Strutting their hour on a very small stage
The theatre is tiny, the company new, but recast of The Winter’s Tale has stars from Shaw, Stratford
Groundling Theatre, Toronto’s newest theatre company, is bringing Shakespeare to a floor cushion near you.
Graham Abbey, founder of the theatre and a seasoned Stratford Festival actor, has worked for four years to see his dream of producing Shakespeare in the city come to fruition.
When The Winter’s Tale opens Thursday it will be a much different experience for the audience than what it will get in Stratford. For starters, the Coal Mine Theatre’s Danforth Ave. space holds only 100 people compared to the 1,833 in Stratford’s Festival Theatre.
There’ll even be a row of cushions at the front — the cheaper seats — for those who don’t need a chair to enjoy the show. Those are the “groundlings” for which the theatre is named, says Abbey.
“It’s like the Rolling Stones playing the El Mocambo,” laughs Abbey of the starstudded cast he’s drawn from the Shaw Festival and Stratford rosters.
Tom McCamus, Michelle Giroux (Abbey’s spouse), Lucy Peacock, Brent Carver, Charlie Gallant, Sarena Parmar, Roy Lewis, Robert Persichini, Patrick Galligan and Mark Crawford provide the star power for the play, the story of a jealous king, a falsely accused wife, a lost child, a bear, an exile and a reconciliation.
“It will be intimate and affordable,” Abbey says of the production, with tickets just $25 to $35. “I hope to generate thrills for people sitting up front with Brent Carver,” winner of a 1993 Best Actor Tony for Kiss of the Spider Woman.
He originally looked for “found space” rather than an established theatre for the production, checking out an abandoned post office, dance hall and subway stop. He ended up at the alternative theatre founded by artistic curator Ted Dykstra and artistic producer Diana Bentley, who’ve shepherded critically acclaimed projects since opening in 2014.
Winter’s Tale has a special meaning for Abbey: it was his first Stratford play and he was directed by theatre titan Brian Bedford, who recently died. He also met his wife in that play.
Abbey has taken the advice of Robin Phillips, former artistic director of Stratford, who said all of Shakespeare’s plays were basically “domestic dramas.” Winter’s Tale is the story of a marriage with problems, Abbey says.
Live original music is provided by George Meanwell, who plays cello, fiddle, concertina, drum and mandolin during the show, which takes place on a tiny stage roughly 3 by 5 metres.
Noting that this is “a big Shake- speare year” — the 400th anniversary of the Bard’s death — Abbey feels he’s got timing on his side for launching an annual Shakespeare play.
“He taps into something universal and eternally human.”
Meanwhile, at Stratford, he will direct the two-part Breath of Kings this summer, which distils four of Shakespeare’s king plays. This is a project 12 years in the making, highlighting Abbey’s skills as playwright, director and actor.
“Shakespeare would love this,” says Abbey of the new approach to the works.
He’s had 18 seasons with the Stratford Festival and forged tight friendships with the troupe there. When he called, they jumped at the chance to employ their skills in a really little theatre.
“I didn’t hesitate five seconds,” says Peacock, who has 29 years at Strat- ford under her belt.
“It’s great, it’s an experiment,” says McCamus, with 15 seasons. “We feel free to make mistakes with people you know. It’s pretty communal.” Neither Peacock nor McCamus have ever performed Winter’s Tale before.
Giroux, whose Stratford history is 12 seasons old, points out that the play is dedicated to Bedford, who helped her and Abbey so much early in their careers. Groundling Theatre’s The Winter’s Tale is presented by Coal Mine Theatre, 798 Danforth Ave., Jan. 28 to Feb. 20. Go to groundlingtheatre.com for tickets.