Age Of Arousal by Linda Griffiths
Wildly inspired by The Odd Women by George Gissing
The Gladstone Theatre - February 7-22 (preview February 6)
Age of Arousal
by Linda Griffiths
Wildly inspired by The Odd Women by George Gissing
Age Of Arousal played
at The Gladstone Theatre
February 7–22 (preview February 6)
Director: Diana Fajrajsl
Stage Manager: Mary Davidson
Featuring: Eleanor Crowder, Rachel Eugster, Lisa Jeans, Anna Lewis, Margo MacDonald and Tim Oberholzer
Sound Design: Diana Fajrasl & Rachel Eugster
Lighting Design:David Magladry
Costume Design: Patrice-Ann Forbes
Wig, Hair and Makeup: Annie Lefevbre
Scenic Painter: Lynn Cox
It’s 1885: a time of great passion, great confusion. In filthy, smoggy, turbulent London, ex-militant suffragette Mary Barfoot runs a school for secretaries with her lover and protégé Rhoda. The school’s invasion by a trio of spinster sisters and a charismatic cad named Everard creates a catalyst for political, sexual, and emotional revolution, as each character confronts their own ideals and learns what it means to be a New Woman—or a New Man. Sexy, startling, and imaginative, Age of Arousal is a modern look at forbidden Victorian desires on the brink of explosion.
Award-winning playwright Linda Griffiths is one of Canada’s originals. Her genre-busting, rule-bending, and ambitiously original script for Age of Arousal won a Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding New Play following its debut at Alberta Theatre Project’s PlayRites Festival. With its cast of beautiful and complicated characters, Age of Arousal is sometimes wistfully sad, and sometimes laugh-out-loud hilarious.
Ottawa native Diana Fajrajsl, Capital Critic’s Circle Award nominee for Shadows and director of Odyssey Theatre’s The Illusion and Bungsu and the Big Snake, directs. The ensemble cast features Eleanor Crowder, known for her interpretation of Shakespeare (As You Like It) and freshly home from a cross-country tour of her new play, Momma's Boy; Margo MacDonald (winner or nominee of multiple Les Prix Rideau and Capital Critic’s Circle awards, who recently appeared in Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) at the GCTC); Rachel Eugster (The Comedy of Errors, The Walk); Anna Lewis (Agnes of God, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore); Tim Oberholzer (Ethan Claymore, Taming of the Shrew); and the now Edmonton-based Lisa Jeans (Les Prix Rideau Awards nominee, The Ventriloquist). Age of Arousal features lighting by David Magladry; set by Anna Lewis; costumes by Patrice-Ann Forbes; wigs, hair, and specialty make-up by Annie Lefebvre; and sound design by Diana Fajrajsl and Rachel Eugster, and is stage managed by Jane Osborn/Mary Davidson.
Performance Details:
February 7–22, 2014 (with a special preview performance on February 6)
Tuesday–Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m.
Adult: $34 / Senior (65+): $30 / Student/Artist/Unwaged: $20 / Preview (all): $18
Box Office: 613-233-4523 / [email protected] / www.thegladstone.ca
910 Gladstone Ave. Ottawa ON K1R 6Y4
by Linda Griffiths
Wildly inspired by The Odd Women by George Gissing
Age Of Arousal played
at The Gladstone Theatre
February 7–22 (preview February 6)
Director: Diana Fajrajsl
Stage Manager: Mary Davidson
Featuring: Eleanor Crowder, Rachel Eugster, Lisa Jeans, Anna Lewis, Margo MacDonald and Tim Oberholzer
Sound Design: Diana Fajrasl & Rachel Eugster
Lighting Design:David Magladry
Costume Design: Patrice-Ann Forbes
Wig, Hair and Makeup: Annie Lefevbre
Scenic Painter: Lynn Cox
It’s 1885: a time of great passion, great confusion. In filthy, smoggy, turbulent London, ex-militant suffragette Mary Barfoot runs a school for secretaries with her lover and protégé Rhoda. The school’s invasion by a trio of spinster sisters and a charismatic cad named Everard creates a catalyst for political, sexual, and emotional revolution, as each character confronts their own ideals and learns what it means to be a New Woman—or a New Man. Sexy, startling, and imaginative, Age of Arousal is a modern look at forbidden Victorian desires on the brink of explosion.
