HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2017-06-28, Page 1616 Signal Star • Wednesday. June 28. 2017
Goderich Little Theatre to perform 'The Penelopiad'
IL Opening night
Ar Wednesday, July 5
Kathleen Smith
Goderich Signal Star
'Goderich Little Theatre is in the
middle of rehearsals for a powerful
play that is a retelling of an ancient
story, 'The Penelopiad; directed by
David Armour.
The play encompasses the story
of Penelope, from the ancient story:
'The Odyssey', where Penelope and
her maids are in Hades and where
they confront society, their own
choices and each other.
In the story 'The Odyssey', Penel-
ope is the wife of Odysseus and is
left alone for twenty years while her
husband goes off to fightin the
Trojan War. Remaining the ever -
faithful wife, despite scours of suit-
ors who believe her husband to be
dead; when Odysseus returns
home, he kills his.wife, her suitors
and all twelve of her maids.
"The story of Penelope in Odys-
seus' absence; her growing up as a
young wife and. mother in their
town; her trying to manage things
in his absence. 1 ler storied faithful-
ness, despite the fact that there
were people who said that Odys-
seus had past, after twenty years,
they were sure he was dead and
there was a whole lot of pressure
for her to marry again, but she
wouldn't. She went through vari-
ous different tricks to try to get out
fromthat pressure," explains
Armour. "There they re-enact the
events that were the most impor-
tant in their lives, and particularly
surrounding Odyssues' absence
during the Trojan War and his
return after the war:'
The cast is comprised of 13
women, who portray Penelope, the
wife of Odysseus and her 12 hand-
maidens, where they have met
again in Hades.
'The Penelopiad; written by Mar-
garet Atwood, is athought provok-
ing play about women, men, class
and violence in a patriarchal
society.
Despite the dark tones in the
play, those in attendance will see
that it is, in some ways, also ele-
gantly beautiful. There is also
rnusic and dance to accompany the
play, where live musicians will play
the harp, flute, violin and
percussion.
'The Penelopiad' has a gala
opening night on Wednesday, July
5 at the I luron County Gaol, which
will also include a meet add greet
with the director, and a question
and answer session with the cast.
The play will continue to run
with evening performances on Fri-
day, July 7, Saturday, July 8 and
Sunday, July 9, starting at 8:30pm.
Director David Armour explains
the affect of theatre production of
'The Penelopiad': "There are places
(in the play!. where it is really fnrnny,
however, it is a very dramatic story
as well. In some ways, kind of a
challenging one; it takes us on in
respect to some of our deeply
seeded attitudes about women, in
particular. At the same time, Mar-
garet Atwood is not a polemical
writer, and she doesn't take just
one side and just argue for that..
Instead she has
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lit' •■ 11101 L'
ST. JOSEPH'S KINGSBRIr)GE COMMUNITY PRESE.tiTS
1. I : f ti n 1 .! .1 .ii 1 1 1 1 1 [t 1 1 !/ 1111
St. Joseph's Kingsbridge Community would
like to extend a sincere thank you to all those
who made Kingsbridge The Musical such an
overwhelming success. First and foremost,
a heartfelt thank you to playwright Warren
Robinson, and music collaborators Mike
Reynolds\ ' and Eleanor Robinson,. whose
creative vision brought our seniors' stories
to vibrant life. Special thanks go to the
Goderich Livery Theatre and the
1.ucknow Hawk Theatre for their. partnerships.
A sincere thank you to Kingsbridge native
Brian Dalton whose regional artwork
captured the essence of Ashfield Township.
We are greatly indebted to the director, musicians, cast and crew for their
commitment and talent for dramatizing our local history and culture. The play was
set in the 1950's at a time when many things were changing, yet somehow, 60 years
later, the people and their connection to each other and the land has remained an
unbroken chain.
The success of St. Joseph's Kingsbridge Community and the Kingsbridge Centre is
due to the dedication and hard work of a seemingly unending supply of volunteers.
To the 93 individuals who gave 5400 hours of their time toensure ICngsbridgThe
Musical was successful ...thank you. And to the 1050 attendees whogaced us 'th
1
their presence - we hope you enjoyed the show!
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(Back row, left to right): Jacqui Knap, Jennifer Coustells, Lauren Phillips -
Grande, Susan Carradine, Lisa Justine Hood, Ally Connelly, Liv Hussey, Chelsea
MacDonald, Shannon Pitre, Reanna Ramaker. • -
(Front row, left to right): Ange Keeley, Gwyneth Pella, Colleen Caesar.
criticism for everybody. It's not so
much criticism, but you end up
confronting certain truths that are
sometimes difficult. It's a challeng-
ing piece in that way. It is lyrical,
powerful, dramatic and funny, and
it has gorgeous music."
Tickets for 'The Penelopiad' are
available online at thelivery.ca, by
telephone at 519-524-6262, or sim-
ply drop into The Livery at 60 South
Street.
Rehearsals have begun for the Goderich Little Theatre production of 'The Penelopiad'.
Photos courtesy of Jenna wh►e
'The Penelopiad' has an opening night gala on Wednesday, July 5, at the Huron County Gaol.