The Magician’s Nephew and An Ideal Husband: Most Ideal Canadian Magic!
My in-laws escaped the heat wave of the U.K. to the take in the summer heat of Toronto.
I know. Sounds ridonkulous. But the weather in Scotland (where they’re from) is starting to turn to chilly, so they’re getting an extension of summer.
I love it when my in-laws visit, not least of which because my MIL and I take in at least one stage production. She really enjoys how Canadians perform Shakespeare so we always take in a show when they’re here.
Although we didn’t make it to a production of Shakespeare this time, we saw The Magician’s Nephew at the Shaw Festival and An Ideal Husband at the Stratford Festival’s Avon Theatre.
I.loved.them.both!
The Magician’s Nephew
Michael O’Brien and Tim Carroll created a story-within-a-story with this adaptation of C.S. Lewis‘ novel The Magician’s Nephew for live theater. The show is brilliant for families. The Shaw recommends children should be aged 6 and up.
This book is the prequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, telling the story of the origin of Narnia. Torran asked me what the difference was between a play and a movie. A woman who overheard us replied, “The stage is three dimensional.” She’s absolutely right. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that this show was four dimensional with interactive Dream Detectives in the audience (whose actions were mimicked by others, like Torran). If you go to the late-morning workshop, you have a chance to become a Dream Detective with an interactive audience role.
O’Brien’s adaptation sets a boy and a girl playing with moving boxes telling their story of a shared dream, which O’Brien’s ensemble of Dream Detectives (who act as narrators) say is a very rare occurrence, indeed. As the children tell their story, the Dream Detectives move pieces into place, set the tone with sound effects and songs, and wind the story this way and that to its conclusion.
In The Magician’s Nephew, Polly and Digory are set upon an adventure into another universe by Digory’s selfish Uncle Andrew. Uncle Andrew dabbles in his deceased aunt’s magic, seeking to control its power for himself. As they face a seemingly overwhelming foe and travel to exotic destinations, Polly and Digory test the limits of their friendship and learn about the power of temptation.
Cardboard boxes and props comprise the show’s set in surprisingly imaginative ways, despite the uniformity of the brown colour on stage. In fact, the lack of colour made the moments of magic and whimsy all the more endearing. I loved the use of screens and people to inspire magic for each setting. My favourite is the final garden and the apple tree. The ensemble sang an acapella song that drew me right in!
There are moments of comedy and tension, but nothing that is too scary or too complex for a young audience. Many lines of dialogue remain faithful to the original, for the purists. The actors portrayed their roles flawlessly. Empress Jadis (Deborah Hay) makes you laugh and tremble. Her vibrant outfit screams “pay attention to me – or else!” The starring roles of Polly (Vanessa Sears) and Digory (Travis Seetoo), paralleled in the modern girl and boy with the moving boxes, are compelling and sweet.
When he saw Uncle Andrew’s performance (Steven Sutcliffe), Torran exclaimed, “He’s a good actor!” to which there were many chuckles from our neighbouring audience members. Torran used the assistive listening devices (sound boosting ear phones) and heard the actors very well.
And the extendable wings of the flying horse Fledge? Gorgeous!! My friend Truly Carmichael had a big hand in creating these beautiful wings. She and her team of “wing artisans” did an outstanding job!
I love the Niagara region and the Shaw Festival for a day-trip from Toronto. Why not take the entire family to this wonderful show? The Magician’s Nephew runs until October 13.
An Ideal Husband – Stratford, Avon Theater
There is no other word I can use to describe the Stratford Festival performance of Oscar Wilde‘s An Ideal Husband other than sublime.
Except hilarious.
And on-point.
And, dare I say, ideal?
Oscar Wilde was renown for poking fun at his society and the people in it, and this play remarkably demonstrates the sharp wit of his pen. At a dinner party in the fashionable Grosvenor Square in London, we meet Lord and Lady Chiltern (Tim Campbell and Sophia Walker). A beautiful stranger comes to the party as a guest of the fabulous Countess of Basildon (Marion Adler). This curious guest is the scheming Mrs. Cheveley (Bahareh Yaraghi), and she blackmails Lord Robert Chiltern with the secret she knows about the origin of his fortune.
Events ensue that threaten to unfold Lord and Lady Chiltern’s ideal (read: prosperous and political) life set upon an ocean of barbed comments about London society and the people in it. Many of these zingers are offered by the play’s “dandy,” Lord Arthur Goring. Goring (Brad Hodder) has nothing to do with his time but talk about nothing (his self-professed favourite subject) and change his outfits five times a day “during the season.” We love this stupendously played character for his idle charm and infectious sentimentality.
I can’t remember when I laughed so much throughout a show. And the comedic lines belonged to so many members of the cast, including the well-choreographed but sparingly-seen Mrs. Margaret Marchmont (Jonelle Gunderson) and Lady Oliva Basildon (Déjah Dixon-Green). Their gag in the first scene about going in to dinner sets the tone for the entire show: they expressed their desire to be escourted into the dining hall, then promptly refused the arm of the man offered to them. When the man turned to leave, they promptly found a reason to follow which maintained their air of gender/social superiority.
Wilde’s theme centres on the danger of creating the ideal person, and what our own faults say about our inability to uphold those ideals, or to forgive those who are not ideal. Ironically, he was jailed for sodomy shortly after the play’s release and his name stripped from its production.
I absolutely loved Sophia Walker’s portrayal of the “fall” of Lady Chiltern. Spot-on directing (by Lezlie Wade) and acting! There is something to captivate our senses in every scene, from the rich fabrics of the wardrobe to the interplay among the Chiltern’s servants as they change the settings between scenes. The show pivots on turn-arounds as does the set. From inset sliding panels to triangular rotating shelves and portraits, the set design by Douglas Paraschuk is as much of a visual feast as it is understated in its technical wizardry.
An Ideal Husband runs until Oct 28th and I highly recommend that you make the trip to Stratford ONTARIO to see it!!