The second play directed by Eda Holmes this season is Bernard Shaw’s own Mrs. Warren’s Profession which is now playing at the Royal George. A mother/daughter story with conflict spurred on by the societal challenges and expectations of women, I was already familiar with the premise of Eda’s version thanks to the wonderful embedded criticism of the Brock University DARTcritics. Based on what I had read about the production, I knew the intention is to stage it as thought the Royal George is the gentlemen’s club where Shaw’s script was originally debuted. That means that the set (designed by Patrick Clark) resembles a private club and the actors play members of the club who are, in turn, playing the roles of Shaw’s characters. When reading about it I was concerned that, while the concept should send a timely reminder of the contextualization of Shaw’s plays and the issues they address, it may be difficult to clearly stage such a layered proposal.
I realized that my fears were unnecessary when I attended a preview performance of the now open show. The opening scene of Mrs. Warren’s easily establishes the premise — an added bonus is that the ‘club’ putting on the play, we are told, is the modern-day descendent of the original. This adds to the play’s social commentary and makes it impossible to ignore that the issues highlighted in the production still affect us today. Perhaps this is a particular reminder is more important than Eda could have predicted; as I sat in the audience during the preshow, four actors on stage dressed timelessly but using modern props such as cell phones, several comments could be heard from patrons around me clearly upset by the ‘unprofessionalism’ of the actors.
“What is he doing with a cell phone? There were no cell phones in 1900!” This complaint was placated with a gentle, “He’s just checking his messages before the play starts, dear. He’ll put it away when it’s time to begin”. I shared a look with the festival’s former Executive Director Colleen Blake who was seated beside me. It seemed that this audience, and I imagine many others, would serve to benefit from a reminder that the purpose of plays is not static and that neither their means nor their messages are frozen in time.
Another interesting fact about this production is that it will be travelling across the border as soon as the festival’s season ends to be performed at the Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo as the first of what will hopefully be many ‘Shaw at Shea’s’ partnership productions aimed at drawing New York’s attention to the theatre gem in their backyard. I learned this information at the company meeting — one of the only annual chances for the entire festival staff to come together and communicate en masse.
Hosted by Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell and Executive Director Tim Jennings, the meeting was fun and light-hearted as well as informative. Beginning with Jackie and Tim arriving on stage in the Festival Theatre dressed in housecoats and riding in the boat used in this season’s production of Alice in Wonderland, the company went on to discuss important matters such as how to ensure a victory over the Stratford Festival in their annual cricket match. The meeting was also a time for company members to promote causes near and dear to their hearts and an opportunity to introduce next season’s Artistic Director, Tim Carroll. Concluding with an appreciative standing ovation for Jackie’s contributions to the festival over the year’s, the whole company then moved to the break room (called the Green Room) to enjoy a hot dog lunch served up by senior staff members.
The company of the Shaw Festival functions, in part, because of the strong sense of community amongst its members. I am grateful that, at least for now, it is a community that I get to experience and be a part of.
Shaw and Tell 