Thursday, June 13, 2013

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.


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