 |
A new play by Des Walsh Funded Under: The Sustaining Program for Professional Arts Organizations Dates: October 8th -18th, 2009 (no show Monday October 12)
About the show
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
| Daryl Avalon Hopkins as Vince, and Ruth Lawrence as Joan rehearse a scene from Rocking the Cradle. Photo by: Kristina Nicoll |
Rocking the Cradle is a new play by Des Walsh, directed by Richard Rose, Artistic Director of Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre.
The show features: Ruth Lawrence, Jane Dingle, Darryl Avalon Hopkins, Didi Gillard-Rowlings, Greg King, Monica Walsh and Kate Corbett. Assistant Direction by Kristina Nicoll and Stage Management by Elyse Summers.
Freely adapted from Lorca's Yerma (a word applied to the land meaning empty/barren/bare), Rocking the Cradle explores the character of Joan, played by Ruth Lawrence, and her desperate desire for motherhood in a troubled marriage. The play contrasts the physical and emotional emptiness of Joan with other vibrant relationships in the community. Rocking the Cradle is set in rural pre-moratorium Newfoundland during the 1960s and features many of the cast singing traditional ballads a cappella.
This is a co-production between the Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company (RCAT) and Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre. After its run in St. John’s, it will run at the Tarragon Theatre from November 11- December 13, 2009.
For ticket information in Toronto call: 416-531-1827 or email boxoffice@tarragontheatre.com
For the Tarragon Theatre website click here.
The NLAC touched base with RCAT Artistic Animateur Amy House, and playwright Des Walsh to find out more about this new work and the partnership with Tarragon Theatre.....
NLAC: Amy, we know Des won’t brag about his own work, so we’ll ask you this one: tell us about the show – what can we expect to see?
AH: This is a gripping story, told beautifully and sparsely in Des’s poetic style. It is remote outport Newfoundland pre-moratorium. Richard Rose has put together a dream team to realize this story, a proficient cast, and a very skilled design team. The show will be a visual smorgasbord. And it is heart wrenching; very moving. A universal story about isolation, desire, insatiable hunger, and how we choose to deal with such overwhelming emotions.
 |
|
| Playwright Des Walsh, director Richard Rose, and actor Ruth Lawrence |
NLAC: Tell us about this partnership with Tarragon – how did it come about?
AH: Richard had commissioned Des to adapt a Lorca play; Des chose Yerma. I believe Richard has an affinity for outport Newfoundland; I know he spent a summer in Trinity and he talked about the life there; the way the community is set, everyone can see everyone else’s house, their clothesline, their fish sheds, the wind,...we really have a different culture, and of course our sense of humor and song. I believe he wanted to capture that. He felt Des Walsh had what it would take. Then Richard asked if RCA Theatre would be interested in partnering on this project, and here we are. It’s a great partnership. We have been working closely with Tarragon, Richard and Camilla Holland, their General Manager, since last summer.
NLAC: This sounds like an exciting partnership - what does this mean for RCAT?
AH: One of my goals since taking this job is to get RCAT’s work out more, across the province, across the county and across the Atlantic eventually! This extends the life of the work we do, it is great for the artists and their work, and it is great for Newfoundland and Labrador.
NLAC: Des, what is the play about?
DW: The play revolves around a central character, Joan, a married women struggling with her life in a small isolated outport in Newfoundland during the 1960s. We live with her anxiety and watch her world become increasingly more frustrating and lonely.
 |
|
| Amy House, Artistic Animateur, Resource Centre for the Arts Theatre Company |
NLAC: This is an adaptation of the play Yerma by Spanish poet and dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca, tell us a bit about Yerma and how you approached the adaptation.
DW: Lorca’s Yerma is set in the region of Andalusia in Spain, an area with very remote villages in Lorca’s time, even some of them still quite remote, an area where Spanish culture is documented through ballads and music. It seemed a natural leap to me, the similarities were close enough for me to lock onto something, Newfoundland being a landscape that’s both unique and lyrical.
NLAC: Was this an enjoyable and satisfying process for you?
DW: Very much so...with all its challenges. An adaptation is a unique nightmare all by itself, but when you find the path and you feel comfortable where you’ll eventually emerge from, it’s very satisfying. You have to create your own piece of work with an adaptation, have your own voice heard, but there’s no GPS or any other tool for this or any other form of writing. You just hope some inspiration will find you and lead you out of the thickets.
NLAC: As Amy said, there is a great team in place for this production – as a writer, what’s it like to ‘let go’ at this stage?
DW: I’m very happy to let go, my work is done, and with the team that’s working on this project, I have every confidence in them. I’ve worked with the director Richard Rose before and I’ve great respect for him. The cast and technical crew are extremely professional and dedicated...it’s been an enjoyable journey.
c. 2008 Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council
All rights reserved.