Award-winning playwright Linda Griffiths is one of Canada’s originals. Her genre-busting, rule-bending, and ambitiously original script for Age of Arousal won a Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding New Play following its debut at Alberta Theatre Project’s PlayRites Festival. With its cast of beautiful and complicated characters, Age of Arousal is sometimes wistfully sad, and sometimes laugh-out-loud hilarious.
Ottawa native Diana Fajrajsl, Capital Critic’s Circle Award nominee for Shadows and director of Odyssey Theatre’s The Illusion and Bungsu and the Big Snake, directs. The ensemble cast features Eleanor Crowder, known for her interpretation of Shakespeare (As You Like It) and freshly home from a cross-country tour of her new play, Momma's Boy; Margo MacDonald (winner or nominee of multiple Les Prix Rideau and Capital Critic’s Circle awards, who recently appeared in Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) at the GCTC); Rachel Eugster (The Comedy of Errors, The Walk); Anna Lewis (Agnes of God, ‘Tis Pity She’s a Whore); Tim Oberholzer (Ethan Claymore, Taming of the Shrew); and the now Edmonton-based Lisa Jeans (Les Prix Rideau Awards nominee, The Ventriloquist). Age of Arousal features lighting by David Magladry; set by Anna Lewis; costumes by Patrice-Ann Forbes; wigs, hair, and specialty make-up by Annie Lefebvre; and sound design by Diana Fajrajsl and Rachel Eugster, and is stage managed by Jane Osborn/Mary Davidson.
Performance Details:
February 7–22, 2014 (with a special preview performance on February 6)
Tuesday–Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m.
Adult: $34 / Senior (65+): $30 / Student/Artist/Unwaged: $20 / Preview (all): $18
Box Office: 613-233-4523 / [email protected] / www.thegladstone.ca
910 Gladstone Ave. Ottawa ON K1R 6Y4
This is a Canadian Actors' Equity Association Production under the Artists' Collective Policy.
Production Photos
The Reviews
Age of Arousal charms with finesse and good humour
Patrick Langston, The Ottawa Citizen
Linda Griffths’ journey into the late-nineteenth century maelstrom of sexual liberation and female emancipation — or at least the valiant attempt at those things — gets a vigorous and funny workout in this production by Bear & Co
Mary Barfoot (Eleanor Crowder) is a cynical middle-aged ex-suffragette who’s had the biscuit with going to prison for her feminist beliefs. Born to dominate and with a flair for hypocrisy, she runs a secretarial school with her young lover Rhoda Nunn (Lisa Jeans).
Into their school wander the three impoverished Madden sisters: the young, attractive Monica (Anna Lewis), who’s swept up in the wonder of her discovering own sexuality, the dipsomaniacal and gender-confused Virginia (Margo MacDonald), and Alice (Rachel Eugster) who’s fearful and old before her time.
Also on board is Mary’s nephew Everard Barfoot (Tim Oberholzer). He’s a randy lad who’s the lover of both Monica and Rhoda. He’s also a self-styled man of science (“Childbirth has been known to cure many diseases,” he declares at one point).
Griffiths, whose play is a loose adaptation of George Gissing’s 1893 book The Odd Women, inserts each of her characters into situations ripe with the opportunity for personal epiphany.
She gives them asides like those thought balloons in cartoons in which they express thoughts at radical variance with their words — a clever way of getting at not just hypocritical Victorian attitudes toward sex but also the two-timing that’s endemic to human nature (the play is set in the 1890s, but strip that away and you’re left with a bunch of people who could just as easily be living in 2014).
And Griffith does in one case allow a character to truly liberate herself from the prison of societal norms.
Under director Diana Fajrajsl, the production is slow to gain traction (something that may improve as the run continues) and occasionally runs low on steam. As well, Jeans too often turns shrill, and we lose what she says.
But those are quibbles about an ensemble production that overall scores its points with finesse and good humour.
Review: Age Of Arousal
Valerie Cardinal, Onstage Ottawa
Age of Arousal is based around the theme of technology as a liberator for women. In 1885, it was the typewriter. Before that, it was the spinning wheel. Today, it’s the age of computers. This connection is what makes Age of Arousal so timeless and resonant to a modern audience. It helps that an interesting theme is surrounded by excellent source material and near-perfect execution.
