Home » Performing Arts Articles » Previews begin at the Shaw Festival for St. John Hankin's surprising The Cassilis Engagement: A Mother's Comedy
Previews begin at the Shaw Festival for St. John Hankin's surprising The Cassilis Engagement: A Mother's Comedy
The Shaw Festival's production of St. John Hankin's comedy of motherhood, The Cassilis Engagement, directed by Christopher Newton, began preview performances on Tuesday at the Court House Theatre.
/Performing Arts PR News/ - NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ON, CANADA, June 07, 2007 - "I'm going to win. I've no doubt whatever about that." Adelaide Cassilis (Goldie Semple) is a very smart woman. When her beloved son Geoffrey (David Leyshon) informs her of his engagement to a totally "unsuitable" young woman from the city, she faces an age-old mother's problem - how to change your child's mind without him realizing it.
She hatches a plan - she invites Ethel Borridge (Trish Lindström), the unfortunate girl that Geoffrey has become engaged to, and her mother (Mary Haney) - for a long visit at their house in the country, suspecting the languorous charms of country life may be less than enchanting for them. When they arrive from London, the clash of classes, of generations and of town and country folk are set in motion.
With The Cassilis Engagement, what begins as a conventional comedy of manners is revealed to be anything but. The genteel surface of life on this country estate is a deceptive cover for a world of plots, desperate hopes and damaged lives.
St. John Hankin was one of the most admired comic writers of the Edwardian era. Between 1903 and 1908 he wrote five full-length plays, including The Cassilis Engagement and The Return of the Prodigal, which Christopher Newton directed at The Shaw to great acclaim in 2001 and 2002. Bernard Shaw referred to the 1909 suicide of this gifted playwright as a "public calamity".
The cast also includes Donna Belleville as Lady Remenham, Charlotte Gowdy as Lady Mabel Venning, and Laurie Paton as Lady Marchmont, as well as Krista Colosimo, Patrick Galligan, Lorne Kennedy, Al Kozlik, Gray Powell, Ken James Stewart and Wendy Thatcher.
The Cassilis Engagement is designed by William Schmuck with lighting design by Kevin Lamotte. The stage management team includes Stage Manager Meredith Macdonald and Assistant Stage Manager Evan R. Klassen.
The Cassilis Engagement began preview performances Tuesday, May 29; opens Friday, June 15; and plays in repertory until Friday, October 5. The Cassilis Engagement is sponsored by Scotiabank Group.
The 2007 season is proudly presented by HSBC Bank Canada/HSBC Bank USA.
Odette Yazbeck
Director, Public Relations
905-468-2153 or
1-800-657-1106 ext 222
odette@shawfest.com
Patti Broughton
Public Relations Co-ordinator
905-468-2153 or
1-800-657-1106 ext224
pbroughton@shawfest.com
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