Much Ado About Nothing June 4, 2008

DreamNorth Theatre Company presents
William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
Directed by Craig Walker

Toronto, ON … Sigh no more! The lyrics of this song sung by Balthasar serve to remind us of the conflicting views on love held by men and women. What better pair to illustrate this than the sparring duo of Beatrice and Benedick, one of Shakespeare’s most famous romantic couples?

Following a successful inaugural run of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Whitehorse last season, DreamNorth Theatre Company is pleased to announce its second outdoor production, one of Shakespeare’s most enduring and compelling comedies, Much Ado About Nothing. Following a month of rehearsal in Toronto, the production will run at Toronto’s Historic Fort York, June 4-8 before embarking on its tour to the Yukon Territory – in time for Summer Solstice – where it will run June 13-21 at Whitehorse’s LePage Park. The group of ten professional actors is delighted to perform this play with two very different and wonderful backdrops, in two very different parts of this country.

Like Dream, Much Ado takes place almost entirely outdoors, in Messina, a costal settlement in Sicily. The play was first performed sometime between 1598-1599, and its plot centres around a pair of lovers: the young, and conventional lovers, Hero and Claudio; and the slightly more unlikely match of the pertinacious Beatrice and Benedick. Trouble arrives in the form of Don Pedro’s nefarious bastard brother, Don John, who concocts a plot of deception, and Truth and Beauty are re-examined. With original music as its score, DreamNorth’s production is set during the first quarter of the Eighteenth Century in Canada, with Don Pedro, Benedick, Claudio, and Don John returning from battle in the War of 1812. The production’s Toronto run will make full use of its historic surroundings.

Directed by Craig Walker (Queen’s University, St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Kingston), the cast includes Paula Schultz as Beatrice / Verges, Phil Borg as Benedick / Dogberry, Laura Duralija as Hero / Sexton, Scott Parish as Claudio, Karl Ang as Leonato, Andrew Chandler as Don Pedro, Amber Mills as Antonia / Don John, Daniel Krolik as Borachio / Friar Francis, Sarah Spencer as Margaret / Balthasar, and Jennifer McNaughton as Ursula / Conrade.

Alongside Craig Walker is a seasoned artistic team that includes Robin Urquhart as General Manager, Laura Duralija as Artistic Producer, Kate Hodgert and Aaron Stern as Associate Producers, and Stacey Norton as Production / Stage Manager. The company is also pleased to have a talented production crew, which includes Jay Goodman as Technical Director, Kate Hodgert as Choreographer, Adrian Marchuk as Music Director and Composer, and Nancy Rocca and Annie Fraser as Designers.

We hope that you can join us this year at the Fort!

Details
Show Dates: Toronto Dates:
June 4, 5, 7, 8 @ 7pm; June 7, 8 @ 2pm, with Q&A
*On site BBQ one hour prior to each performance

Whitehorse Dates:

June 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 @ 7pm; June 21 @ 2pm (Lepage Park)

Please Note that Mondays are Dark Days (no shows).

Tickets: $15 Adults / $10 Students & Seniors; General Seating

Directions: Historic Fort York, 100 Garrison Rd. (off Fleet Street, East of Strachan Avenue, West of Bathurst Street). Please note that this is an outdoor production. Some chairs will be provided; blankets and pillows will not.

Rain Policy: Cancellations will be decided based upon weather conditions 15 minutes prior to performance.

Official Website: http://dreamnorth.ca