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Jenny Young.
Photography by Don Dixon; Digital Artist: Krista Dodson.
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July 25, 2014… The Stratford Festival is delighted to present
Linda Gaboriau’s remarkable new translation of Michel Marc Bouchard’s
Christina, The Girl King.
Written by one of Quebec’s most celebrated playwrights, and directed by
Vanessa Porteous, Artistic Director of Alberta Theatre Projects,
the play makes its English language première at Stratford’s Studio
Theatre. Previews begin on Tuesday, July 29, and the production
officially opens on Thursday, August 14.
Commissioned
as a translation by the Festival in 2010, the play tells the story of
Sweden’s Queen Christina, an extraordinarily modern character who was
born just 10 years
after Shakespeare’s death.
The enigmatic ruler showed a passion for
philosophy, literature and the arts, but her lifestyle – and her
unconventional sexuality – put her profoundly at odds with her culture’s
expectations of her, both as a monarch and as a woman.
Rather than conform to the expectations of others, the 26-year-old
queen abdicates in order to be free to pursue her own aspirations.
Jenny Young makes her Stratford Festival debut in the title role, while
Graham Abbey plays antagonist, Count Johan Oxenstierna.
“Christina, The Girl King
addresses the necessity, and the sacrifices, of being true to
yourself,” says Ms Porteous. “Freedom is an urgent need for all of us,
and
yet it has a cost. Like Christina, we are all caught between public,
family, or professional obligations, and our inner needs. We are all
trapped by the expectations of those around us. But deep inside, under
the ice, raging like a northern river in early
spring, surges a powerful need to be free, to be who we really are.
Michel Marc Bouchard shows us that if this need is dammed up, it will
burst forth with unforeseeable, potentially destructive consequences –
unless it is sent into a new channel and allowed
to run free. The exquisite, terrible ravages of love and the beautiful,
dangerous necessity of embracing who you really are: that is what this
play is about, to me.”
The
collision of public duty and private desire lies at the heart of a drama
as captivating as it is provocative. Within this season’s theme of
Madness: Minds Pushed to
the Edge, Christina’s story is one of bringing sanity to an insane
world.
“As seen through the eyes of one of our greatest playwrights, Michel Marc Bouchard, and the beautiful words of Linda Gaboriau,
Christina, The Girl King helps us understand the situation of the person who does not fit in,” says Artistic Director
Antoni Cimolino. “Christina made many important decisions over
the course of her life – a life that was very much pushed to the edge by
the expectations of her society. She is a remarkable figure who went
against the grain, refusing to simply be what
she was told she must be.
“It’s a
great honour to present this world première on our Studio stage – a
space that has been home to many extraordinary examinations of new work.
What a treat for our
audiences to be the first to see this brilliant translation of such a
riveting play.”
Artistic credits include Designer
Michael Gianfrancesco, Lighting Designer Kimberly Purtell, Composer and Sound Designer
Alexander MacSween, Dramaturge Bob White and Fight Director John Stead.
Christina, The Girl King Forum Highlights
The
Stratford Festival Forum is a series of activities and events, including
concerts, debates, talks, comedy and interactive presentations, that
offer theatregoers a
unique opportunity to delve further into the ideas and issues raised by
the 2014 playbill and its theme of Madness: Minds Pushed to the Edge.
Themes related to
Christina, The Girl King will be explored through several Forum events, including:
A Question of Identity, in which Antoni Cimolino and
special guests lead a discussion on the tension between socially
constructed roles and our inner sense of identity, and whether the
playwrights this season offer any guidance in resolving such
tension; and Love in a Dangerous Time, in which art historian Dr. Rose Marie San Juan
explores how the paintings of herself Queen Christina sent to various
courts in Europe address rumours of the Queen’s sexuality, lesbianism
and hermaphroditism,
while company members read letters exchanged between Queen Christina
and Ebba Sparre.
Sustaining
support for the Forum is generously provided by Kelly & Michael
Meighen and the T.R. Meighen Foundation. Support for the 2014 Forum is
generously provided by
Nandita & Julian Wise. Selected Forum events supported by Bell
Let’s Talk. Support for Peer Into the Playbill is provided in memory of
Dr. W. Philip Hayman.
Christina, The Girl King runs until September 21. For tickets, contact the box office
at 1.800.567.1600 or visit stratfordfestival.ca.
Christina, The Girl King is sponsored by TD Bank Group.
Support
for the 2014 season of the Studio Theatre is generously provided by the
Parnassus Foundation, courtesy of Jane and Raphael Bernstein, and
Sandra and Jim Pitblado.
Stratford
Direct, the daily return private bus service, now offers two routes:
Toronto to Stratford and Detroit to Stratford. The Toronto bus costs $20
round trip, departing
twice daily until September 21, and once daily from September 23 to
October 12. The Detroit bus costs $40 round trip, with Tuesday, Friday
and Saturday departures until September 28. Both routes run on
performance days only.
The
Stratford Direct Presenting Sponsor is OLG. Support for Stratford Direct
is generously provided by The Peter Cundill Foundation.
The 2014 season runs from April 21 to October 12, featuring
King Lear; Crazy for You; two versions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream;
The Beaux’ Stratagem; Man of La Mancha; Alice Through the Looking-Glass;
Hay Fever; King John; Mother Courage and Her Children; Antony and Cleopatra;
Christina, The Girl King; and more than 200 events in The Forum.
Cast (in alphabetical order)
Count Johan Oxenstierna ……………………. Graham Abbey
Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna………………… Wayne Best
Chanut………………………………………... Kevin Bundy
Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg……………… Patricia Collins
René Descartes……………………………….. John Kirkpatrick
Countess Ebba Sparre………………………… Claire Lautier
The Albino, The Cadaver…………………….. Elliott Loran
Karl Gustav…………………………………… Rylan Wilkie
Duchess Erika Brähe………………………….. Brigit Wilson
Christina………………………………………. Jenny Young
Artistic Credits
Director……………………………………….. Vanessa Porteous
Designer………………………………………. Michael Gianfrancesco
Lighting Designer…………………………….. Kimberly Purtell
Composer and Sound Designer………………. Alexander MacSween
Dramaturge…………………………………… Bob White
Fight Director………………………………… John Stead
Producer………………………………………. David Auster
Casting Director………………………………. Beth Russell
Creative Planning Director…………………… Jason Miller
Associate Fight Director……………………… Geoff Scovell
Assistant Director…………………………….. Jessica Carmichael
Assistant Set and Costume Designer…………. Alyssa Westman
Stage Manager………………………………… Melissa Rood
Assistant Stage Managers……………………... Renate Hanson, Christopher Sibbald
Production Assistant…………………………... Liz King
Production Stage Manager…………………….. Michael Hart
Technical Director……………………………... Robbin Cheesman
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Stratford Festival 55 Queen Street | PO Box 520 | Stratford ON
| N5A 6V2
Box Office: Toll Free 1.800.567.1600 | Local 519.273.1600
stratfordfestival.ca
2014 Season
| April 21 to October 12
King Lear | Crazy for You | A Midsummer Night’s Dream | The Beaux’
Stratagem
Man of La Mancha | Alice Through the Looking-Glass | Hay Fever | King John
Mother Courage and Her Children | Antony and Cleopatra | Christina, The Girl King
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a chamber play
Man of La Mancha | Alice Through the Looking-Glass | Hay Fever | King John
Mother Courage and Her Children | Antony and Cleopatra | Christina, The Girl King
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a chamber play
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