of that simplistic message sort of thing, and say, 'okay, yes, war is bad, why do we as a species keep doing it?'"

From listening to the play's accompanying CD, Waiting There for Me, or examining playwright Stephen Baetz's work, it's easy to see how timely a piece No Good Reason is.

"Here we are, as Canadians, again, watching the price be paid by another generation of young people", she says with a sigh, "We call it the 'first' World War, but back then, they called it the Great War, the war to end all wars. I mean, what is it about our species that will, despite our capacity for caring and love and healing ... what is it in us that keeps us coming back to violence?"

O'Dell is certainly no stranger to examining the urge to kill in the theatre. She's been involved in productions of Henry IV (Revolt in England and Revenge in France), Henry VI -Parts One and Two, Titus Andronicus, Troilus and Cressida and Richard III (for the Stratford Festival).

While the challenge of re-creating battle scenes has always been a concern for directors, O'Dell figures her time directing some of Shakespeare's more bloody war-themed epics has actually endowed her with an appreciation for theatrical simplicity.

"We're exploring something where poetry and music sit together, where the intention is not to recreate or recapture. That's one of the marvellous things about theatre. It can do what film and TV can't. It can be unreal. Language takes on a simplicity and beauty on a stage. When an actor turns and speaks to an audience, from Shakespeare to a modern monologue, it packs a punch. And you haven't spent a penny on special effects."

What with soldiers coming back in body bags and televised news every night, it would seem war doesn't need to be dramatized anymore in order for it to be a reality. And it's not one that's going away anytime soon, unfortunately.

Still, the team behind No Good Reason needed to draw on a number of different experiences and influences to come up with a truly viable examiniation of the human instinct to war.

"We're drawing upon all of the cultural ways that we position war in our society, from World War Two films, to the heroic Rambo figure, through to the really brutal and thought-provoking historical examinations - not only Shakespeare, but as far back as the Greek world, with things like Euripides' Trojan Women."

But the play, says O'Dell, is far from being a downer.

"The ultimate statement of play is very affirming", she says, "It's about the quiet courage it takes to endure."

No Good Reason opens at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts on November 1 and runs until November 10.

For more information, go to www.youngcentre.ca or redsockscompany.com.

a spicy soulpepper season to come

There aren’t many Canadian companies that would have the balls to mix the likes of Neil Simon, William Shakespeare, and Caryl Churchill, all within one season.

Even fewer who would add Chekhov, Congreve, Anouilh, and Stoppard.

Cries of "it'll scare people off", and "it's too weird", comments like "there's no consistency" and "there's nothing to keep my interest" would be the norm. Particularly in Toronto, where the tall poppies are frequently clipped down.

The first word that came to my mind, reading over the list of planned works is, eclectic.
Second word, awesome.

Anyone who knows me will tell you I’m an unabashed Soulpepper fan.

Soulpepper is the artist-founded theatre company out of Toronto. Over the years, they've produced a delicious cornucopia of theatrical delights, including Mirandolina, Don Carlos, Hamlet, The Real Thing, King Lear and my favourite production, Waiting for Godot.

Even when their work was comci-comca, I always admired their ideals –that is, to provide, as they put it, “the world’s greatest stories in vital Canadian interpretations”.

Man, I love that.

Why?

I’d waited so, so long for a classical theatre company in this city –I was sick of driving out of town to face summer crowds, limited runs, and simplistic, unchallenging productions.

I wanted a company that would present the classics I loved in new, fresh ways –one that would be relevant, daring, challenging, and most of all, yeah, Canadian.

Cause that matters –a lot.

Soulpepper has made a commitment to promoting and fostering Canadian talent. In other words, they’ve put their money where their ideals are. They provide training in the form of an academy, and also participate in youth and community access programs. They have a roster of amazing Canadian artists, and aren’t afraid to toot the horn when it comes to homegrown talent.

At the same time, they’re wise enough to incorporate a myriad of international influences –notably their work with amazing Hungarian director Laszlo Marton.

