Persephone Productions
  • Home
  • The Company
    • Mission
    • Meet The Director
    • History
    • Awards
    • Notable Alumni
    • In The Press
    • Feedback
  • Past Productions
    • Blue Stockings >
      • Meet the Artists
      • Production Gallery
      • In the Press
      • Audience Feedback
    • Counting Aloud
    • Abigail/1702
    • Jerome of Sandy Cove
    • Compleat Female Stage Beauty
    • Moby Dick >
      • MD - Press Release /Communique de presse
      • Moby Dick - Production Notes
    • 2015 GALA
    • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde >
      • Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Press
    • The Nisei & The Narnauks >
      • The Nisei & The Narnauks Press
    • Spring Awakening: The Musical >
      • Spring Awakening: The Musical 2014
    • Strawberries in January
    • The Walnut Tree >
      • Press Release - The Walnut Tree
    • Spring Awakening: The Musical
    • Lost: A Memoir >
      • Lost: A Memoir Press >
        • The Westmount Independent Review for Lost: A Memoir
        • The Gazette Preview for Lost: A Memoir
    • Oroonoko >
      • Oroonoko Press >
        • The Gazette Review for Oroonoko
        • The Charlebois Post Review for Oroonoko
        • The Montrealer Interview with Paul Van Dyck for Oroonoko
    • Hamlet >
      • Hamlet Press >
        • First Person Charlebois Post by Christopher for Hamlet
        • CBC Interview with Gabrielle Soskin
        • The McGill Tribune Review for Hamlet
        • The Métropolitain Review for Hamlet
        • The Senior Times Review for Hamlet
    • To Be >
      • To Be Press >
        • Mirror Review for To Be
        • Charlebois Post First Person for To Be
    • Far from the Madding Crowd >
      • Far from the Madding Crowd Press >
        • Gazette Review for FFTMC
        • Mirror Review for FFTMC
        • Gazette Preview on Christopher Moore for FFTMC
        • Charlebois Post for FFTMC
    • Mary's Wedding >
      • Mary's Wedding Press >
        • Charlebois Post Interview with Gabrielle Soskin for Mary's Wedding
        • Canadian Jewish News Preview for Mary's Wedding
        • The Mirror Preview for Mary's Wedding
        • Charlebois Post Preview for Mary's Wedding
    • Henry V >
      • Henry V Press >
        • The Suburban Preview for Henry V
        • The Gazette Review for Henry V
        • Rover Arts Report for Henry V
        • Midnight Poutine Review for Henry V
        • Coolopolis Review for Henry V
        • Rover Arts Review for Henry V
    • Ten year Anniversary Gala
    • Be My Baby >
      • Be My Baby Press >
        • Gazette Preview for Be My Baby
        • Gazette Review for Be My Baby
        • The West End Times Preview for Be My Baby
        • The Suburban Review for Be My Baby
    • Cherry Docs >
      • Cherry Docs Press >
        • The Gazette (Cherry Docs)
        • The Suburban (Cherry Docs)
        • Rover Arts (Cherry Docs)
        • Dee Arr (Cherry Docs)
        • The Canadian Jewish News (Cherry Docs)
        • HOUR (Cherry Docs)
        • The Mirror (Cherry Docs)
        • Stanstead Journal (Cherry Docs)
    • Othello >
      • Othello Press >
        • The Gazette (Othello)
        • The Concordian (Othello)
        • The Link (Othello)
        • MicGill Tribune (Othello)
        • The Westmount Independent (Othello)
        • The NDG Monitor (Othello)
    • The Love of Shakespeare's Women (2)
    • Unity 1918 >
      • Unity 1918 Press >
        • The Gazette (Unity 1918)
        • The Mirror (Unity 1918)
        • Invisible Cities Network (Unity 1918)
        • McGill Tribune (Unity 1918)
        • HOUR (Unity 1918)
    • The Love of Shakespeare's Women (1) >
      • The Love of Shakespeare's Women Press >
        • The Westmount Independent (The Loves of Shakespeare's Women)
        • The Gazette (The Loves of Shakespeare's Women)
    • To the Green Fields Beyond >
      • To The Green Fields Beyond Press >
        • The Gazette (To The Green Fields Beyond)
        • The Mirror (To The Green Fields Beyond)
    • Prodigy >
      • Prodigy Press >
        • The Gazette (Prodigy)
        • La Press (Prodigy)
        • Le Délit (Prodigy)
        • Invisible Cities Network (Prodigy)
        • McGill Tribune (Prodigy)
        • The Surban (Prodigy)
        • The Mirror (Prodigy)
        • McGill Daily (Prodigy)
    • Spring Awakening >
      • Spring Awakening Press >
        • The Gazette (Spring Awakening)
        • Prince Chameleon Press (Spring Awakening)
        • Délit (Spring Awakening)
        • Mon Theatre (Spring Awakening)
    • A Room of One's Own >
      • A Room of One's Own Press >
        • CBC Radio One (A Room of One's Own)
        • The Gazette (A Room of One's Own)
        • The Westmount Examiner (A Room of One's Own)
        • The Canadian Jewish News (A Room of One's Own)
    • SubUrbia >
      • SubUrbia Press >
        • CBC Radio One(SubUrbia)
        • The Gazette (SubUrbia)
        • Montreal Mirror (SubUrbia)
        • HOUR (SubUrbia)
        • The Suburban (SubUrbia)
        • Westmount Times (SubUrbia)
        • The Canadian Jewish News (SubUrbia)
    • Jane Eyre >
      • Jane Eyre Press >
        • The Canadian Jewish News (Jane Eyre)
        • Orcasound (Jane Eyre)
    • West
    • Kindertransport >
      • Kindertransport Press >
        • The Gazette (Kindertransport)
        • Montreal Mirror (Kindertransport)
        • The Suburban (Kindertransport)
        • The Chronicle (Kindertransport)
    • Playhouse Creatures >
      • In The Press - Playhouse Creatures
    • Anna Karenina >
      • In The Press - Anna Karenina
  • Blog
  • Newsletter
  • Support
  • Contact
  • FR

