The Citizen, 1990-02-21, Page 23THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1990. PAGE 23.
Entertainment Festival Singers9
Ceilidh draws full house
Theatre review
Grand play is life in the raw
Nearly two hundred people be
came adopted ancestors of Scotland
when the Blyth Festival Singers
hosted a fun-filled Ceilidh last
Saturday at the Clinton Town Hall.
BY KEITH ROULSTON
If you believe art should imitate
life, you’ll probably enjoy Glen
garry Glen Ross which opened at
London’s Grand Theatre Friday
night. If you’re the kind of person
who thinks there are some things in
life you’d just as soon not
imitate, better stay away.
American playwright David
Mamet has been lauded for his
ability to capture the rhythms of
the American language and Glen
garry Glen Ross won both the 1984
Pulitzer Prize for drama and the
1983-84 New York Critics’ award
for the Best American Play and was
praised in England where it was
first performed.
The play deals with the salesmen
in a Chicago real estate office,
trying to close deals for Florida
housing developments and move to
the top in the competitive world
inside their own office. Some are
ing the crest of success but
■^.ners, once top salesmen, are
under pressure from their boss and
School drama
festival Friday
The Fifth Annual Central Huron
Drama Festival begins on Friday,
February 23 with five high schools
and 150 high school students
expected. Central Huron Secon
dary School will play host to the
events with high schools from Port
Elgin, Exeter, Palmerston, Clinton
and Wingham taking part. Organ
ized by Stephen Oliver, a teacher at
Central Huron Secondary School in
Clinton and in conjunction with the
Blyth Centre for the Arts, the
Festival was created to provide
students from the area with an
opportunity to meet, share ideas
and showcase their talents.
from their own memories of suc
cess to pull off the big sale and
rebuild their careers.
In this competitive world, the
customers aren’t people, just suck
ers to help the salesmen chalk up
better figures and if a customer
wants to back out of a deal, any
kind of trickery is used to prevent it
happening.
It’s an all-male world and the
language used often sounds like it
could come from a locker room. The
language is exactly what you can
expect in the reality of such a
situation but some theatre-goers
will find the deluge of gutter
language too much to bear. If all
the words that might offend tender
ears were taken out of this script, it
could be a one-act play.
Mr. Mamet is a playwright who
gives language and character prior
ity over plot and the plot of the
show is sketchy at best. Act one is
static: a series of three scenes
between two actors in each in a
Chinese restaurant where the
salesmen hang out. The scenes
become so claustrophobic you
yearn for someone to get up and
walk around instead of just sitting
side-by-side, talking.
Act two provides more action as
the scene switches to the real
estate office but it’s obvious Mr.
Mamet likes dealing with only two
characters at a time and the times
when there are more than two of
the seven cast members on stage
are only opportunities to revolve to
a different two characters who will
then carry on a conversation for the
next few minutes.
The play, however, provides
opportunities for some strong act
ing and the cast, including several
Blyth Festival veterans, grabs
every chance. Garrison Chrisjohn,
who appeared in Perils of Perse
phone at Blyth last year, is wonder-
ful as the timid and reluctant victim
of the top salesman. In the first act
he must listen to the salesman
ramble on about philosophy and
has only a few lines of his own but
his mobile face speaks volumes and
he steals the scene.
Jay Brazeau draws the audi
ence’s sympathy as Shelly, the
one-time top salesman who now
can’t close a sale and is threatened
with firing. In the second act, when
it appears he has closed a huge
sale, his joy is wonderful as we see
the man of his glory days return,
only to see him crushed again into
defeat. Ken James as the bitter,
rebellious salesman and Ron
White, as the current hot-hand are
the other salesmen. Ric Reid, who
appeared at Blyth in Another
Season’s Promise, plays the office
manager with ice water in his
veins. Blyth veteran Robert King
(Garrison's Garage and many
others), is the police officer in to
look into a break-in at the office.
A strong cast, strong emotions
and strong language make Glen
garry Glen Ross a production what
some will love and others will hate.
In what could be billed as a
musical variety night, even the
crowd got a chance to show off their
talents with Scottish ballads led by
Choir director, Angus Sinclair and
Scottish country dancing taught by
Mary Hearn. Master of Ceremon
ies Rob Bundy with his bag-full of
jokes, hilarious anecdotes and
tongue-twisting introductions was
a real favourite of the audience.
No-one will forget Rob’s highly
entertaining slide show from his
travels through Scotland.
Musical highlights included Jeff
Hearn singing “Horee, Ho-ro, My
Little Wee Girl”, Lena Sieger’s
song, “The Fidgety Bairn”, Pam
Gethke singing the Brigadoon clas
sic, “Heather On the Hill”, Phil
Telfer’s interpretation of “My Love
Is Like a Red, Red Rose” and the
Blyth Festival Singers’ hauntingly
beautiful Scottish songs.
Elayne Ras, director of the
Huron Violin School played several
Scottish reels along with pianist,
Carol Carter of Seaforth and violin
ist, Maarten Boukhout from Clin
ton. Highland dancer, Carly Price
of Seaforth - a student of dance
with Mary Lynn Telford showed off
her great technique and Scottish
style.
Throughout the evening, a spe
cial Silent Auction featuring gour
met cooking, hand-knit garments,
musical evening and country picnic
and sleigh-ride for 12 at Fran and
Tony McQuail’s farm raised $600
for the Blyth Festival Singers. The
“best brownies and chocolate chip
cookies in Huron County” by
Sheila Richards earned $2S with an
Icelandic sweater hand-knit by
Alex Hutchison of Wingham going
for $130 and gourmet dinner for
four at the Blyth home of Lynda
Lentz and Duncan McGregor going
for the high price of $200 after a
lengthy bidding war by many
audience members. The Blyth Fes
tival Singers next takes to the stage
on Saturday, April 7 at Blyth
Memorial Hall for their Annual
Spring Concert, “Spring Jubilee”
featuring music taken from the
classics and Canadiana. Tickets on
sale now at the Blyth Festival.
PANCAKE
SUPPER
TUES.
FEB. 27/90
ATTHE
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ANGLICAN CHURCH
BRUSSELS
5p.m.-7p.m.
ADULTS$5.
CHILDREN UNDER 12$2.50
PRESCHOOLERSFREE
EVERYONEWELCOME LOVE GRANDPA
AIIYouCanEat
PANCAKE
SUPPER
Tuesday, February 27
5to7p.m.
Blyth Memorial Hall
Includes: sausages, salads,desserts
ADULTS: $5.00, CHILDREN: $2.50
For homedelivery phone 523-9223
Sponsored by Trinity Anglican Church
BLYTH FIGURE
SKATING CLUB
ACHIEVEMENT
NIGHT
FRIDAY, MARCH 9 - 7:30
AT BLYTH ARENA
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