As You Like It.indd - Stratford Festival

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6 Ideas and Insights ArcelorMittal Dofasco applauds the artists, artisans and sta� behind every outstanding experience at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Several Worlds At Once Shakespeare was the prince of paradox. Different worlds and even different universes coexist in his plays, creating rich thematic complexity. Consider the Forest of Arden. Some characters in As You Like It have French names – Amiens, Le Beau, Jaques de Boys – so is this meant to be the Ardennes? Or is it the Warwickshire region of Arden from which Shakespeare’s maternal family took their surname? Is it perhaps the Garden of Eden? Is it a harsh rustic landscape where food is scarce and the wind blows icy cold, or is it a dreamlike wonderland where palm trees and lions coexist and love flourishes? Is it, finally, no physical place at all but simply a state of mind? The answer to all these questions is yes. Time as well as place is paradoxical in this play. If you take careful note of chronological references in the text, you realize that the action occurs in seven days, mirroring the seven days of creation. (This is one of several riffs on the number seven that help create a kind of mythical landscape for this play: others include Jaques’s description of seven kinds of melancholy, Touchstone’s enumeration of the seven stages of a quarrel and, of course, Jaques’s famous speech on the seven ages of man.) Yet this same seven days’ action also seems to encompass more than one season, perhaps even spanning a full year. To some, this might look like authorial carelessness; CostuMe design for rosalind to me, it’s a brilliant By dana osBorne example of Shakespeare’s ability to depict several layers of reality at once. Clearly Arden is all those places, and more. And if one has any doubt that the time scheme of As You Like It is deliberately dual, one need only hear Rosalind discourse on time’s subjectivity: to a young woman awaiting her wedding day, seven days can seem like seven years. Indeed, time moves according to our own perception, and this is a fundamental truth of life that cannot be measured by the clock. Shakespeare could thus be said to have anticipated the artistic journeys into the irrational that would later be undertaken by the surrealists, absurdist and magic realists. Duke Frederick’s court reflects the violent times that Shakespeare lived through in the late 1590s. There were horrific public executions, duelling had become commonplace on the Strand, wars raged in Ireland, the Earl of Essex was becoming an increasing challenge to Elizabeth’s reign, and the threat of a second Armada from Spain was very much on the minds of Londoners. At the same time, the humanist movement thrived and the arts flourished. This is not unlike the dramatic political and social contradictions that followed World War I. In my discussions with scenic designer Debra Hanson, we chose as our setting the 1920s: an era that saw the rise both of surrealism and of extremist political movements – communism, anarchism and, of course, fascism – which opposed all progressive genres of art. Drawing inspiration from several artists of that period, including Dali and Magritte, as well as such contemporary artists as Glenn Brown, Debra and our artistic team have created their own surrealist landscape: an Arden of the imagination where art can flourish away from a repressive court – as, more importantly, can the love that nourishes us and sustains our lives. Love gives us the impression that our own time on earth is eternal, and while that’s clearly not true, it is nonetheless a great comfort and inspiration – especially in hard times. des Mcanuff Director
As You Like it by William Shakespeare Director des Mcanuff Scenic Designer debra hanson Costume Designer dana osborne Lighting Designer Michael walton Composer, Original Songs Justin ellington Composer, Music Director Michael roth Sound Designer todd Charlton Dramaturge robert Blacker Fight Director daniel levinson Choreographer nicola Pantin Assistant Artistic Director dean gabourie Assistant Director lezlie wade Assistant Designer alix dolgoy Assistant Lighting Designers siobhán sleath, tristan tidswell Assistant Sound Designer verne good Assistant Dramaturge toby Malone Assistant Fight Director kevin robinson Fight Captain Xuan fraser Dance Captain robin hutton Stage Manager Brian scott Assistant Stage Managers angela Marshall, Melissa rood Apprentice Stage Manager elizabeth Mcdermott Production Assistant loreen gibson Production Stage Manager Margaret Palmer Interval there will be two intervals of 15 and 10 minutes. Audience Alert this production uses smoke effects, strobe lighting and gunshots. a herbal cigarette is smoked during the performance. The Cast on the estate of sir rowland de Boys: Orlando, the youngest son Paul nolan Adam, an old family servant Brian tree Oliver, Orlando’s eldest brother Mike shara Dennis, Oliver’s servant skye Brandon Charles, Duke Frederick’s wrestler dan Chameroy at the Court: Celia, Duke Frederick’s daughter, later disguised as Aliena Cara ricketts Rosalind, his niece, later disguised as Ganymede andrea runge Touchstone, the court fool Ben Carlson Le Beau, a courtier Xuan fraser Duke Frederick, the usurper tom rooney First Court Lord Jonathan Purdon Second Court Lord Christopher Prentice Hisperia, a servant nathalie nadon in the forest of arden: Corin, an old shepherd randy hughson Silvius, a young shepherd ian lake Duke Senior, Rosalind’s father, deposed and living in exile tom rooney First Forest Lord sean arbuckle Second Forest Lord Christopher Prentice Third Forest Lord victor ertmanis Fourth Forest Lord stephen Patterson Amiens, a lord who sings Mike nadajewski Jaques Brent Carver Audrey, a goatherd lucy Peacock Oliver Martext, a clergyman victor ertmanis Phoebe, a shepherdess dalal Badr William, in love with Audrey dan Chameroy First Page Jewelle Blackman Second Page abigail winter-Culliford Hymen, god of marriage roy lewis Jaques de Boys, brother to Orlando and Oliver Jonathan Purdon Lords, Guards and Pages: sean arbuckle, Jewelle Blackman, skye Brandon, dan Chameroy, victor dolhai, victor ertmanis, alana hawley, robin hutton, ian lake, Mike nadajewski, nathalie nadon, stephen Patterson, Christopher Prentice, Jonathan Purdon, abigail winter- Culliford Musicians: george Meanwell (Guitar), ian harper (Saxophone/Flute). Understudies: sean arbuckle (Jaques), Jewelle Blackman (Celia), skye Brandon (Le Beau, Oliver), victor dolhai (Amiens), victor ertmanis (Adam), Xuan fraser (Touchstone, Oliver Martext), alana hawley (Rosalind), robin hutton (Hisperia, Pages), ian lake (Orlando), roy lewis (Court and Forest Lords), ginette Mohr (Audrey, Phoebe), Mike nadajewski (Silvius, Hymen), stephen Patterson (Dennis, Jaques de Boys), Christopher Prentice (Duke Frederick, Duke Senior), Jonathan Purdon (Charles, William, Corin) 7
Page 1 and 2: FESTIVAL THEATRE APRIL 30 TO OCTOBE
Page 3 and 4: IN CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE At the
Page 5 and 6: exotic other world to which Shakesp
Page 7: William Shakespeare Playwright Born
Page 11 and 12: Production Director of Production d
Page 13 and 14: Justin Ellington Stratford debut: C
Page 15 and 16: Paul Nolan Fourth season: Orlando i
Page 17 and 18: Siobhán Sleath Fourth season: Ligh
Page 19 and 20: A Salute to Our Donors Our donors m
Page 21 and 22: Annual Donors Janet L. Ecker & Dere
Page 23 and 24: Annual Donors Gifts from $900 to $1
Page 25 and 26: Prospero Society Members of the Pro
Page 27 and 28: Take home a piece of the drama with

As You Like It.indd - Stratford Festival

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