Age of Arousal centers around Mary, a former activist turned teacher, and her younger lover Rhoda, who run a school for secretaries. They take in the three Madden sisters as their students; Alice, a committed spinster, Victoria, a nervous drunk and Monica, a young woman bursting at the seams with sexuality. Complicating things even further is Everard Barfoot, a man re-establishing his way of thinking about women.
Linda Griffiths’ script has a Shakespeare-like lyrical and rhythmic quality that is very pleasing to the ear. The characters often speak directly to the audience, a neat device that allows us deeper into their minds. It’s also very fitting for an era known for its combination of sexual repression and social courtesy. The text is witty, smartly written and completely engrossing. I didn’t even want to leave for a 15-minute intermission!
This production features excellent performances from a terrifically talented cast. There’s an easy chemistry between Eleanor Crowder’s Mary and Rhoda, played by Lisa Jeans. Rachel Eugster, Anna Lewis and Tim Oberholzer also deserve a mention for their commitment to their characters. The highlight is Margo MacDonald’s Virginia. While all characters undergo tremendous changes, she goes through the most radical and ultimately the most compelling. At first, Virginia is comic relief, a neurotic drunk who wants to be so much more than her family thinks she can be. By the end of the show, she’s empowered, and her transformation left me breathless.
Patrice-Ann Forbes’ costumes are well chosen; Rhoda and Mary wear slightly masculine dresses while the Maddens are all in frills. In the second act, it’s clear which of them have embraced their new lifestyle based on costume changes alone. Diana Fajrajsl’s direction keeps the focus squarely where it should be, on the script and the performers.
Age of Arousal is thought provoking, discussion-starting, sexy, witty and entertaining. Combine an engaging script, strong performances from a talented cast, great staging and fantastic costuming and you have the best production I’ve seen so far this year. It’s a must-see if you’re a feminist, a fan of Victorian England or just a lover of smart theatre.
Age of Arousal centers around Mary, a former activist turned teacher, and her younger lover Rhoda, who run a school for secretaries. They take in the three Madden sisters as their students; Alice, a committed spinster, Victoria, a nervous drunk and Monica, a young woman bursting at the seams with sexuality. Complicating things even further is Everard Barfoot, a man re-establishing his way of thinking about women.
Linda Griffiths’ script has a Shakespeare-like lyrical and rhythmic quality that is very pleasing to the ear. The characters often speak directly to the audience, a neat device that allows us deeper into their minds. It’s also very fitting for an era known for its combination of sexual repression and social courtesy. The text is witty, smartly written and completely engrossing. I didn’t even want to leave for a 15-minute intermission!
This production features excellent performances from a terrifically talented cast. There’s an easy chemistry between Eleanor Crowder’s Mary and Rhoda, played by Lisa Jeans. Rachel Eugster, Anna Lewis and Tim Oberholzer also deserve a mention for their commitment to their characters. The highlight is Margo MacDonald’s Virginia. While all characters undergo tremendous changes, she goes through the most radical and ultimately the most compelling. At first, Virginia is comic relief, a neurotic drunk who wants to be so much more than her family thinks she can be. By the end of the show, she’s empowered, and her transformation left me breathless.
Patrice-Ann Forbes’ costumes are well chosen; Rhoda and Mary wear slightly masculine dresses while the Maddens are all in frills. In the second act, it’s clear which of them have embraced their new lifestyle based on costume changes alone. Diana Fajrajsl’s direction keeps the focus squarely where it should be, on the script and the performers.
Age of Arousal is thought provoking, discussion-starting, sexy, witty and entertaining. Combine an engaging script, strong performances from a talented cast, great staging and fantastic costuming and you have the best production I’ve seen so far this year. It’s a must-see if you’re a feminist, a fan of Victorian England or just a lover of smart theatre.
In Praise Of Odder Women
Kevin Reid, The Visitorium
“But what if a woman WANTS to be a sex slave..?”
You know, I’m not sure I could have thought up a better way to ignore the Sochi Olympics (fun visitor fact: I have ZERO Olympic Spirit!) than to be sitting in a nice crowded theatre on the day of the opening ceremonies. I know it did MY spirit a world of good, and not just because it was a terrific goddamn show. But I’m getting ahead of myself…I usually yammer for a spell before telling you how much I liked a thing, don’t I?
