by Vern Thiessen
Thou Art Here Theatre | Historic 1886 Edmonton Cemetery | September 2018
Shakespeare’s Will provides a voice to one of the most silent characters in literary history and asks: How will you be remembered? Shedding light on the unexplored life of Hathaway by looking through the eyes and heart of a woman who spent a lifetime with-and without- the great poet. Dance, music, and theatre merge in an interdisciplinary play set for the first time in the historic 1886 Edmonton Cemetery. Shakespeare’s Will celebrates a life unbowed by tragedy and unapologetic in the face of public scorn.
CAST & CREATIVE TEAM
Anne Hathaway: Kristi Hansen
Anne Hathaway: Ainsley Hillyard
Anne Hathaway: Madelaine Knight
Anne Hathaway: Kristen Padayas
Anne Hathaway: Rebecca Sadowski
Director: Andrew Ritchie
Playwright: Vern Thiessen
Choreographer: Gianna Vacirca
Musical Director & Composer: Erik Mortimer
Production Designer: Sarah Karpyshin
Stage Manager: Millie Winzinowich
Assistant Producer: Candice Stollery
Movement Captain: Ainsley Hillyard
Vocal Captain: Madelaine Knight
Promotions Designer: Tynan Boyd
AWARDS
Nominated for Outstanding Musical Direction (Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards)
SUPPORT
This project is supported by the Edmonton Arts Council and the City of Edmonton.
SELECTED PRESS
“Ritchie’s direction, and Gianna Vacirca’s choreography, are admirably inventive…in the artful roving production… five vivid, lively actors share the role of Anne. And they do it up close, looking you in the eye, engaging your responses. And the multiple presence seems somehow to give the character more heft, more dimensionality, more ownership of a play.” – Liz Nicholls, 12th Night (Read the full review here)
“A lot of our venues have been heritage sites, So it’s thinking about places people don’t use very often or don’t go to, and finding ways to activate it, and get people engaged in it. For this one, I walked by cemeteries all the time and they kind of scare me. I loved walking by them in the middle of the night and I thought ‘Can a show happen in a cemetery?” – Tamanna Khurana, Vue Weekly (Read the full preview here)
“It’s[the graveyard] “a reverent place” where the irreverence of the play — with its talk of sex, lovers, infidelity, secrets – can shine. “Since it’s a play about giving voice to a woman, I think we can give more universality and more colour to that voice if there are more people playing her,” – Liz Nicholls, 12th Night (Read the full preview here)
“Together, the actors each bring their own experience and aesthetic to the role, forming a sort of Greek chorus that brings a depth of dimension to the character. Andrew says, “They’re all finding themselves in the character and vice versa and so the play will find more universality as more people can see themselves in the character.” – Jenna Marynowski, After the House Lights (Read the full preview here)
“it is our responsibility to create more opportunities for under-represented communities in our company and our productions” – Edmonton Arts Council Blog (Read the entire preview here)