Stage Door News
Stage Door News
May 22, 2014… Tony-nominated director Tim Carroll returns for his third Festival season with a candlelit production of King John, Shakespeare’s rarely staged history play. Previews began on Wednesday at Stratford’s Tom Patterson Theatre and the production officially opens on Wednesday, May 28.
Last season, Mr. Carroll directed Romeo and Juliet to evoke the experience of seeing the play as Shakespeare might have presented it at the open-air Globe Theatre. King John, by contrast, will transport audiences to the Blackfriars playhouse, the candlelit indoor venue for which Shakespeare wrote his later plays.
“The game I call ‘Original Practices’ is one where I use whatever theatre-historical evidence seems interesting and suggestive to create a space where the actors and the audience can combine their imaginations,” says Mr. Carroll. “I have no idea if this is ‘how they would have done it’; I just hope it creates a liberating environment for the play of Shakespeare’s incredible language.”
In a season examining Madness: Minds Pushed to the Edge, the insanity of war informs King John, in which the title character, played by Tom McCamus, must defend his throne against the rival claim of his young nephew, the son of his deceased elder brother, Geoffrey, and Constance, the Duchess of Brittany, played by Seana McKenna. Defying this challenge to the legitimacy of his rule, John declares war on France. Excommunication, attempted atrocity, rebellion and assassination all contribute to a political and personal turmoil that finds devastating expression in an anguished mother’s grief for her son.
“King John takes a long hard look at a mind pushed to the edge by the dangerous combination of ambition and insecurity,” says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. “As a lesson on the corrosive nature of power, it explores a political and social unrest that is as relevant today as it was when it was written. We are so fortunate to have Tim Carroll back with us to bring this brilliant work to our stage. The opportunity to see Shakespeare in the hands of someone who knows so much about him, his plays and how they work, is not to be missed.”
Mr. Carroll, former Associate Director of Shakespeare’s Globe in London, is one of the world’s most respected directors of Shakespeare. His work has been presented on stages across the world, from Budapest’s Barka Theatre to the Sydney Opera House. This past fall, his unforgettable productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III transferred from the Globe to Broadway, garnering a remarkable eight Tony Award nominations between them, including a Best Director nod for Mr. Carroll.
The cast also features Graham Abbey as Philip, the Bastard, and Patricia Collins as Queen Eleanor.
Artistic credits include Designer Carolyn M. Smith, Lighting Designer Kevin Fraser, Composer Claudio Vena, Sound Designer Todd Charlton, Fight Director John Stead and Movement Director Shona Morris.
King John is dedicated to the memory of Suzanne Turnbull, a beloved member of the Festival’s coaching staff.
King John Forum Highlights
The Stratford Festival Forum is a series of activities and events, including concerts, debates, talks, comedy and interactive presentations, that offer theatregoers a unique opportunity to delve further into the ideas and issues raised by the 2014 playbill and its theme of Madness: Minds Pushed to the Edge.
Themes related to King John will be explored through several Forum events, including: The Secrets of the Shakespeare First Folio, in which Eric Rasmussen of the University of Nevada/Reno shares stories of those who have possessed, lost, stolen and treasured these priceless pieces of cultural history; The Outbreak of the First World War: A Literary Perspective, in which Paul Stevens of the University of Toronto proposes that literature might step in where historians have left off and provide a unique way of helping us understand why the Great War happened; The Life and Adventures of Sam Wanamaker: The Man Who Built the Globe, an illustrated talk by Paul Prescott, of the University of Warwick, drawing on previously unseen archival material to present key episodes in Sam Wanamaker’s extraordinary journey from actor to cultural entrepreneur as the visionary behind Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.
Sustaining support for the Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Foundation. Support for the 2014 Forum is generously provided by Nandita & Julian Wise. Selected Forum events supported by Bell Let’s Talk. Support for Peer Into the Playbill is provided in memory of Dr. W. Philip Hayman.
King John runs until September 20. For tickets, contact the box office at 1.800.567.1600 or visit stratfordfestival.ca.
Production support is generously provided by Karon Bales & Charles Beall.
Support for the 2014 season of the Tom Patterson Theatre is generously provided by Richard Rooney & Laura Dinner.
Stratford Direct, the daily return private bus service, now offers two routes: Toronto to Stratford and Detroit to Stratford. The Toronto bus costs $20 round trip, departing once daily from May 3 to 24 and September 23 to October 12, and twice daily between May 26 and September 21. The Detroit bus costs $40 round trip, with Tuesday, Friday and Saturday departures from June 3 to September 28. Both routes run on performance days only.
The 2014 season runs from April 21 to October 12, featuring King Lear; Crazy for You; two versions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Beaux’ Stratagem; Man of La Mancha; Alice Through the Looking-Glass; Hay Fever; King John; Mother Courage and Her Children; Antony and Cleopatra; Christina, The Girl King; and more than 200 events in The Forum.
Photo: Tom McCamus as King John and Seana McKenna as Constance. ©2013 Don Dixon.
2014-05-22
Stratford: A candlelit production of "King John" directed by Tim Carroll begins previews