Got to the Gladstone with classmate Kathryn, hot on the heels of the previous days THIS IS WAR premiere, to hobnob with yet another opening night crowd (oh, the glamour of my life, people, the GLAMOUR!). Mostly I was just happy to see bargal Ketra back behind the wood, but also intrigued to see the latest from local Gladstone regulars Bear and Company, last seen visiting Ottawa parks this past summer (remember summer?!?) with their great cowboy adaptation of A COMEDY OF ERRORS. This time around they went with a modern play about the past, Linda Griffiths’ AGE OF AROUSAL, a tale ‘wildly inspired’ George Gissing’s 1893 novel THE ODD WOMEN.. Set in the late 1800′s, the story centers around aging amazon Mary Barfoot (Eleanor Crowder), a rabble-rousing suffragette fresh out of a stint in prison and fighting off bad nightmares. Together with her lover Rhoda (Lisa Jeans), she’s opened up a secretarial school for women, opting to try and gain women their independence through financial means. It all seems to be going well enough, if a little tame for feisty Mary, until the arrival of three sisters into their midst. Spinsters (not ‘old maids’, thank you very much) Alice and Virginia (Rachel Eugster and Margo MacDonald), two untrained ladies left adrift after the death of their Father, and watching over their pretty little thing of a younger sister, Monica (Anna Lewis). They are brought in and entered into the school, despite their intimidation at the modern metallic machines that are the Remington typewriters. Into this already volatile mix comes Mary’s cousin Everard (Tim Oberholzer), a former doctor trying to balance his intellectual respect for ‘new women’ with his obviously raging desire for, well, just about all of them.
“Oh, I’d like to pet HER pussycat…”
Everyone’s lives go a little soap opera-esque in short order, with characters switching partners, getting drunk, challenging their views, cross-dressing, and just generally pushing the Hell out of the turn-of-the-century envelope. It’s an exciting and very funny look at the proto-feminist movement of that time, when they figured everything would be equal and settled by, say, 1915 at the latest. So great to see a play with five vibrant and very different ladies rocking the stage, and make no mistake this is an ensemble to be reckoned with. Eleanor Crowder’s Mary is regal and imposing, and Lisa Jeans’ Rhoda counters her with a vigorous intellectual fire that’s hard to resist. I was mighty proud to see my recent voice teacher Rachel Eugster getting laughs out of the audience at will as nervous, wilting Alice. And Margo MacDonald undergoes a splendid transformation in the course of the show, from almost madcap comic to, well, something entirely other (she looks positively faboo after her trip to Berlin, I will say). And Anna Lewis charms effortlessly as Monica, alternately shrinking violet and roaring temptress. I almost pity Tim Oberholzer on that stage…almost.
Diana Fajrajsl’s direction is cool and fluid, reuniting her with Margo from their legendary Fringe show SHADOWS a few years back.. She makes good use of her stellar cast and killer dialogue, with able assist from lighting guru David Magladry and sweet costumes and accoutrement from Patrice Ann Forbes and Annie Lefebvre. This a smooth, sexy show, both honouring the dawn of modern feminism as well as acknowledging what a paradigm-busting struggle it was for those on the frontlines. Gladstone’s two for two in 2014 (and Jayson McDonald’s UNDERBELLY is up next, which will make it a triple-play, guaranteed), and I couldn’t be happier about it. Get on down and watch the ladies do their thing, folks, you’ll be glad you did. Peace, love and Soul.
You know, I’m not sure I could have thought up a better way to ignore the Sochi Olympics (fun visitor fact: I have ZERO Olympic Spirit!) than to be sitting in a nice crowded theatre on the day of the opening ceremonies. I know it did MY spirit a world of good, and not just because it was a terrific goddamn show. But I’m getting ahead of myself…I usually yammer for a spell before telling you how much I liked a thing, don’t I?
