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A Month in the Country
by Brian Friel
after Ivan Turgenev
directed by George Thomas
Feb 18, 19, 24, 25, 26,
March 3, 4, 5
8:00 pm 2005
Tickets: $14.00 in advance
$16.00 at the door
Call NOW to reserve your seats
gala night March 3 - click for info
Cast
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Arkady Islaev Natalya Islaeva Vera Anna Islaeva Lizaveta Herr Schaaf Michel Rakitin Aleksey Belyaev Bolshintsov Doctor Shpigelsky Matvey Katya |
George Sanford
Jan Durbin Paola Di Maddalena Maggie Thomas Leena Lehtikallio Peter Mackie Mike Wierenga Brian Melanson Gord Raymond Richard Vaillancourt Ron Kebic Tamara Kamermans |
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A Month in the Country, a comic classic of the world
theatre, was written in the mid-nineteenth century by the dashing
Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev. It singlehandedly created a new
tradition of realistic drama of domestic situations, laced with a
satiric eye for the habits of the time. Turgenev created a
world, later familiar to us from the plays of Chekhov, with
wonderfully strong characters drawn from a world he knew very well. At the heart of the action is a comfortable aristocratic household which is rocked out of its apparent stability by the arrival in its midst of an eager young student, who has a domino effect on each of them. Turgenev used the complex interplay of love, esteem and affection, to explore the fragilities of human relationships, with comic results. Now a refrehing new version of the play comes from the pen of Brian Friel, the leading contemporary Irish dramatist (Dancing at Lughnasa, Translations). Friel's interest in the Russian classics is well known - a recent play of his has characters from two different Chekhov plays meeting up 20 years later. While remaining faithful to the intentions of the original, he has tightened up the action and brought some of the relationships into sharper focus. More than anything else however, he has clothed it in a language sparkling in its humour and utterly contemporary in its feel. The result is a great classic dusted off and given a fresh coat of paint with none of the subtleties of situation and character eluding Friel's watchful eye. A Month in the Country has twelve roles, all of them demanding but immensely rewarding at the same time. No surprise then that these parts have attracted some of the best known actors in local community theatre including Jan Durbin, Tamara Kamermans, Leena Lehtikallio, Peter Mackie, Brian Melanson, Gord Raymond, George Sanford, Maggie Thomas, Richard Vaillancourt and Mike Wierenga. Two exciting newcomers to our theatre group, Paola di Maddalena and Ron Kebic, will also have the chance to shine in this production. The play is directed by George Thomas, for whom this is a good deal more than a busman's holiday after 30 years of teaching Russian at McMaster University. |
Crew
Director |
George Thomas Mike Rae, Lisbie Rae John Durbin Janet Hatfield Judy Genel John Wilkinson Linda Posthuma Mike Rae George Thomas Rochelle Trask Sandra/Frank Strauss Austin Knowlton Helena Adamczyk Helen Davie Ann Newbigging Frances Morrison Don Thorne Ryan Strauss Austin Beattie Marilyn March Eileen Dunsmuir Laurel Dewar Lisbie Rae Pat McCarthy Rachelle Rousseau Janette Thompson Patricia Roper Murray Sylvester Bronwen Tregunno Rita Callaghan |