Page 37 - 2018 Festival Edition

THE TEMPEST; THE COMEDY OF ERRORS; JULIUS CAESAR JULIUS CAESAR
MARTHA HENRY AS PROSPERO IN THE TEMPEST. PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID HOU.
Wentworth’s embrace of gender parity for this season’s production of Julius Caesar seemed an appropriate next step for the Stratford Festival.
For the past few seasons, the Festival had been striving to provide more oppor- tunities for its gifted women actors to assume traditionally male roles in its clas- sical productions. There had been some “targeted” casting – Seana McKenna as Richard III, for example – and more cross-gender exploration in the supporting roles. There were other experiments with gender as well, shifting the narrative from a male to female perspective in some recent Shakespearean productions.
“And the roof didn’t fall in,” noted Wentworth.
But this year’s production of Julius Caesar marks the first time the Stratford Festival has mounted a production with true gender parity.
“This is the first time we’ve said, ‘what are we going to do with half – half the company – in a play where there’s only two women characters,’” Wentworth said.
While re-reading the play, Wentworth decided there were only two real op- tions: Create an imaginary world that would allow the company to change char- acter gender or “accept the playwright’s notion” of character gender and “ask the actors to make that part of the portrayal.”
A reimagining of Julius Caesar had a certain appeal, but Wentworth opted for the latter, partly for the creative possibilities o ered by the cross-gender casting. “I kept hearing the gender politics in a way that I never had before,” the direc-
tor said.
A history play about politics, patriotism and betrayal, Julius Caesar repre-
sented a very particular opposition to Wentworth – a kind of clash of values that revealed a persistent danger.
“When you have a culture like Rome or Shakespeare’s England or, indeed, modern North America that so extols masculine qualities – competitiveness, individuality, assertiveness and violence – and says those are the most important or, in some cases, the only virtues that belong in the public forum rather than more feminine qualities like co-operation or a consideration for the future ...
is a democracy – a republic – even possible, or is a dictatorship – some form of tyranny – almost inevitable?”
That dynamic, Wentworth suggested, is very much part of our modern social environment.
“I thought that was a kind of interesting and timely hearing of the play, given the events going on in our world today on all sorts of levels,” the director said. “We’re challenging the patriarchy in ways, even a year ago, we didn’t think pos- sible, but at the same time, the recent American election and certain things going on elsewhere ... the strongman seems to be alive and well and remaining in power. ... It’s a moral quagmire and that seems to be the world that we live in.
“What I’m hoping will naturally happen because we have a woman playing Cae- sar, Seana McKenna; a woman playing Cassius, Irene Poole; and a woman playing Marc Antony, Michelle Giroux, as well as throughout the company, is their expe- riences of having to deal with men all of their lives will allow us, as a company, to explore certain aspects of the patriarchy that, maybe as men, we get blinded to.
“... I’m hoping that the fearlessness of our women actors will guide us into places that a more traditional casting might be blind to.”
The Tempest began previews May 10 and opens May 28, running in repertory until Oct. 26 at the Festival Theatre. The Comedy of Errors began previews May 15 and opens June 1, running in repertory until Oct. 20 at the Studio Theatre. Julius Caesar begins previews July 31 and opens Aug. 16, running in repertory until Oct. 27 at the Festival Theatre.
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THE BEACON HERALD | 2018 FESTIVAL EDITION
PAGE 37
Canadian premiere!