Three directors’ takes on The Winter’s Tale
The Winter’s Tale isn’t one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, but suddenly it’s all over Toronto.
Christopher Wheeldon’s critically acclaimed staging continues for the National Ballet of Canada through to Sunday at the Four Seasons Centre.
Then, on Thursday, Kenneth Branagh’s London stage version can be seen for one night at Cineplex theatres throughout the GTA. And starting Jan. 26, the Groundling Theatre Company will present an all-star rendition of the play at the intimate Coal Mine Theatre on the Danforth, with Stratford veteran Graham Abbey directing a cast featuring Tom McCamus, Michelle Giroux and Brent Carver.
We spoke to the three directors of the various versions about what they found so compelling in the play.
Christopher Wheeldon “I think The Winter’s Tale shares the same journey that many of my recent works do. It follows the path from innocence through loss and pain and then back to innocence regained once again. It’s important that we start with our leading characters as children, so we see what they had and what they threw away. It’s truly a fairy tale, except there is no Wicked Witch or Evil Queen. The forces of malevolence are all inside the mind, heart and soul of Leontes. That’s what makes it all happen.”
Kenneth Branagh “Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but I feel that The Winter’s Tale is about the preciousness of time and the possibility of love in a world where lives go by so quickly. Maybe underneath it all is a message about theatre as a metaphor for the passing of time. There are moments in the lives of people when a sort of summation takes place. A calling to account for what their lives have meant and can mean. Not tarred with the brush of dark self-recrimination and regret.”
Graham Abbey “I’ve had a lot of loss in my life in recent years, and I’ve found great solace and understanding coming from the late romances of Shakespeare. It’s a place where issues of loss and redemption can be worked out and the possibility of rebirth and forgiveness is actually something you can reach out and touch. The Winter’s Tale begins happily, then rapidly descends into darkness until the moment when a child’s life is spared.” The National Ballet’s The Winter’s Tale runs through Sunday at the Four Seasons Centre, 145 Queen St. W., national.ballet.ca or 416345-9595. Go to cineplex.com for details on the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company production, to be seen at select Cineplex theatres Thursday. Groundling Theatre Company’s version begins performances Jan. 26 at the Coal Mine Theatre, 798 Danforth Ave., groundlingtheatre.com.