Got to the Gladstone with classmate Kathryn, hot on the heels of the previous days THIS IS WAR premiere, to hobnob with yet another opening night crowd (oh, the glamour of my life, people, the GLAMOUR!). Mostly I was just happy to see bargal Ketra back behind the wood, but also intrigued to see the latest from local Gladstone regulars Bear and Company, last seen visiting Ottawa parks this past summer (remember summer?!?) with their great cowboy adaptation of A COMEDY OF ERRORS. This time around they went with a modern play about the past, Linda Griffiths’ AGE OF AROUSAL, a tale ‘wildly inspired’ George Gissing’s 1893 novel THE ODD WOMEN.. Set in the late 1800′s, the story centers around aging amazon Mary Barfoot (Eleanor Crowder), a rabble-rousing suffragette fresh out of a stint in prison and fighting off bad nightmares. Together with her lover Rhoda (Lisa Jeans), she’s opened up a secretarial school for women, opting to try and gain women their independence through financial means. It all seems to be going well enough, if a little tame for feisty Mary, until the arrival of three sisters into their midst. Spinsters (not ‘old maids’, thank you very much) Alice and Virginia (Rachel Eugster and Margo MacDonald), two untrained ladies left adrift after the death of their Father, and watching over their pretty little thing of a younger sister, Monica (Anna Lewis). They are brought in and entered into the school, despite their intimidation at the modern metallic machines that are the Remington typewriters. Into this already volatile mix comes Mary’s cousin Everard (Tim Oberholzer), a former doctor trying to balance his intellectual respect for ‘new women’ with his obviously raging desire for, well, just about all of them.
“Oh, I’d like to pet HER pussycat…”
Everyone’s lives go a little soap opera-esque in short order, with characters switching partners, getting drunk, challenging their views, cross-dressing, and just generally pushing the Hell out of the turn-of-the-century envelope. It’s an exciting and very funny look at the proto-feminist movement of that time, when they figured everything would be equal and settled by, say, 1915 at the latest. So great to see a play with five vibrant and very different ladies rocking the stage, and make no mistake this is an ensemble to be reckoned with. Eleanor Crowder’s Mary is regal and imposing, and Lisa Jeans’ Rhoda counters her with a vigorous intellectual fire that’s hard to resist. I was mighty proud to see my recent voice teacher Rachel Eugster getting laughs out of the audience at will as nervous, wilting Alice. And Margo MacDonald undergoes a splendid transformation in the course of the show, from almost madcap comic to, well, something entirely other (she looks positively faboo after her trip to Berlin, I will say). And Anna Lewis charms effortlessly as Monica, alternately shrinking violet and roaring temptress. I almost pity Tim Oberholzer on that stage…almost.
Diana Fajrajsl’s direction is cool and fluid, reuniting her with Margo from their legendary Fringe show SHADOWS a few years back.. She makes good use of her stellar cast and killer dialogue, with able assist from lighting guru David Magladry and sweet costumes and accoutrement from Patrice Ann Forbes and Annie Lefebvre. This a smooth, sexy show, both honouring the dawn of modern feminism as well as acknowledging what a paradigm-busting struggle it was for those on the frontlines. Gladstone’s two for two in 2014 (and Jayson McDonald’s UNDERBELLY is up next, which will make it a triple-play, guaranteed), and I couldn’t be happier about it. Get on down and watch the ladies do their thing, folks, you’ll be glad you did. Peace, love and Soul.
Get Hot To Trot with Age Of Arousal at The Gladstone
Ottawa Life Magazine, Alessandra Gerebizza
For Valentine’s Day this year, take a step back in time to 1885 and catch the incredible show, Age of Arousal, by Linda Griffiths, currently playing at the Gladstone.
There is a lot going on this play. For starters, the script is absolutely brilliant. It is eloquent, provocative, beautifully and cleverly written with lots of humour and wit. The content itself delves into a variety of Victorian era issues. Inspired in part on The Odd Women by George Gissing, there are the 19th century sexual politics you would expect, (with battles still being fought today), challenged repressive morality and social norms, the glories of sexual awakening not to mention the dreams, aspirations and challenges of women of various ages. Griffiths has been absolutely genius in weaving it all together using a variety of narrative techniques, including the sharing of the characters’ inner thoughts with the audience.
The story revolves around five women and one man. Of the women, two are trailblazers in terms of the feminist movement, one at the sunset of her career (Mary) and the other her uptight, humourless lover/protégé (Rhoda) who struggles with her sexual politics and her own sexuality. The two run a school to teach women how to type. Rhoda bumps into a childhood acquaintance who has two sisters. The three of them, almost destitute after the death of their father, enter the school for secretaries, without any real desire to learn how to be a secretary. Two are repressed older single women (Alice and Virginia) while their younger sister (Monica) has embraced her sexuality. One man, Mary’s cousin, Everard, provides the humour and the anatomy to stir things up.