As I looked through the offerings for next year, I couldn't help but smile.

The season begins with the incredible David French play Salt-Water Moon (January 5-31). French is one of our greatest playwrights, and it’s entirely fitting Soulpepper opens with the prequel to his breakthrough play, Leaving Home. This past season’s production, directed by Ted Dykstra, was by turns moving, smart, sad, and funny. It’s good to see French’s work getting the attention it rightly deserves, and equally good to see Dykstra at the helm again in January.

Then there's Neil Simon's The Odd Couple (February 9-April 19), featuring Soulpepper stalwarts Albert Schultz & Diego Matamoros.

I can hear the theatre purists griping now: "that's not classical theatre!"

Oh shut UP.

The casting alone is worth the price of admission. Schultz & Matamoros are both gifted comedic actors with incredible timing, rhythm and a great sense of one another's nuances.
I can’t wait.

Speaking of comedy, the Restoration comedy The Way of the World is set to be produced July 2nd to August 2nd, with a stellar cast of Mike Shara, William Webster and Nancy Palk. It'll be directed by Peter Hinton, the artistic director of English Theatre at The National Arts Centre in Ottawa. In fact, it's a co-production with the NAC –thus reinforcing Soulpepper’s mandate to provide and promote great Canadian interpretations by and for Canadians. Hinton himself has a reputation for being not only a flag-waver, but an artistically innovative and daring director; witness his all-Canadian programming of the NAC, his partnership with the RSC (for The Penelopiad), and his production of The Odyssey last season at Stratford. He did an audacious job with Homer; I can hardly wait to see what he'll do with William Congreve.

Representing the epitome of the classical theatre ideal is As You Like It, running February 26th to April 19th. Featuring members of the Soulpepper Academy, I'll be curious to see how a production I've never fully felt satisfied with (having seen it several times) plays out under Schultz's direction.

Spring also brings the drama of 'Night Mother (May 13-June 21), with Megan Follows, and her real-life mother, actor Dawn Greenhalgh. A wrenching piece of theatre that examines the ever-difficult mother-daughter relationship, I imagine this could well be Soulpepper's acting Tour de Force of the season -unless of course you count the solo Under Milk Wood production with Kenneth Welsh, running July 11th to August 2nd.

Soulpepper has wisely chosen to re-mount the hugely popular one-man (with music) production after its incredible success at last June's Luminato festival. Yippee!

Being a huge Dylan Thomas fan, and knowing how complex his work can be to perform, I was in awe -and not just over Welsh's transformation through over 30 different characters, either.

The marriage of Thomas' poetic language, Welsh’s accents and gestures, and the sound of live music and foley effects was a magical experience that reminded me (and I am sure everyone in the audience) of the transformative power of theatre at its very finest. No fancy effects, no tricks, no preciousness or gimmicky. Just great acting, powerful storytelling, and good design, all in one compact package. Who could ask for anything more?

More is what Toronto theatre lovers get, though, with remounts of the Marton-directed Uncle Vanya (June 4-21), Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls (October 25-November 22), and A Christmas Carol (December 2-27).

I’ll be curious to see the remount of Vanya, since I absolutely loved what he did with another Chekhov favourite, Three Sisters, with playwright Nicolas Billon this past season.

Other awesomeness?

Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound and Peter Schaeffer’s Black Comedy, in a double-bill (August 20-September 20), Lorraine Hansbury’s A Raisin in the Sun (October 19-November 19), and Jean Anouilh’s Ring Round the Moon (August 23-Septemnber 20).

Ambitious, eclectic… holy smokes.

I know, I'm gushing. I can't help it.

But, to quote a friend of mine, "I just want to like stuff now. I'm sick of not liking stuff."

Those words have stuck with me for a long time.

So after decades of criticism, sneering, cynicism and sarcasm directed at the hard work of many, I can safely say, no more.

Soulpepper is one poppy I am not cutting down.