Village Squire, 1977-10, Page 38THEATRE
Donna Butt, Ted Johns and Linda Griffiths in a humourous look at countr, life and Shakespearean
Theatre in Shakespeare for Fun and Profit.
What's this?
Theatre Passe
Muraille tackles
Shakespeare?
36. VILLAGE SOUIRE/OCTOBER 1977.
Paul Thompson and Theatre Passe
Muraille doing Shakespeare? Well yes...
and no.
Thompson, Listowel's gift to the
Canadian theatre scene and his theatre
troupe are hardly known for doing ti.e
foreign classics of theatre. They're known
instead for trying to reach the ordinary guy
who thinks theatre is high-falutin'
entertainment of those who like to dress up
in mink and tails. Throughout the '70's,
Thompson has tried to open up theatres to
new audiences doing shows on Huron
county farmers and Northern Ontario
miners and small towners from western
Canada. So the very name "Shakespeare"
in the title of his latest work Shakespeare
for Fun and Profit might lead some of his
fans to think he's finally gone highbrow.
Have no fear, Passe Muraille fans,
things have not changed so drastically. The
new work is about a small town, in this case
Seaforth, that is celebrating a centennial so
decides to put on a Shakespearean play.
with the help, of course, of a 'Wintario
grant.
The subject matter draws natural
parallels with the Stratford Festival and as
such has had some of the Festival
supporters a little upset. Indeed one
Toronto reviewer when the play opened in
the St. Lawrence Centre there, treated the
whole play as a satire on Stratford and on
that basis felt the play wasn't strong
enough. Others, with a small-town
background, who saw the show said that
the Stratford parody is only a small part of
the play and that the theme of small town
life, both its plusses and minuses was a
much stronger element in the play but this
went right over the heads of the Toronto
audience and critics.
Small town and rural themes have
always been important to Thompson. Ever