Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Stratford Festival, Day 1: THE NEVERENDING STORY & OTHELLO

• By drediman
• August 16, 2019
• No Comments

This week, I embarked on my (mostly) annual trip to Stratford, Ontario, where the play’s almost always squarely the thing. The lovely town is the home to the the world renowned Stratford Festival, one of the finest purveyors of classical theater in North America, and one of the few practitioners of the dying breed of repertory theater. Here’s a diary of my ongoing thoughts …

Wednesday, 14 August 2019

Andrew Robinson, Qasim Khan, Laura Condlln, and Roy Lewis in “The Neverending Story” at the Avon Theatre.

After an early morning flight from New York, I arrived in Stratford just in time to catch a matinee performance of this year’s family-friendly offering, the stage version of Michael Ende’s young adult novel The Neverending Story (SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED) – a co-production with Canada’s National Arts Centre – at the Avon Theatre. Those of you familiar with the book or the lavish 1984 film version know that it tells the story of Bastion, a young boy who, to escape being bullied by his schoolmates, increasingly immerses himself in the fantastical world of a magical book. David S. Craig’s stage adaptation is serviceable, succinctly if robotically distilling the novel into a digestible two-hour theatrical experience for the family. Director Jillian Keiley interestingly applies an electro-pop aesthetic to paint for the stage the book’s various exotic settings and creatures, a choice which (at least for this critic) unfortunately cheapens Bastion’s sense of wonder and discovery. And despite the valiant efforts of the hardworking cast – who frequently double as actors, as well as puppeteers – to overcome the production’s disjointed pacing, the entire affair registered as wooden and somewhat clumsy. Despite all this, I’m happy to report that Mr. Ende’s underlying message of the power of the child’s imagination came though loud and clear by the play’s conclusion.

Michael Blake and Amelia Sargisson in “Othello” at the Festival Theatre.

After a delicious fine dining experience at The Prune, I proceeded that evening to the Festival Theatre for a mounting of Shakespeare’s tragedy Othello (RECOMMENDED). The production has been directed by Nigel Shawn Williams, whose staging of To Kill a Mockingbird was one of the highlights of last year’s festival (easily eclipsing Bartlett Sher’s current hit production of Harper Lee’s novel on Broadway). The play’s first act was a tough sell, during which I was unconvinced by the production’s lax point of view and drab, projections-heavy design (Shakespeare’s slow-burning exposition didn’t help matters, either). However, the staging’s second half – which more fully highlighted Mr. Williams’ talent for fluid, muscular blocking and the cast’s rock solid portrayals – was very good. Of the actors, I thought the women fared best, particularly Amelia Sargisson’s fully-realized Desdemona and Laura Condlln’s steely, determined Emilia. Not quite as nuanced but still passionately delivered were Michael Blake and Gordon S. Miller as Othello and Iago, respectively. Indeed, although this may not be a definitive Othello, it ultimately delivered, thankfully after a few initial missteps, devastating tragedy.

THE STRATFORD FESTIVAL
Regional, Plays/Musicals
Festival Theatre / Avon Theatre / Studio Theatre
Various productions in repertory through October