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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1996-06-19, Page 27Glad to be here Actor Wanda Graham says she's delighted to be re- creating her role as Mabel Bell for the Blyth Festival production of Mabelle Mabel. Graham originated the role in 1986 at Vancouver's Expo and has performed it on the east coast for three seasons. Role lets actor walk in a world of silence ntertainment Theatre review `Lear' falls flat for reviewer - :a Mission Impossible I Rated PG h Two shows (Fri. & Sat.) at 7 & 9 pm Sunday Tuesday, 1 Wed., Thurs. 8 pm, pili! ;., closed Monday 357-1630 : 1 S,t a :t 5 W :a :a ii Auburn School- Bed Breakfast Just 5 minutes from the Festival Theatre Come & relax in our newly renovated century school house where a night's stay includes a full English breakfast of home preserved fruit, homemade granola & Wheatabix, fresh grilled mushrooms tomatoes, peameal back bacon and local sausage served with scrambled eggs, toast & coffee. Call 519-526-7606 for reservations ifini CRUISE einnine. Innennintr miamitimruniou LONG DISTANCE? CALL 1-800-255-3438 FOR TOLL FREE MOVIE INFO THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1996 PAGE 27. By Bonnie Gropp Wanda Graham may not fully understand the sounds of silence, but she has become more attuned to its isolation than others. As an actor, Graham, is aware of the power of speech and the magic of sound. But through her associa- tion with the production Children of a Lesser God and later in the play Mabelle Mabel, the story of Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel, which open at Blyth Festival, June 26, she has walked in the soundless world of the hearing impaired. The former, is a story of a, hear- ing impaired woman, who chooses to communicate through signing rather than speech, to the frustra- tion of her teacher. This play, Gra- ham says, "showed me how terrifying it is for the hearing impaired to enter the hearing world. To speak, they're dependent on us to tell them how they sound." Conversely, speech was the form of communication Mabel chose. Able to hear until after a bout of scarlet fever at the age of five, Mabel could have been isolated as children were not taught to sign until 10 or 11, Graham says. "Deaf children then were locked in a silent world. She was lucky because her parents did everything to preserve het speech." Reading lips was a guessing game, but through her love of books and the love of her parents Mabel picked up key words. The fact that Mabel never com- municated in the language of the deaf, but challenged herself to stay in the world of the hearing through lip reading, would have made her politically incorrect, these days, Graham says. Also, signing is a much more efficient way of com- municating. "The visual picture is faster than the descriptive." The spoken word in this case, is a challenge for Graham as well. "I have to create this hearingless voice, one that I feel is making the right sounds. "She also must watch the mouths of the other actors. "It's not a natural rhythm." This irregularity is faced by the castmates, who must imagine they are speaking to someone who can not hear them. They have to touch her or stamp their feet to get her attention. She in turn must stare in their faces when .they say their lines. "My eyes get exhausted. I have dreams about lips, teeth and tongues. But I understand better the world of silence. Unless people put you in that visual range, you don't know they communicate." She also has a good understand- ing of the character she plays. A Nova Scotian, Graham originated the role of inventor Alexander Gra- ham Bell's wife when it first hit the stage at Expo 86 in Vancouver. She followed this with three summers of performances at Baddeck, N.S., where Bell lived until his death. "It was kind of like the Anne of Green Gables of north-eastern Nova Sco- tia." The play was given the stamp of approval by the Bell descendants, who invited the cast to the Baddeck home and provided small insights. They corrected nuances in pronun- ciation and helped to create charac- ters more true to life. "I had worn black socks in the first perfor- mance. Mama, they told me, would never wear black socks." Describing the family as one of fun and joy, Graham applauds them for their ability to work through challenges. "They didn't say prob- lems were insurmountable. They carried on with their beliefs. He was a great friend for her and she trusted him implicity with her impairment." Buck and Doe for Susan Elston and Jamie Robinson Saturday, June 22, 1996 Wingham Arena 9:00 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. Lunch Provided Tickets $5.00 Age of Majority By Janice Becker Exquisite costumes and intrigu- ing set changes. Both expected components of any Stratford Festi- val theatre production. However for 1996's King Lear, that is where the expected ends. For this reviewer, the perfor- mance fell flat. Little emotion was evoked as Lear loses his power through his own quest for self- importance and affirmation of his daughters' love. Even the tragic ending did not bring a lump to this throat, which has in the past swal- lowed hard to hold back tears dur- ing theatre productions. It could be that the empty feeling was a result of poor acoustics, with much of the dialogue missed due to actors facing away from the audi- ence and speeches sped through, leaving the sometimes-difficult Shakespearian English nearly impossible to absorb on occasion. Any production is less enjoyable if even a portion of the story is missed. Critical clues to a charac- ter's motives slip by, or rare touch- es of humour, which could lighten the dark tragedy, are lost. Though William Hutt, as Lear, was quite good, receiving a stand- ing ovation with the final curtain, his performance did not rank with last season's Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor. The best portion of his portrayal was as the lost and distraught dethroned King. His heartbroken pleas for understand- ing emerging from a shattered mind, his ramblings scattered and often incoherent. The one chuckle came when the completely disori- ented Lear is approached by a beg- gar, barely clothed in rags. CAPITOL VIEATRE 291-3070 All Seats $4.25 LISTOWEL • Dolby Surround Sound Stereo STARTS FRIDAY June 21 - 27 7 p.m Sat. Matinee 2 p.m. ($2.00) Eddie (Whoop) Goldberg) PG 9 p.m Dragon Heart Sun. Matinee 2 p.m. ($2.00) PG In Celebration of 50 Years of marriage Margaret & Sam Sweeney are hosting a 50TH ANNIVERSARY OPEN HOUSE on Saturday, June 29, 1996 at Brussels Presbyterian Church from 2 - 4 p.m. Best Wishes only please Recalling his own lost place in society due to his insensitive, uncaring, power-hungry daughters, Lear questions the beggar, "Did you give everything to your daugh- ters, too." The cast was professional and well-trained, though there was barely a spark of enthusiasm. There were few shining gems in the large ensemble. The one glimmer was Geordie Johnson, in his portrayal of Edmund, the bastard son of the Earl of Gloucester. Bastard suited Edmund in more than just the biblical frame of refer- ence. He boldly threw his legiti- mate half-brother to the wolves, betrayed the trust of his father, eventually causing him to be Season begins Continued from page 1 the day from 6 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m. Everyone is invited to drop by for free coffee and donuts and to share their memories of The CKNX Barn Dance on the air. Barndance Live! will run in repertory until Aug. 23, along with the moving love story Mabelle Mabel, the zany comedy, Villa Eden, and a warm family drama, Fireworks. The season ends Aug. 31. For tickets to the gala dinner and/or any performance of the four shows, call the Blyth Festival Box Office at 523-9300 today! deprived of his sight and left to wander the moors. Johnston's lone on-stage solilo- quy showed an evil spark. The soli- tary performances may have been the cause for his noticeable portray- al. Each word could be understood. The word is key to enjoyment of King Lear. Before attending, a quick review of the play or simply reading the synopsis at the begin- ning of the Stratford Festival's pro- gram for the production will make the story easier to follow.