Great Theatre to be had in Stratford, Ontario this summer

I spent last weekend driving through rain to and from Stratford, for my last visit of the season. Although the weather was lousy, the theatre definitely was not. I made three trips to Stratford this season, and since many of the shows continue until November, there is still lots of time to catch some great theatre up that way. Here are three of the shows I've enjoyed this season:

Shakespeare's Universe (Her Infinite Variety) - Festival Pavilion to September 28 ***
This is the new outdoor venue just across from the famous Festival Theatre. As it is not covered, you have to choose your dates carefully, as rain could delay or even cancel the performance, and hot sun makes it important you choose your bleacher seat wisely. That information out of the way, you will be treated to a 90-minute dissertation on Shakespeare and his contemporaries and their collective importance in this day and age. The show is written and directed by Peter Hinton, who also directs this season's marvellous Taming of the Shrew on the Festival stage. The show is interesting, lively and quite educational, all of which is typical of Hinton. Performers of note include Peggy Coffey, Karen Robinson and Michael Spencer-Davis. If you have an afternoon performance planned at the Festival Theatre, this 11:30 show just outside might be a nice addition to the day's activities.

Fuente Ovejuna, by Lope de Vega - Tom Patterson Theatre to October 4 ***
Fuente Ovejuna, in a new English version by Director Laurence Boswell, is one of those rare discoveries at the Festival that happens with great regularity. A play you likely have never seen nor even heard of before, and you leave the theatre wondering why that was the case. This is the story of a group of Spanish peasants ruled by a brutal overlord; they eventually decide enough is enough, and they retaliate. The results are pretty graphic in the second act, as they parade around the stage with the overlord's severed head on the end of a stick, but before that point the play keeps the unnecessary violence and brutality in check. As the overloard, Commander Fernan Gomez de Guzman, Scott Wentworth is at his nasty, snarly best here, trying to have his way with every winsome peasant girl who catches his fancy, which is pretty much all of them. The rest of the cast is equally solid, with James Blendick as Esteban and
Robert Persichini as Mengo being particular standouts. The set design is very simple, but everything you need to tell the story is here; the costumes add a lot of colour to the show at times. This is a pleasant gem of a performance this season!

The Trojan Women, by Euripides - Tom Patterson Theatre to October 5 ***
Back in July, I spent the better part of a week doing what I call the heavy lifting at this season's Festival, attending many of the Shakespeare plays that week. As a change of pace, I threw in a Greek tragedy, and although it was pretty depressing to watch the relentless march to the ultimate burning of Troy in the end, The Trojan Women is 90 minutes of tension without so much as an intermission break. The new translation by Nicholas Rudall makes the play easily accessible to most everyone, and the strong cast is a joy to watch. Martha Henry carries the play on her shoulders, of course, in the role of Hecuba, wife of the King of Troy. She is ably supported by the likes of Kelli Fox as their daughter Cassandra, and Nora McLellan in a relatively small role as Athena, patron goddess of Athens, daughter of Zeus. Most of the play is done in modern dress, and frankly, for me it doesn't really work. It isn't blatantly so, but it just doesn't fit right, for some reason. Other than that, I think it will be a good addition to your Stratford visit, providing you don't make it your only performance this season.

September 17th, 2008.