Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Romeo and Juliet returns to the Festival stage in a poignant and beautifully intimate production directed by Stratford veteran Scott Wentworth and featuring rising stars Sara Farb and Antoine Yared in the title roles. Previews begin today and the production officially opens on Thursday, June 1.
Mr. Wentworth has set out to challenge our assumptions and perceptions of this most familiar of Shakespeare’s plays by stripping it of its imposed romanticism to expose the profound tragedy at its core.
“We tend to think of Romeo and Juliet as romantic and sentimental, less weighty than the tragedies of middle-aged men,” says Mr. Wentworth. “But I’ve never found Shakespeare to be a particularly sentimental writer. This is a passionate play, but not a sentimental one – not even necessarily a romantic one.
“When we look at the hate speech around us today, we see our world hasn’t progressed far beyond the Capulets and Montagues. Contemporary cases of suicide by young people raise the same questions in the play: How do we take care of our young people? How do we help them navigate from childhood to adulthood? How do we save them from despair?”
“This production may be set in Shakespeare’s era, but it speaks directly to ours,” says Artistic Director Antoni Cimolino. “This is not just a tragedy of two young people with raging hormones, but the tragedy of a whole society that hasn’t thought enough about its own future. Here are young people who want to change the rules – the arranged marriages, the entrenched prejudices – and they get sacrificed to the self-interest of their parents.”
The stellar cast features Seana McKenna as the Nurse, with Marion Adler as Lady Capulet, Wayne Best as Friar Laurence, Evan Buliung as Mercutio and Randy Hughson as Capulet.
The production is set in period and mounted on the original Tanya Moiseiwitsch stage with minimal props and furniture pieces, as it was originally intended when conceived by Ms Moiseiwitsch.
The creative team includes Designer Christina Poddubiuk, who has created a beautifully detailed and authentically “lived-in” Elizabethan look for both the set and costumes, Lighting Designer Louise Guinand, Composer Paul Shilton, Sound Designer Verne Good, Fight Director John Stead and Choreographer Stephen Cota.
This production is dedicated to the memory of long-time stage crew member Walter Sugden.
Production support is generously provided by Barbara & John Schubert.
Support for the 2017 season of the Festival Theatre is generously provided by Daniel Bernstein & Claire Foerster.
Romeo and Juliet Forum highlights
The Forum is a series of events, such as exclusive showcases, guest speakers, special meals, music and family fun, that offer theatregoers a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the ideas and issues raised by the 2017 playbill. Themes related to Romeo and Juliet will be explored through several Forum events, including:
Wednesday, August 9
Company members Sarah Afful, Sara Farb, Anusree Roy and Shannon Taylor hold a candid discussion about a woman’s agency and options in her affairs of the heart, from arranged marriage to respectability politics, casual online encounters and more.
Wednesday, September 6
Does Shakespeare’s predilection for rewriting old stories make his work the prototypical “fan fiction?” Join Mya Gosling of Shakespearean strip Good Tickle Brain and Kill Shakespeare creators Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery in a conversation about the rise of graphic novels on the literary scene, Shakespearean manga and introducing the classics to a new generation.
Wednesday, September 13
“Fair Verona” is not so fair, as the cautionary tale of Romeo and Juliet reveals a society that marginalizes youth to the point of alienation and self-destruction. Dr. Mark Rapoport and a panel of leading mental-health experts examine the dysfunction that gives rise to youth suicide, as a symptom of society’s breach in inter-generational understanding.
The Stratford Festival’s 2017 season runs until October 29, featuring Twelfth Night, Romeo and Juliet, Timon of Athens, Guys and Dolls, HMS Pinafore, Treasure Island, The School for Scandal, The Changeling, Bakkhai, Tartuffe, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Komagata Maru Incident, The Virgin Trial and The Breathing Hole. For tickets and more information, visit stratfordfestival.ca or call 1.800.567.1600.
Photo: Antoine Yared as Romeo and Sara Farb as Juliet. ©2016 Lynda Churilla.
2017-05-03
Stratford: Previews for "Romeo and Juliet" begin today at the Stratford Festival