Stage Door News
Stage Door News
The Stratford Festival presents the world première of Bunny, the newest work from one of Canada’s hottest young playwrights, Hannah Moscovitch. Directed by Sarah Garton Stanley, and starring Maev Beaty, the production begins previews today and officially opens on Thursday, August 18, at the Studio Theatre.
Ms Moscovitch has shot to national prominence in the last few years. She has been dubbed “an indie sensation” by Toronto Life magazine and “the wunderkind of Canadian theatre” by CBC Radio. This past March, she became the first Canadian to win Yale University’s prestigious Windham-Campbell Prize for literary achievement.
Commissioned by the Festival in 2011, Bunny is an evocative examination of post-feminist sexuality and desire. It tells the story of Sorrel, a young woman who wants to be normal and good, but whose unusual parents, unusual relationships and perhaps not-so-unusual needs put her in conflict with what the world expects from a young woman.
“Hannah Moscovitch brings us an astonishing play about a young woman trying to find her way in the world, using the tropes of 19th-century romantic fiction as a kind of spiritual and emotional GPS,” says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. “Sorrel’s journey is an enthralling, deeply honest look at the complex relationship between victory and loss – the spirit that endures even in the face of repeated disappointment.”
“Bunny is about desire,” says Ms Stanley. “It is about love. It is also about sex. And ultimately it is about death. Desire is our life’s gift, but it remains – perhaps – our biggest challenge. It would be great to face it without fear. Most of the characters in Bunny are caught in desire’s grip. Like the play’s namesake, it is huggable, lovable, unstoppably procreative and very, very messy.”
In addition to Ms Beaty, the production features an exceptional cast: Tim Campbell as Carol, David Patrick Flemming as Angel, Jessica B. Hill as Lola, Cyrus Lane as Ethan, Krystin Pellerin as Maggie and Emilio Vieira as Justin.
The creative team includes Designer Michael Gianfrancesco, Lighting Designer Kimberly Purtell, Composer and Sound Designer Alexander MacSween and Dramaturge Bob White.
Support for the 2016 season of the Studio Theatre is generously provided by Sandra & Jim Pitblado.
Bunny Forum Highlights
The Forum is a series of activities and events, featuring exclusive showcases, guest speakers, special meals, dynamic dialogues and family fun, that offer theatregoers a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the ideas and issues raised by the 2016 playbill and its theme of After the Victory.
Themes related to Bunny will be explored through various Forum events, including:
Woman Rising
Wednesday, August 17, 10:45 a.m. to noon
Studio Theatre
In this time that sees more women writers being produced and celebrated, acclaimed playwrights Hannah Moscovitch (Bunny), Anusree Roy (Pyaasa, Brothel #9) and Kate Hennig (2015’s The Last Wife and next season’s The Virgin Trial) discuss what being women has meant to them as writers at the various stages of their careers.
Sustaining support for the Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Family Foundation.
The 2016 season runs until November 5. It features Macbeth, As You Like It, A Chorus Line, Shakespeare in Love, A Little Night Music, All My Sons, Breath of Kings, John Gabriel Borkman, The Hypochondriac, The Aeneid, Bunny and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit stratfordfestival.ca or call 1.800.567.1600.
Photo: Maev Beaty. ©2015 Don Dixon.
2016-07-29
Stratford: Previews for "Bunny" by Hannah Moscovitch begin today