The Citizen, 1992-07-08, Page 23THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 8,1992. PAGE 23.
E ntertainment CKNX Barn Dance
comes to Listowel
Theatre review
Play provocatively enticing
World of Wonders
Left to right: Ted Dykstra as Young Magnus, Nicholas
Pennell as Magnus Eisengrim and Patrick Finnigan as
Paul Dempster star in the Avon theatre's production of
World of Wonders, adapted for the stage by Elliott Hayes
from the novel by Robertson Davies.
BY LARRY CARDIFF
Provocative, yet strangely entic
ing, is perhaps the best description
of The Stratford Festival's produc
tion of World of Wonders. Directed
by Richard Rose, World of Won
ders is wonderfully adapted, from
the Robertson Davies' novel of the
same name, by stage writer Elliott
Hayes. Mr. Hayes is best known for
his 1991 Stratford Homeward
Bound, which is now international
ly famous.
Nicholas Pennell brings forth a
commanding portrayal in the tor
tured lead role of Magnus Eisen
grim. With a lift of an eyebrow, a
gesture of a hand, Mr. Pennell
demands you take notice of his
presence. He is the very image of
an aging magician with his sinister
laugh and sharp features; attributes
which are most effective when his
head is buried deep within the cowl
of his robe. As Magnus defiantly
states "No man is without his
secrets", and Magnus has the look
of one that has many dark secrets.
As the play unfolds, Magnus
Eisengrim reveals his mysterious
tale of "secrets you thought were
yours alone", in a desperate search
for answers amongst the spectral
images of his past.
Patrick Finnigan plays Magnus at
the age of 10, a puny kid from
Deptford, Ontario, whose father is
a strict and quite fanatical minister
and his mother an insane whore,
the result of a head injury at the
hands of malicious children. There
is a very explicit scene in which his
mother willingly gives herself to a
'bum', amidst the taunting echoes of
the children and townspeople of
Deptford.
Through the magic of a passing
carnival show, young Magnus
escapes the torment of his exis
tence, only to become entrapped in
the horror of prolonged sexual
abuse and abducted slavery into the
circus. You follow his incredible
life, through the harsh lessons dealt
him, to the point where he discov
ers himself with the world of magic
in his own hands, eventually
emerging as the world's greatest
magician.
Veteran performer Edward
Atienza provides a remarkable per
formance as the lecherous Willard
the Wizard, the boy's abductor and
master. Willard is a complex char
acter, a disgusting and repelling
man, until the roles are reversed
and he has been reduced to a drug-
wasted sideshow 'geek', an image
of mockery and sad sympathy.
As with his role as Ariel in The
Tempest, Ted Dykstra puts forth a
fine performance as 'young' Mag
nus. As a child Magnus is forced to
dog-like devotion to his abuser, but
as the years advance and Willard
becomes more severely addicted to
drugs, the roles are reversed. It is
here, we first see in Magnus the
seeds of the man to be. In his defi
ance against Willard, Magnus vio
lently rebels, keeping Willard in
servitude to slowly and cruelly kill
him.
Pat Galloway is grotesquely
charming as the wealthy producer
of Magnus' magic shows, Liesl Vit-
zliputzli. Liesl, named for a demon,
balances sexuality and ugliness
(reminding one of Herman Munster
in drag) hand-in-hand.
Douglas Chamberlain as Roland
Ingestree, a television producer,
and Leon Pownall as Dunstan
Ramsay, an aged acquaintance of
Magnus' bring forth exceptional
performances. One cannot truly call
Ramsay a friend of Magnus', for do
men like Magnus truly have any
friends.
Overall, World of Wonders is a
wonderful production that trans
ports it's audience deep into a mag
ical world of wonder. Thomas
Baxter is credited as 'magic consul
tant' and there are magic tricks
galore; including a disappearance
and reappearance of Magnus
amidst a flash of smoke and light
that left the audience gasping with
startled amazement.
