Memorial for Bernard Hopkins set for Nov. 16 at the Festival Theatre
October 28, 2014… The Stratford Festival has
lost three beloved former company members over the past number of weeks
and will be dedicating productions to their memory next season. The
2015 production of
The Alchemist will be dedicated to Edward Atienza. She Stoops to Conquer will be dedicated to
Joyce Campion. Love’s Labour’s Lost will be dedicated to Bernard Hopkins.
The Festival has also set the date for a memorial
for Mr. Hopkins. It will be held on Sunday, November 16, at 11 a.m., in
the Festival Theatre. All are welcome to attend.
“Joyce, Teddy and Bern were among the very finest
talents to be part of the history of the Festival company,” said
Artistic Director
Antoni Cimolino. “Each one of them had an irrepressible spirit
that brought wit, energy and charisma to any part they played. We
dedicate these productions in recognition of their important
contribution to Stratford and with a sad fondness for the passing
of our fellow players.”
Mr. Atienza, who was a familiar face on the
Festival’s stages for 12 seasons in the 1970s, ’80s and early ’90s, died
on September 17. He had a long and distinguished career, starting in
1949 in his native England, where he worked at the
Old Vic and what is now the Royal Shakespeare Company.
He first joined the Festival in 1972, playing Touchstone in William Hutt’s production of
As You Like It and the Fool to Mr. Hutt’s Lear. His many other memorable performances at Stratford included Estragon in
Waiting for Godot, Feste in Twelfth Night, Thersites in Troilus and Cressida, Kemp in
Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Trinculo in The Tempest and the title role in
King John. He also created and performed his own one-man show, When That I Was… He appeared in several films, including
The Battle of the River Plate (1956) and Peter Ustinov’s Romanoff and Juliet (1961).
Mr. Cimolino has chosen to dedicate his production of The Alchemist
to Mr. Atienza because the actor played Subtle in a Yale Repertory
Company production of the play that was directed by former Stratford
Artistic Director John Hirsch
and featured Stephen Ouimette as Face. “Although it has been many years
since Teddy retired from the stage, his loss has been heavily felt by
all who knew him and admired his splendid work,” said Mr. Cimolino.
Ms Campion, whose Stratford career stretched over
19 seasons between 1968 and 2009, died on September 3. As warmly loved
as she was highly admired, she was a dear
friend and inspiring role model to countless fellow
artists, not just in Stratford but also at the Shaw Festival, where she
spent 10 seasons, and other theatres across Canada and the U.S, as well
as in the U.K. and her native Ireland.
Having toured with the
pioneering Canadian Players in 1963 and ’64, Ms Campion first joined the
Festival company in 1968. Her many memorable roles at Stratford include
Hannah Bauman in
Quiet in the Land, Mrs. Higgins in My Fair Lady, the Duchess of York in
Richard II and Kate Tardwell in Elizabeth Rex (which she reprised in the 2004 film). In 2005, she all but stole the show as Saunders the maid in
Fallen Angels. She received a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her role as Charlotte in
Bonjour, là, Bonjour with CentreStage in Toronto and a Gemini Award nomination for her performance in
Street Legal.
Her last season with the Festival was in 2009, when she played Anfisa in
Three Sisters, directed by Martha Henry. This connection led Mr. Cimolino to select Ms Henry’s production of
She Stoops to Conquer for the dedication. “This play features exactly the sort of irrepressible women Joyce played and embodied,” he added.
Mr. Hopkins first joined the Festival in 1975, playing Speed in
The Two Gentlemen of Verona and Dromio of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors. Over 24 Stratford seasons, his many other Shakespearean roles included Touchstone in
As You Like It, Parolles in All’s Well That Ends Well and Gonzalo in
The Tempest. His performances as Friar Laurence in Romeo and Juliet and Robert Cecil in Timothy Findley’s
Elizabeth Rex are preserved on film for future generations.
Mr. Hopkins’s last season with the Festival was in 2007, when he played Old Gobbo in
The Merchant of Venice and the Fool in Brian Bedford’s King Lear. Productions he directed here include
The Merry Wives of Windsor, The Knight of the Burning Pestle, and
Love’s Labour’s Lost, which Mr. Cimolino has selected for the
dedication. “It is a play that reminds me of the generosity and love
that drove Bern’s great work as an acting coach and mentor,” said Mr.
Cimolino.
As Head of Drama at the Banff Centre in the 1980s,
as Director of the Festival’s Young Company from 1989 to 1992 and, more
recently, as a teacher at the Birmingham Conservatory, Mr. Hopkins was a
guide and an inspiration to countless fellow
artists, in Stratford and across the country.
Mr. Atienza, Ms Campion and Mr. Hopkins will be deeply missed and their contributions well remembered.
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