Emerald Coast Theatre Consultant

Seeing Bartholomew Fair at the Patterson Theatre was the perfect way to end a week at Stratford.   And I was not disappointed!

Antoni Cimolino’s direction was just fine.    The story line carried well even with a host of activities and multiple characters and events.   Not an easy task when on a thrust stage the depth of the Patterson.

To describe the spectacle:   Think Cirque du Soleil, but used and worn.   A lot of thought and planning in this presentation.  Kudos to the production team.

If you don’t have tickets to see Bartholmew Fair, hurry, because this one is real theatre that takes you back then but lives in the now!

Stratford Visit: June 19, 2009 at 8 Cyrano/Fiore I didn’t know what to expect at Oscar/Bedford performance, I knew exactly what to expect from the talented duo of Colm and Donna Feore at last night’s opening night of Cyrano: First Class Theatre. Earlier I posted a link to Toronto Theatre and if you have some time, please read the review. But let me start at the end of the play with my brief comment. In the convent, Roxanne has lived for 15 years after the death of her beloved Christian. She has been visited each week by Cyrano who still hides the fact that it was indeed he who spoke for Christian. Cyrano appears not well. The audience at the festival theatre last night was holding its breath, waiting. In what had to be one of the finest examples of talent, emotion, and technique I have ever experienced from an actor, Feore literally transfigured into Cyrano and figuratively died onstage. Many of us, if not all, were left breathless, with tears streaming down our faces. It was a moment of theatre that I don’t think I will ever forget. At the start of the curtain call, there were a few audience members standing, say two or three of the 1600+ filled seats. More calls, more calls, and finally Cyrano. As if on cue, the entire audience rose upon his entrance marking for me the second time in all the years I have been a Stratford Festival attendee that I recall the entire audience responding as one. Cheers, bravos, and thunderous and wild applause for this brilliant performer in a play mounted with exceptional clarity. The play simply overwhelmed. This is what theatre is, and should be. That said, opening night jitters rendered the opening scene rushed and much of the dialogue unclear until the entrance of Fiore. A consummate professional from his first entrance to the end of the play, his words were clear and crisp and clean. He took control of the play and the entire company took their cue from him and the play soared. To repeat an earlier blog of mine: “If you want to do good theatre, you have to see good theatre!” This is Canadian theatre at its very best.

To be honest with you, I was not prepared for the impact of seeing Brian Bedford reading “Ever Yours, Oscar” at the Patterson Theatre this afternoon (June 19, 2009 at 2pm). I don’t know what I was expecting. Nor, I suspect, did anyone else. I have read and seen plays about Oscar and read books on his life, but this afternoon’s performance by Mr. Bedford was illuminating beyond words.

Bedford is a small man, thin, pleasant looking. He came out onto the almost bare stage (a music stand with script/letters and a simple side table with a glass of water) wearing a simple dark suit with a white tie, and stood a small pool of light. He glanced around the hall, as if to make a personal contact with each individual there, smiled, and began.

As he picked up the first page, it became quite apparent to the audience that he had not memorized what he was going to say. There was a slight murmur, some rustling of programs and a lot of audience movement.

Once he started to read, however, you were a goner. The entire audience became instantly glued to his every word. As he spoke from each page, you could see his entire body take on the tone of what he was going to read. That physical technique alone moved you so far into the words that there was no escape.

Years ago, an actor at Stratford told me that when you do a classic play, you do it “then, but now”.

With nothing but Wilde’s letters and his own talent, technique, and creativity; he instantly moved the audience back to Oscar’s time and place. It was one of the most arresting moments in my life. To hear him read, just simply read, was something I will never forget. It seemed like I did not breathe for the hour and twenty minutes he held that audience.

We were honored to be in the audience today. A memory I will cherish the rest of my life.

We see Cyrano this evening at 8 at the Festival Theatre.

I will be Blogging on Julius Caesar, West Side Story and Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum that we have already seen, but I had to share with you the absolute joy in hearing a master at the helm.