Stage Door News
Stage Door News
May 15, 2015… Martha Henry directs Lucy Peacock and Joseph Ziegler in Oliver Goldsmith’s delightful comedy of manners She Stoops to Conquer. Previews begin Saturday, May 16, at the Avon Theatre.
In this 18th-century classic, a wealthy countryman, Mr. Hardcastle, arranges for his daughter Kate to meet a London gentleman named Charles Marlow, hoping the pair will marry. But confusion runs riot when a trick played by Kate’s half-brother causes Marlow to mistake her home for an inn and her father for its keeper. Further complications are caused by the fact that Marlow becomes hopelessly shy and tongue-tied around upper-class women. Realizing she will have to “stoop to conquer,” Kate poses as a maid in order to put him at ease and help him connect with his own heart – and hers.
Together on the Stratford stage for the first time since 2009’s The Trespassers, Ms Peacock and Mr. Ziegler play Mr. and Mrs. Hardcastle. Joining them are Maev Beaty as Miss Kate Hardcastle, Sara Farb as Miss Constance Neville, Brad Hodder as Young Charles Marlow, Karack Osborn as Tony Lumpkin and Tyrone Savage as George Hastings.
“We’ve tried to keep Goldsmith in the room as we’ve been rehearsing this play of his; that is, we have attempted to honour the spirit of the man, even as we mined the comedy of the situation and the slightly surreal surroundings that allow a Tony Lumpkin or a Mrs. Hardcastle to flourish,” says Ms Henry, whose Stratford successes include last season’s Mother Courage and Her Children, as well as Measure for Measure, Three Sisters and Elizabeth Rex. “Although She Stoops to Conquer is not literally autobiographical – Goldsmith was too accomplished a craftsman for that – it came from an event in the playwright’s own life, when a saucy acquaintance sent him to a private home, letting him think he was checking into a country inn. This awkward mix-up became the basis of one of the great comedic classics of the English theatre.”
“Though it’s often thought of as a light-hearted farce, She Stoops to Conquer is sharply observant and its comical premise opens the door to an examination of real issues,” says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. “As Kate assumes a lowly role to win Marlow’s heart, she leads him – and us – to a valuable insight: that our common humanity is more important than social status. By digging deep into Goldsmith’s wonderful play, Martha Henry has given us a deliciously entertaining take on this season’s theme of Discovery.”
Artistic credits for the production include Set Designer Douglas Paraschuk, Costume Designer Charlotte Dean, Lighting Designer Louise Guinand, Composer and Sound Designer Todd Charlton, Fight Director John Stead and Movement Director Shona Morris.
Production support is generously provided by Dr. Desta Leavine in memory of Pauline Leavine and by Nona Macdonald Heaslip and by Jack Whiteside.
Support for the 2015 season of the Avon Theatre is generously provided by the Birmingham family.
The production is dedicated to the memory of former company member Joyce Campion.
She Stoops to Conquer Forum Highlights
The Stratford Festival Forum is a series of activities and events, including fascinating talks, interactive presentations, concerts, comedy shows and performances, that offer theatregoers a unique opportunity to delve further into the ideas and issues raised by the 2015 playbill and its theme of Discovery: That Eureka Moment.
Themes related to She Stoops to Conquer will be explored through several Forum events, including:
Do The Clothes Make the Man (or Woman)?
Wednesday, August 26, 10:45 a.m. to noon
Studio Theatre
Rona Maynard, former editor of Chatelaine, and Larry Rosen, CEO of Harry Rosen Inc., address contemporary issues of dress and class in this unique Forum offering. Polonius’s line in Hamlet, “the apparel oft proclaims the man,” is further revealed in the world of She Stoops to Conquer, and continues to fascinate us today.
Wordplay: A Laughing Matter
Sunday, July 12, 8 to 11 p.m.
Studio Theatre
Geraint Wyn Davies hosts a reading of a comedy that tells the story of David Garrick, Dr. Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith and a new play called She Stoops to Conquer. In an irreverent version of real-life events, Garrick must decide, caught as he is between financial pressures and artistic ambition, if he can risk staging a play that could make or break his career.
Behind the Scenes: She Stoops to Conquer
Saturday, June 27, 10:30 a.m. to noon
Studio Theatre
Backstage technicians and members of the creative team offer insights into the triumphs and challenges of staging She Stoops to Conquer.
Sustaining support for the Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
Support for the 2015 season of the Forum is provided in memory of Dr. W. Philip Hayman.
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 twice daily from May 4 to September 19. The Detroit bus costs $40 round trip, departing once daily from May 26 to September 19. Both routes are available on performance days with some exceptions.
Stratford Direct is generously sponsored by the Peter Cundill Foundation.
The 2015 season, which runs from April 21 to October 18, features Hamlet, The Sound of Music, Carousel, The Diary of Anne Frank, The Taming of the Shrew, She Stoops to Conquer, The Physicists, The Alchemist, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Oedipus Rex, Possible Worlds, The Last Wife and The Adventures of Pericles. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit stratfordfestival.ca or call 1.800.567.1600.
Photo: Lucy Peacock and Joseph Ziegler. ©2015 Don Dixon.
2015-05-15
Stratford: Oliver Goldsmith's 18th-century comedy "She Stoops to Conquer" begins previews