The Citizen, 1994-06-22, Page 27Skin deep
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 22, 1994. PAGE 27.
CoIm Feore gives an emotional, passionate performance
as the hero in Stratford Cyrano de Bergerac appearing at
the Festival Theatre.
Theatre Review
Feore, a standout
Stratford’s Cyrano
By Bonnie Gropp
Stratford Festival'sCyrano de
Bergerac, is large, loud and long.
But even this bigger than life prod-
cution can not diminsh the presence
of its star.
Colin Feore is a passionate, enig
matic Cyrano, who manages to
stand out amidst what can be, at
times, a melde of noise and bodies.
The confusion begins right from
the start, with actors ( and there are
many) moving throughout the
aisles, conversing with the audi
ence, while dialogue and action
continue on stage. Though it is an
interesting direction it proves to be
a bit of a distraction to understand
ing the first few minutes of the
play. Fortunately this is less of a
problem than one might think as
the story of Cyrano's unrequited
love for Roxanne is familiar to
most.
Hercule Savinien de Cyrano de
Bergerac is every woman's fantasy
of the hero, except for one thing —
a proboscis on which you could
hang a hat. Compensating for his
physical imperfection, is the wit,
eloquence and courage he displays
which earns the admiration of his
comrades and the animosity of his
enemies. As he says, he has "decid
ed to excel in everything."
Under this bravado, however, lies
the insecurity that comes with
knowing you are different, of being
the object of jokes and curious
scrutiny. His fear of rejection keeps
him from declaring his love for
Roxanne, though his confidence in
his intelligence leads him to write
to her on another's behalf.
After learning of her love for the
handsome Christian and of the lat
ter's verbal ignorance, Cyrano
decides that if Roxanne can not
love him for his appearance, she
can love him for his soul. He agrees
to write letters to her for Christian.
"It is promising algebra. You and I
equals the hero of the storybook."
Watching this play today, in a
world so absorbed by physical per
fection, it is a reasurrance of our
humanity that we can feel Cyrano's
pain. When he asks his friend,
"Why should providence award
such ugliness, such loneliness?",
we glimpse the shallowness of a
society that ostracises others for
their appearance.
In his first season at Stratford,
Ben Bass was a worthy Christian,
with enough chemistry between
him and Roxanne's Martha Bums
to make their ardour believable.
Interestingly though most of us
would be guilty of the same indif
ference as Roxanne, Feore's por
trayal is so moving that we cannot
understand how she fails to see
beyond the nose, what is before her
eyes. Listening to Cyrano's
anguished pronouncement of love
during the balcony scene, was an
emotional experience for an audi
ence that had long before forgiven
his imperfections.
They were less forgiving of the
length of the play as noted by the
restless shifting and fidgetting dur
ing some of the more confusing
scenes. Even after almost three
hours Feore as the dying Cyrano
could silence the stirrings.
One has to wonder whether or
not this production would fare as
well without the incomparable
Feore, but as witnessed by the
lengthy standing ovation he
received at its conclusion his per
formance alone is worth the price
of admission.
Jdappy 20th
Anniversary
RANDY &
LORNA
From Gary & Sandra
‘Othello’
opens at
Avon
The opening night performance
at Shakespeare's Othello will take
place at the Avon Theatre on
Saturday, June 25 at 7:30 p.m. The
overwhelming and sometimes
destructive power of human
emotion manifests itself in this
story of a man who, misled by
treachery and consumed by
jealousy, is driven to murderous
lengths.
Othello is directed by Brian
Bedford, with set design by Ming
Cho Lee, costume design by Ann
Curtis, music composed by Alan
Laing, lighting designed by
Michael J. Whitfield, sound design
by Keith Handegord, fight direction
by John Stead and associate
costume design by Alix Dolgoy.
The Stratford Festival's 1994
production of Othello features
Lewis Gordon as Brabantio, Rose
Graham as Bianca, Graham Harley
as The Duke of Venice, Tim
MacDonald as Roderigo, Paul
Miller as Cassio, William Needles
as Gratiano, Ron O'Neal as Othello,
Lucy Peacock as Desdemona, Ronn
Sarosiak as Montano, Dixie Seatie
as Emilia, Scott Wentworth as
Iago, Ian White as Senator and
David William as Lodovico.
Also appearing in the production
are Dwight Peter Bacquie, Michael
Baker, Michael Besworth, George
Chiang, Paul Essiembre, Jeffery
Gruich, Terry Miller, Jamie
Williams and Mari Workman.
In The Ring opens at Stratford's
Tom Patterson Theatre on Friday,
June 24 at 7:30 p.m. A new play
written by Governor General's
Award-winning playwright Jean-
Marc Dalpe and translated by
Robert Dickson, this gritty tale
explores the dangerous conse
quences of placing success and
personal gain above honour, loyalty
and friendship.
In The Ring is directed by
Richard Rose, with design by Doug
Paraschuk, music by Don
Horsburgh, lighting design by Paul
Mathiesen, sound design by Ryan
Araki and fights directed by John
Stead.
Stratford's premiere of In The
Ring features Ben Bass as Vic,
Wayne Best as Maurice, Roland
Hewgill as Coco/Old Spectre, Ken
James as Eddy, Andrew Renner as
Young Spectre and Janet Wright as
Mado.
The Devil’s Curling
In Blyth This Summer!
See Him in
The Black Bonspiel
OF WULLIE MACCRIMMON
BLYTH FESTIVAL
Get Your Tickets Early!
(519) 523-9300
(Happy 30th (Birthday - June 25
Meribeth & Melanie
Love, Mom, Dad & Jeff
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Starts Friday
June 24,1994
Friday & Saturday,
7:00 & 9:00 p.m.
Sunday to Thursday
8:00 p.m.
Matinee Sunday at
1:30 p.m.
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