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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance Times, 1995-07-12, Page 791% WHINE f 'r v Y;1JON E WP SG Grade e 8 CI ass,..Members of the 1995 Grade 8 class at East Wawanosh Public School are: back, Jeremy Sallows, Tom Pfeiffer, Sjaan Gerth,Matt Beck, Brian Sinclair, Jason McBurney, Jason Howatt, Derek Campbell, Robin Sanders, Justin Howatt; centre, Gavin Van Camp, Peter Irwin, David Piluke, Wayne Fenton, Michael Marks, Ben Dettweiler, Rob McGee, Joe Dillon, Ryan Cook; front, Jaime Campbell, Robyn Faw, Holly Stein, Alicia Potter, Donna Pattison, Michelle Thompson, Melina Hussey, Kendra Moffatt and Stephanie Wall. (Pho- to courtesy of The Citizen) Staging for Comedy doesn't work for bard By Ruth Tatham When the work is finished on the new Globe Theatre in London, England, and we can all have a chance to see Shakespeare's dra- mas staged more closely to what the experts believe to be authentic- ity, we may be able to risk in Onta- rio what has been done at our Stratford off and on: i.e., present a Shakespearean comedy as if it were just a farce, filled with slap- stick and devoid of the Bard's poetry. Unfortunately, in the meantime, I have to express my lack of real involvement in a production such as the current The Comedy of Er- rors on the Tom Patterson stage of our Stratford Festival. As I've often said, this intimate auditorium with its stage thrust' outright into the: encircling audi- ence, is ideal for &'auras needing a close ' identifying bond and a chance to be near the actors' faces and bodies. Slapstick can be done from 100 rows back — as any good circus clown. can demon- strate. The plot of this bit of light com- edy hinges totally on two things: mistaken identity through which multiple characters see what they want to see, and jealousy, based on the flimsiest evidence. Shakespeare tells a tale of iden- tical twin brothers, two pairs of them, of about the same age — one pair born to a noble merchant and his genteel wife, the other pair lowly born into a nearby family, so poor these twins are sold into servitude to the first family, pre- sumably for the poor twins to be serfs to the richer twins (who could need thein for friendship be- cause they had each other for corn- pany at all times). SEPARATED Well, they didn't. Shakespeare (and W.S. Gilbert three centuries later) had a fondness for losing ba- bies. In a shipwreck of major and convoluted proportions, the mer- chant and wife were separated, as were the various twins. The mer- chant made it back to their native city of. Syracuse, as did one of his sons, and one servant -son. A couple of decades later, the two young fellows of Syracuse set off to find their Tong -lost brothers. They fail to retum in five years, and the old merchant decides to find at least that pair, before he dies. He searches far and wide, and meets disaster and emptiness everywhere.' Ultimately, he arrives at the city of Ephesus, in Asia Minor, penni- less and ill. Here he finds that Sy- racusans are so reviled that unless he can pay a stiff "tax" before sun- set, he will he executed. Meanwhile, his son and the ser- vant have already been wandering around the same Ephesus, mistak- en at every comer and circum- stance .for another young man and that other young man's serf: yes, indeed, the lost twins, master and servant. it takes a long time and a lot of mix-ups before the characters in the play realize there are two sets of twins in the same city, one mas- ter being married to a wealthy and very pregnant lady of Ephesus. This lady, Adriana, seems unable to recognize her own husband and jumps to the most jealous of con- clusions upon the most tiny bits of evidence. Into this incredible lot, throw an elderly nun who turns out to be the long -lost shipwrecked wife of the old merchant — and add a delight- fully sensible young woman (yes, there is one person with some common sense here) Luciana, who is the highly desirable and beauti- ful sister of the pregnant matron. Stir the whole thing up a few times: and what do you get? Well, all that ends well is said to have been well. Hopefully;' Shake- speare's audiences just loved the mixed identities and the fisticuffs and pratfalls, the jealous ragings and the lesser female roles of slea- zy morals and overblown appear- ance. MODERN DRESS Personally,. although there is considerable clever design and • staging, I find this production tedi- ous. it is displayed iti "modern dress," with the same plaster wigs and suitcase -frames as the last Stratford staging of this play. Maybe the farce and slapstick would be more palatable from 16th century clothing and stage props. At least there would be a chance to slip into imagining one- self on a hot summer day standing in the pit of The Globe, illiterate and asking only for caricatured stage personages, perhaps folks' at whom you mi4ht toss an apple core if villainous, or honor with a toothy whistle if pleasing. Anyway, this .Comedy of Errors strains my imagination without re- warding it. The young (and a few seasoned) actors do their best. With the parts of the two servant twins, both called Dromio, Kevin Bundy and John Robinson do a fine job of clowning. Jane Spidell as• the jealous wife