CLOSE TO THE MADDING CROWD

by Byron Toben, October 24, The Charlebois Post 

Picture

Léa Berry, Lucas Chartier-Dessert and Jeremy Segal (photo credit: Rebecca Croll)









The energetic actors are a tribute to the theatre programs at Dawson and John Abbott...

By Byron Toben Far From the Madding Crowd, a wonderful theatrical version of Thomas Hardy's classic novel, is made truly intimate by the clever staging of this play. Thirteen actors playing twenty one roles in nineteenth century costume emote, sing and dance before - and throng through - the audience, reciting the heightened Victorian language of the day.

The lead role of Bathsheba, the beautiful headstrong heiress who takes over a rich farm is ably handled by Lea Berry, whose ballet training came in handy in a dream sequence.

Kudos to Gabrielle Soskin for the inspired direction by her and Christopher Moore, who also plays a small part…(Ooops! "There are no small parts, only small actors" quipped Stanislavsky) exceedingly well. The energetic actors are a tribute to the theatre programs at Dawson and John Abbott as almost all were recent grads. The two more mature actors in the group, Clive Brewer and Frayne McCarthy, stated in a post show Q & A that they fed off that energy. An audience member, a visiting lady from the Dorset region of England, where the events take place, confirmed that the actors had accurately nailed the accents.

One must not forget the author, Thomas Hardy, whose essence has been preserved in this adaptation by Mark Healy.

The lead role of Bathsheba, the beautiful headstrong heiress who takes over a rich farm is ably handled by Lea Berry, whose ballet training came in handy in a dream sequence. Her three suitors are finely delineated by Jeremy Segal as the stalwart shepherd, Gabriel, Ian Geldart as the rakish Sergeant Troy and Frayne McCarthy as the desperate rich neighbor. Lily Maclean, a rising star with a musical theatre background, gets a chance to be tragic here as Fanny, an abandoned pregnant lover.

Hardy served as an inspiration to D.H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf who also dealt with themes of class stratification and sensual repression in his sixteen published novels and myriad short stories and poems.

As we approach the annual Movember competition, male readers should check out Hardy's visage for a prize winning moustache model.

Persephone Productions Far From The Madding Crowd continues at the Rialto until October 26 and then moves to Victoria Hall from October 28-30. 

Persephone Productions Inc
93, Somerville Ave.,
Westmount, Que, H3Z 1J4

CONTACT
ABOUT