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
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gala night March 3 - click for info
Cast
Arkady Islaev
Natalya Islaeva
Vera
Anna Islaeva
Lizaveta
Herr Schaaf
Michel Rakitin
Aleksey Belyaev
Bolshintsov
Doctor Shpigelsky
Matvey
Katya
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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.
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Crew
Director
Producers
Stage Manager
ASM
Script Assistant
Set Design
Costume Design
Lighting Design
Sound Design
Décor & Furnishings
Props
Set Construction
Costume team
Hair and wigs
Technical Advisor
Lighting Operator
Sound Operator
Make up
Publicity Coordinator
Publicity team
Action Photography
Still Photography
Programme
House Manager
Liquor licence
Box Office
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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
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