Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Acclaimed director Dean Gabourie (Ten seasons with The Stratford Festival, ACME Theatre Co.), brings Howard Barker’s
“Theatre of Catastrophe” to Toronto’s hottest indie venue, The Storefront Theatre. Thirty years ago Richard Rose directed the Canadian premier of this literary masterpiece for Toronto’s Necessary Angel to great acclaim. The Red One Theatre Collective’s production revives Barker’s text on Canadian soil wIth an all star cast, promising it will be one of the most profound and breathtaking pieces to see this fall.
Storefront Theatre artistic director Benjamin Blais (C ockfight, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, SHREW), stars as Stucley, ringleader of an army of soldiers returned home from the Crusades to find the women they left behind have established their own nonhierarchical , femalecentric society . Opposite Blais is Linda Prystawska (Stratford Festival, Neptune Theatre, company member of award winning Video Cabaret) as Stucley’s wife, Ann, who has filled the void of her husband’s absence with the unofficial leader of the women, a witch called Skinner, played by Claire Burns ( ROTC’s SHREW, The Skriker) . In an attempt to reassert male dominance Stucley commissions the erection of a giant castle, the construction of which serves as a reminder to the kingdom’s inhabitants: THE PATRIARCHY IS BACK. The women of the realm, however, are not going to relinquish power so easily, THE MATRIARCHY IS HERE TO STAY.
The ensemble includes some of Canada’s finest actors including Dora Awardnominated Mike Dufays (Daniel McIvor's Arigato, Tokyo), Brenhan McKibben (Founding member ROTC, Cockfight, Howie the Rookie) Michael SpencerDavis (Stratford Festival, Taming of the Shrew, Possible Worlds), Lynne Griffin (Shakespeare Bash’d, Canadian Stage, Stratford, Shaw), Sean Sullivan (Gemini award nominated for The Associates), Joshua Browne (Avaricious, Theatre Gargantua), Mark Burgess (Shaw Festival, NAC, Dora Nominee), Robert Nasmith ( Theatre Passe Muraille, Video Cabaret, Soulpepper) and Jeff Hanson (Edmond, ROTC’s SHREW) .
The Castle comes to life via Claire Hill’s (Cockfight, House of Yes, Dangerous Liaisons) innovative set design, costumes by Holly Lloyd ( Edmond, SHREW, Stratford Festival), lighting by Melissa Joakim (Edmond, Big Plans, Retreat), and a sublime score composed by Dimitar Pentchev (Eigengrau, Edmond ROTC). Caterwaul Theatre's Erin Fleck and Sarah Fairlie round out the production team with some wonderfully macabre puppet design.
This is hallowed ground upon which we stand. Welcome to the Dark Ages.
The Castle by Howard Barker
November 27th December 13th
Tues Sat 8pm, Sun 2pm
The Storefront Theatre, 955 Bloor Street West
$20.00 $25.00, Advance tickets available @ www.thestorefronttheatre.com
2015-11-11
Toronto: The Red One Theatre Collective presents Howard Barker's "The Castle" November 27-December 13