Ariana is, well - cast and appealing, and Kristina Nicoll is an attractive sister Lucia- na to her (and has excellent dic- tion). The senior actor Joseph Shaw, as the old merchant Aegeon, is one of the few "real" people, and about the only actor who gives us a snip- pet of poetry, to please our classic - hungry ears. As was commented the last time this column discussed the diction of a heavily veiled actor at Strat- ford (in the same role),' the veil simply muffles everything said in- side it. We were in the third row, and should have been able to hear. It's a bit like the old story of the chap who winked in the dark: no- body else knew. My footnote must, of coarse, be that (as some of you readers al- ready know) I am a far greater fan of Shakespeare's tragedies and historical plays than of his come- dies. So, to put this production of The • Comedy of Errors into per- spective, be sure to see some of the really excellent and moving productions this year at Stratford. Add this one as a bit of fluffy icing to the cake of drama if time and THE HOMESTEAD FAMILY EXTENSION PROGRAM Continues to look for experienced, quality foster homes' for our treatment foster care program. We offer an Extension Worker in the home for 20 hours a week, support, ongoing professional training, and generous daily rates. If you feel your family could offer tirne and care to a challenged child/youth and would like more information, please call (519) 524-2852 between 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday to Friday Perhaps you can make a positive difference in a young person's life, as well help to better your family life by your involvement Wingham Parks & Recreation Departmen `)/(il r and Wingham Chamber of Commerce Retail Committee wick"nm Danks ". gecnesnoM osrT. 1st Annual Co -Ed Volleyball Blowou Tournament WHEN? Saturday July 15, 1995 WHERE? Josephine Street Ball Park (Food & Beverage Tent Available) There is still time to register a team. Pick up entry forms at Locker Room Sports or the Wingham Recreation Department, or call 357-4623 or 357-1208. Pt) Gard Sixteen tables of shoS't was in play last Monday evening .at the Wingham Legion Hall. Jean Robertson was high lady •and Doris Michie,, second high. Lloyd Montgomery was high man and Kay Rich, playing as a man, second high. Edythe Coultes and Nellie . Clark tied for the most shoots for the ladies with Mrs. Coultes being the eventual winner. Shirley Hackett, playing as a man, had the most shoots for the men. Draw prizes went to Ada Taylor, Gert Reavie, Bill Willis and Garner Nicholson. The next Legion shoot party will a shoot on Monday, July 17. • THE MENO ANADYANC TIMES Roth Annual SHELL FERGUS TRUCK SHOW AND TRUCK PULL AIM JULY 22-23/95 Fergus & District Community Centre, Belsyd.e St.; Fergus f. !Ee!.•. ahi .r:Y.•;:h�'y.}{:o't�::#'t%)L^•.}''S.$: 1:30 a.m. Gates Open 1:00 a.m. Truck Pulls: Stock, Super Stock, Heavies, Modified. :00 p.m. Music in the Park: Mark Laforme/Larry Mercey DANCE 8:00 P.M. - 1:00 A.M. *COUNTRY 570 HEARTLAND DANCERS * TRANSIT * TERRY HILL $10.00 Advance ... $13.00 at the door OK,��#T1Ki''r>rC.'�t:': !g;'i•••r'9,i�•,:i:tiiT �►i1FYiRI 10-10 a.m. Trucker Breakfast - $6.00 each 10:00 a.m. Truck Pulls:.Fun Pulls; Stock, Super Stock, Modified - 12:00 p.m. RICH BAKER/TERRY SUMSION • 4:00 p.m. Show. & Shine Award Presentations kDMISSION: Sat. $10.00, Sun. $10.00 WEEKEND PASS $18.00 INFO CALL (519) 546-0933 or 843-3412 L .' 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DVERTISERS! et noticed Print Measurement Bureau 1994 results Ontario English Community Newspapers 4,889,000 English adults in Ontario read a com- munity newspaper every week! As a percentage of the total English adult population 18+, on average 61% reported reading a community newspaper in the past seven days. 4,889,000 61% Multiple exposures: PMB '94 shows that on average each issue has 2.7 exposures! 70% of Community Press readers refer to the average issue on more than 1 day. 43% refer to the average issue on at least 3 different days. 1 day 2 days 3 days 4 days 5-7 days Dual Audience readership: Community newspapers deliver a dual audience readership with 53% of their readers between the ages of 25-49. Male/Female Male/Female Total Base Read a community news- paper in the past week ■ 18-24 25-49 50+ Read a community news- paper in the past week Community Newspaper Readership has grown by 968,000 English adults in the past 5 years! 1994 Total base, 7,979,000' 8nzi> 1993 Total base 7,573,000 1992 Total base 7,410,000 1991 Total base 7,304,000 1990 Total base 7,016,000 1f ✓555 PMD '94 provides solid prrof of editorial interest with "Readership -to -possession Ratios" These ratios illustrate the strong power of community press editorial. Ontario wide ' Centres 1MM+ 500M- 1 MM 100M- 93% 500M 2,310,000 762,000 7«k 30M- 90% 1,0M 1,208,000 0i'e'r"t 92% Receipt Readership se5 Household income: Community newspaper readers have incomes that reflect the general population 20% 20% 22% 21% 14% 12% Under 52051 $20-35M $35-50M Total base M Read a community newspaper in the past week. Percentages may not be equal due to non- response. 43% 46% $50M+ Let the bbucetme help you reach your target market. 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