Repercussion Theatre renews its pledge to make Shakespeare accessible to Montreal Audiences... in the park and beyond.
MONTREAL, June 2, 2009 - Repercussion Theatre, Montreal's professional classical theatre company, has announced its 2009 season. In addition to its usual Shakespeare-in-the-Park summer tour, Repercussion Theatre is teaming up with the Montreal Baroque Festival, and will remount and tour the popular two-actor show, Shakespeare Unplugged.
The summer tour of Shakespeare-in-the-Park, which runs from July 23 to August 16, will feature As You Like It, one of the Bard's most loved plays. Best known for the line, "All the world's a stage...," this lighthearted comedy is certain to lure fans to parks throughout the island of Montreal.
This 21st annual summer tour marks a return to the better-known Shakespeare-in-the-Park banner, a change from recent years, in which the tour operated under the banner of Theatre-in-the-Parks. "The return to our brand name Shakespeare-in-the-Park signifies our commitment to the works of Shakespeare and our goal to maintain our status among North America’s premiere touring Shakespeare Companies," states Artistic Director Paul Hopkins.
This production of As You Like It moves Arden Forest from England to the rustic forests of Lower Canada in the mid-1800s, and features the traditional folk music and dance that have entertained rural Québec for generations. As You Like It will feature choreography and dance by Zogma (www.zogma.ca), the Urban Folkloric Dance Collective. This comedy will also be a family affair with Paul Hopkins directing while his brother, classical musician Mike Hopkins (www.beastridge.com), provides and performs the score. Also returning is three-time Mecca Award winning designer, James Lavoie.
With the economic downturn, Repercussion Theatre is more dependent than ever on the funding it receives from the Conseil des arts et letters du Québec (CALQ), Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM) and Ministère des affaires municipales et des regions (MAMR), as well as donations and sponsorships. "We hope that those who are able will continue to support English theatre generously," says Repercussion's Board President Jake Chadwick. "In these challenging economic times, Repercussion Theatre's brand of educational family entertainment, provided free-of-charge, becomes even more important to our community."
Repercussion Theatre is also developing creative ways to ensure that it can continue to bring quality, professional theatre to as many parks as possible. Although the company will focus its resources and artistic energy this summer on presenting As You Like It in English, the play will be performed in a manner that reflects Montreal's linguistic duality, remains true to the original play, and maintains Repercussion's reputation for making Shakespeare fun and accessible to Montreal audiences.
As a nod to the economic climate, Repercussion Theatre will use its position to help the communities who host performances. Audiences will be invited to bring food items to the park on performance day, which will be collected and donated, on behalf of our patrons, to a local Food Bank.
Repercussion Theatre will also participate in the Montreal Baroque Festival with a performance on Thursday, June 25th at 7:00pm at the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (www.montrealbaroque.com) of The Fairy Queen, a musical interpretation of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream by composer Henry Purcell. Repercussion Theatre alumnus, including the cast from the 2004 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, will perform scenes during the festival.
This season, Shakespeare Unplugged returns for a second run, from November 2 thru November 20, with performances confirmed at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts (www.segalcentre.org) and at Lower Canada College (www.lcc.ca) this fall. Additional dates are still available for booking. This 75-minute English-language show features two actors performing a selection of memorable scenes from the Bard's most famous plays. All of the scenes revolve around the theme of persuasion. The simple staging and close proximity of the audience means that the viewers are truly drawn into the play whatever the surroundings. Repercussion Theatre works with hospitals, retirement homes, churches, schools, and community centres to develop sponsorships that help defray the costs for the show.
Repercussion Theatre's mandate is to deliver professional, classically based, visually dynamic theatre accessible to all, regardless of income, culture, language, age or education. The company brings the performing arts to people in their communities - reaching new audiences and inspiring in them a lifelong love of theatre.
The summer tour of Shakespeare-in-the-Park, which runs from July 23 to August 16, will feature As You Like It, one of the Bard's most loved plays. Best known for the line, "All the world's a stage...," this lighthearted comedy is certain to lure fans to parks throughout the island of Montreal.
This 21st annual summer tour marks a return to the better-known Shakespeare-in-the-Park banner, a change from recent years, in which the tour operated under the banner of Theatre-in-the-Parks. "The return to our brand name Shakespeare-in-the-Park signifies our commitment to the works of Shakespeare and our goal to maintain our status among North America’s premiere touring Shakespeare Companies," states Artistic Director Paul Hopkins.
This production of As You Like It moves Arden Forest from England to the rustic forests of Lower Canada in the mid-1800s, and features the traditional folk music and dance that have entertained rural Québec for generations. As You Like It will feature choreography and dance by Zogma (www.zogma.ca), the Urban Folkloric Dance Collective. This comedy will also be a family affair with Paul Hopkins directing while his brother, classical musician Mike Hopkins (www.beastridge.com), provides and performs the score. Also returning is three-time Mecca Award winning designer, James Lavoie.
With the economic downturn, Repercussion Theatre is more dependent than ever on the funding it receives from the Conseil des arts et letters du Québec (CALQ), Conseil des arts de Montréal (CAM) and Ministère des affaires municipales et des regions (MAMR), as well as donations and sponsorships. "We hope that those who are able will continue to support English theatre generously," says Repercussion's Board President Jake Chadwick. "In these challenging economic times, Repercussion Theatre's brand of educational family entertainment, provided free-of-charge, becomes even more important to our community."
Repercussion Theatre is also developing creative ways to ensure that it can continue to bring quality, professional theatre to as many parks as possible. Although the company will focus its resources and artistic energy this summer on presenting As You Like It in English, the play will be performed in a manner that reflects Montreal's linguistic duality, remains true to the original play, and maintains Repercussion's reputation for making Shakespeare fun and accessible to Montreal audiences.
As a nod to the economic climate, Repercussion Theatre will use its position to help the communities who host performances. Audiences will be invited to bring food items to the park on performance day, which will be collected and donated, on behalf of our patrons, to a local Food Bank.
Repercussion Theatre will also participate in the Montreal Baroque Festival with a performance on Thursday, June 25th at 7:00pm at the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (www.montrealbaroque.com) of The Fairy Queen, a musical interpretation of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream by composer Henry Purcell. Repercussion Theatre alumnus, including the cast from the 2004 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, will perform scenes during the festival.
This season, Shakespeare Unplugged returns for a second run, from November 2 thru November 20, with performances confirmed at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts (www.segalcentre.org) and at Lower Canada College (www.lcc.ca) this fall. Additional dates are still available for booking. This 75-minute English-language show features two actors performing a selection of memorable scenes from the Bard's most famous plays. All of the scenes revolve around the theme of persuasion. The simple staging and close proximity of the audience means that the viewers are truly drawn into the play whatever the surroundings. Repercussion Theatre works with hospitals, retirement homes, churches, schools, and community centres to develop sponsorships that help defray the costs for the show.
Repercussion Theatre's mandate is to deliver professional, classically based, visually dynamic theatre accessible to all, regardless of income, culture, language, age or education. The company brings the performing arts to people in their communities - reaching new audiences and inspiring in them a lifelong love of theatre.
As You Like It, photo by: Sabrina Usher (www.sabrinausher.com)
