SPOTLIGHT: ENSEMBLE’S HAT TRICK
Underlying theme of truth and consequences ties three performances together
Ensemble Theatre Festival July 16 to Aug. 8 | Jericho Arts Centre Tickets and info: Starting from $25 ($20 for students/seniors), $65 for a three-show pass at ensembletheatrecompany.ca
Talk about slut-shaming.
The title of the 17th century play ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore doesn’t leave much room for interpretation, at least where its main character is concerned.
“I think it speaks to its time, when to be anything other than a demure, polite, virginal girl was to be a whore,” said actor Anthea Morritt, who plays the title character, Annabella.
“But, in seeing the show, I hope people come out with a different opinion of who she is.”
Written by British playwright John Ford, ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore is one of three plays in this year’s Ensemble Theatre Festival. The others are Frost/Nixon, about the groundbreaking series of interviews conducted by British journalist David Frost with disgraced former U.S. president Richard Nixon in 1977, and Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour.
Shocking at the time for its depiction of homosexuality, the latter dates back to 1934 and takes place in a girls’ school.
The underlying theme between the plays is “truth, lies, and consequences,” said Tariq Leslie, Artistic Director of Ensemble Theatre Company. He also plays David Frost in Frost/Nixon.
’Tis Pity She’s a Whore is “essentially Romeo and Juliet, but redux,” Leslie said. “The forbidden love isn’t two warring families but an incestuous relationship that develops between a brother and sister. There are lies in that too. I won’t give away the end of that play, but the end of the play is one huge consequence.”
Rather than dedicating itself to one playwright, the repertory company selects what Leslie calls “good solid plays from various canons and eras of literature.
“I choose the plays, and try to find some measure of balance between all three of them,” he said. “And the factors that go into choosing those plays have a little bit with who we have to draw on, and how that’s going to work in terms of the repertory system.”
Actors in the company often play roles in more than one play, with one show’s lead playing what Leslie refers to as “a spear-carrier,” or minor role, in another.
“To some extent, I sort out the themes afterwards.”
The Ensemble Theatre Company has its origins in Victoria, in 1998. In 2001 it moved to Vancouver.
The company prides itself on the amount of research it puts into its projects.
“This is one of the things I was really influenced by in my training with the Shaw Festival — the amount of materials that would be in the rehearsal hall,” said Leslie, who was with the Shaw for two seasons.
Written by playwright Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon was first performed in London in 2006. A movie version, with Frank Langella and Michael Sheen reprising their stage roles, was released in 2008.
Leslie says that, for his portrayal of the journalist, he consulted Frost/ Nixon, a 2007 revised version of Frost’s 1978 book I Gave Them a Sword: Behind the Scenes of the Frost/Nixon Interviews. He also drew on a book by writer James Reston Jr. about being part of Frost’s team (The Conviction of Richard Nixon: The Untold Story of the Frost/Nixon Interviews).
Besides playing Frost, Leslie has a smaller part in ’Tis Pity. And Morritt has a minor role, as one of the schoolgirls, in The Children’s Hour.
“My parts are vastly different,” she said.
“But there is this crossover of forbidden sexuality in both. Both are about not talking about sexuality, and that feeling of repression.”
Putting on a theatre festival in the summer months in Vancouver presents some challenges, even when one of the plays has an attention-grabber of a title.
“In Vancouver as much or probably more than other cities in Canada, you’re competing with outdoor recreation,” Leslie said.
“There are so many things to be done in the spring and summer months outdoors. The idea of going inside and spending a couple of hours there isn’t quite as appealing. On the other hand, a: there’s not much competition and b: people really do like the festival idea, and the idea of spending a summer evening watching some good shows.”
Now in its third year, the festival saw “a huge swell” in ticket sales last year over the inaugural festival, Leslie says.
“I think our first two weeks last year were 55 per cent higher in attendance and sales than our first year of the festival. And then this year we’ve already sold more advance tickets than we sold in the previous two years.”
For Morritt, this year’s festival is her first. Her partner and fellow Studio 58 theatre grad Max Wallace has been with the company since the festival’s inception, however. He plays her love interest/brother Giovanni in ’Tis Pity.
Working with her partner in such charged material has been interesting, Morritt says.
“I’ve had to approach everything differently than I normally do. Normally in rehearsal you spend the first couple of weeks getting to know the other actor. With him (Wallace), I know him very well. The emotions are much more immediate and accessible. It’s safe, but it also has a feeling of danger. It’s easy to put myself in a place where I’m imagining going through these experiences with someone I’m actually with.”
Notwithstanding the title, ’Tis Pity isn’t misogynistic, she says.
“Ultimately, it’s a love story between a brother and a sister which to this day would have a giant stigma attached to it,” the actress said.
“But we also see judgment of her just for interacting with a man, let alone her brother. So it’s really a mixed bag. What’s really surprised me about her is how strong a character she is. She’s very intelligent and witty, and knows what she’s saying, which I find really uncommon in classical work. Usually the women are these demure little things who don’t get to voice their opinion. What was shocking to me when we started rehearsing the show was that she does, and she really holds her own against strong male characters.”
The title does prompt a reaction when she tells people about her latest lead role, though.
“The title alone gets people asking questions,” she said.
“I don’t have to do too much pitching to get people to want to know more.”