The lighting by Kevin Fraser is
especially effective amidst the
falling Ontario snow and the curl
ing wisps of London fog in the
scenes that haunt the memory of
Magnus. The eerie music com
posed by Don Horsburgh seems
most appropriate for the carnival
setting where the worth of Magnus'
soul is set.
World of Wonders is a touching
remembrance of a man's life, and
the events which have made him
what he is. He doesn't dispense jus
tice, but revels in the poetic truth;
"we all get all that is coming to us".
Is Magnus victim or villain, you'll
have to be the judge of that; but
whatever the cause we can see the
tragic end result, a man tortured by
a life of solitude and years of isola
tion.
World of Wonders may prove to
be too unsettling in entertainment
for some; for as Magnus himself
states "the past has a power over us
all, and the past can be conjured up
again"; but it is a exceptional per
formance well worth the haunting
doubts or memories it may incur.
Drayton Festival
Theatre to
present
British farce
Audiences will be rolling in the
aisles with laughter when the
Drayton Festival Theatre presents
the uproariously funny British farce
"Move Over Mrs. Markham".
This hilarious slapstick comedy
of mistaken identities and double
entendres will entertain and amuse
theatre-goers from July 14 - August
1. Showtime is 8 p.m., Tuesday to
Saturday with matinees on
Thursday and Saturday at 2 p.m.
K bedding
Mr. and Mrs. Keith Johnston and
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Stute wish to
announce the forthcoming
marriage of their children Donna
Marie and Gordon George.
The wedding will take place
Saturday, July 18, 1992 at 3:30 at
Bluevale United Church. Dinner I
h and Reception to follow. m
“40" you Say? Sfeyl
Slave SI Qreat (Day!
Love Your Family
The CKNX Barn Dance is
coming to Listowel! To help
celebrate the Listowel Home-
coming, the Listowel Rotary Club
presents The CKNX Bam Dance
Friday July 31 at the Listowel
Memorial Arena.
The CKNX Barn Dance was
started in 1937 by "Doc"
Cruickshank, founder of CKNX
Radio. Every Saturday night, the
Barn Dance troupe travelled
throughout Southwestern Ontario
entertaining with Country Music.
Al Chemey, Tommy Hunter, and
Larry Mercey all played with the
CKNX Barn Dance at one time
along with a host of other notable
musicians.
In the '80s, the Bam Dance was
revived by CKNX. It celebrates its
legendary past and an exciting
future by combining the stars of the
original CKNX Bam Dance with
Q(I^DUA‘TIO9f
NICOLE RICHMOND SMITH
Keith and Olwen Richmond
are pleased to announce the
graduation of their daughter
Nicole from the Develop
mental Service Worker
Program at Fanshawe
College, London, June 12,
1992. Congratulations and
love from your family.
OTappy Sweet 16
Cheri
July 7
Love, Mom and Dad,
Andre and cousin Danny
up and coming local talent.
At Listowel, long-time Barn
Dance performers Ernie King and
Archie Mann will share the stage
with Al Crawford, Dave Chittick
and Debbie Meyers. Shelburne
fiddle champ Chuck Joyce and
eleven-year-old fiddle and step
dance dynamo Mathew Johnson
perform as well. They arc capably
backed up by Richard Kncchtel and
the Bam Road Show Houseband.
25th
Anniversary
GORDON &
BERNICE GROSS
The family of Gordon and
Bernice Gross invites you to
join them in celebrating their
parents' silver anniversary
at Blyth Community Centre,
Saturday, July 18, 1992,
8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Best
Wishes Only.
the
Blytty Ipp
523-9381
THURSDAY NIGHT IS
WING NIGHT
5 P.M. - MIDNIGHT
WINGS 350 EACH
MINIMUM ORDER 10
a variety of sauces available
Wings available for take out at
regular price of 50e each.
THURS., FRI., & SAT.
5 P.M.-MIDNIGHT
WINGS & CHIPS
$5.45
EAT IN OR TAKE OUT
THURS., FRI. & SAT. NITES
PIZZA
5 P.M. - MIDNIGHT
EAT IN OR TAKE OUT
ENTERTAINMENT
Dennis Siren
July 10 & 11