Lunchtime Trifles — a pair of perfect one-act plays -- at the Shaw Festival

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario . . . Trifles, this season’s Lunchtime offering of the two one-act theatrical gems Trifles by Susan Glaspell and A Wife for a Life by Eugene O’Neill, is at the Shaw Festival’s Court House Theatre.

Meg Roe directs a duet of rarely-seen marital mysteries by two influential playwrights from America’s theatrical past.

Set in a connected and intimate milieu created by designer Camellia Koo, lighting designer Louise Guinand and sound designer/composer Alessandro Juliani, this double-bill Lunchtime features Benedict Campbell, Kaylee Harwood, Jeff Irving, Julain Molnar and Graeme Somerville.

Perception and truth are at odds in these two compelling mysteries. In Trifles, a man is discovered dead and his wife can’t, or won’t, explain how the rope came to be around his neck.

Did she do it? Is the devil in the details or are they mere trifles? In A Wife for a Life, an old miner realizes memories of his past could change the course of his young partner’s future.

Susan Glaspell’s Trifles was first performed on August 8, 1916 by the Provincetown Players at the Wharf Theatre in Provincetown, Massachusetts and was heralded as one of the most important modern feminist dramas. Written in 1913, A Wife for a Life was Eugene O’Neill’s first attempt at drama. Connected by a passion to produce serious drama, Glaspell and O’Neill were founders of the Provincetown Players, an influential theatre that gave birth to American drama.

About Trifles

June 8 – October 12

Trifles is on stage at the Court House Theatre (26 Queen Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake)

Trifles is sponsored by Vintage Hotels

Cast (in alphabetical order):

Trifles by Susan Glaspell

Benedict Campbell Kaylee Harwood  Jeff Irving     Julain Molnar                Graeme Somerville

Lewis Hale Mrs. Peters County Attorney Mrs. Hale Sheriff Peters

A Wife for a Life by Eugene O’Neill

Benedict Campbell Jeff Irving     Graeme Somerville

Older Man Jack, the younger man Old Pete, a miner

Creative Team:

Meg Roe Camellia Koo                          Louise Guinand                      Alessandro Juliani                  Dora Tomassi                         Barry Burns

Director Designer Lighting Designer Composer/Sound Designer Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager

The Shaw Festival’s 2013 season began April 3, runs until November 3 and features 10 productions presented on the Festival’s four Niagara-on-the-Lake stages. For more information on our 2013 season, performance schedule and ticket information, please visit www.shawfest.com or call 1-800-511-SHAW.

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The Shaw Festival is a theatre company inspired by the work of Bernard Shaw. We produce plays from and about his era and contemporary plays that share Shaw’s provocative exploration of society and celebration of humanity.