There are interesting twists in the plot to keep everyone (including the boys) entertained. The acting in this play, without exception, is superb. It is not the easiest of scripts, given the incredible but complex language, but the cast successfully makes the play flow effortlessly. Each actor captures the essence of her/his character and pulls it off with ease.
Even the set is fabulous as are the costumes, right down to the symbolic corset on uptight Rhoda.
Age of Arousal is a true theatrical treat that pleases the mind and eye, entertaining you from beginning to end.
It runs until February 22 at the Gladstone. www.thegladstone.ca
There is a lot going on this play. For starters, the script is absolutely brilliant. It is eloquent, provocative, beautifully and cleverly written with lots of humour and wit. The content itself delves into a variety of Victorian era issues. Inspired in part on The Odd Women by George Gissing, there are the 19th century sexual politics you would expect, (with battles still being fought today), challenged repressive morality and social norms, the glories of sexual awakening not to mention the dreams, aspirations and challenges of women of various ages. Griffiths has been absolutely genius in weaving it all together using a variety of narrative techniques, including the sharing of the characters’ inner thoughts with the audience.
The story revolves around five women and one man. Of the women, two are trailblazers in terms of the feminist movement, one at the sunset of her career (Mary) and the other her uptight, humourless lover/protégé (Rhoda) who struggles with her sexual politics and her own sexuality. The two run a school to teach women how to type. Rhoda bumps into a childhood acquaintance who has two sisters. The three of them, almost destitute after the death of their father, enter the school for secretaries, without any real desire to learn how to be a secretary. Two are repressed older single women (Alice and Virginia) while their younger sister (Monica) has embraced her sexuality. One man, Mary’s cousin, Everard, provides the humour and the anatomy to stir things up.
There are interesting twists in the plot to keep everyone (including the boys) entertained. The acting in this play, without exception, is superb. It is not the easiest of scripts, given the incredible but complex language, but the cast successfully makes the play flow effortlessly. Each actor captures the essence of her/his character and pulls it off with ease.
Even the set is fabulous as are the costumes, right down to the symbolic corset on uptight Rhoda.
Age of Arousal is a true theatrical treat that pleases the mind and eye, entertaining you from beginning to end.
It runs until February 22 at the Gladstone. www.thegladstone.ca
Seduction Of Heart and Mind
The Charlebois Post, Sonia Blanchette
Linda Griffiths' Age of Arousal begins with Rhoda Nunn (Lisa Jeans) brushing Mary's hair. Mary Barfoot (Eleanor Crowder) has just had a terrible nightmare and shares some of the ordeals she endured as a radical militant in women's movements. They operate a female-only school teaching secretarial skills but it is made clear from the start that far more awaits when the Madden sisters are introduced. There is a level of apprehension, bewilderment and maybe even a glimpse of curious excitement when Virginia (Margo MacDonald), Alice (Rachel Eugster) and Monica (Anna Lewis) are tempted with promises of independence and self-sufficiency. Mary is a stern and stubborn woman who will have it no other way, yet you can definitely detect that Rhoda is the pearl in her eyes and a profound tenderness exists there.
When three Remington typewriters are unveiled, they are extremely effective on the set, on the verge of intimidating. Their shiny cold steel and presence alone emote an almost futuristic quality. They make a particular impression on the sisters, more so on Alice who soon discovers how liberating and invigorating the keystrokes will become... almost to ecstatic abandon. Has a sense of purpose and true happiness finally engulfed her? And possibly the others?
I was especially enamoured and admittedly feverishly bothered by Everard Barfoot (Tim Oberholzer) who comes off as debonair and cavalier at the onset. He is a 19th century bad boy. Well travelled and educated, he exudes confidence, arrogance and a healthy measure of sexual prowess. He is oftentimes required to rein in his primal urges in the presence of women. When cousin Mary invites him to visit the school, he meets Rhoda and a connection is imminent. He is deeply enchanted by her 'intelligent unhappiness' and a non-traditional relationship flourishes. The suggestion and definition of a 'free union' will be exposed and subsequently revealed.
Playwright Linda Griffiths' vision shows us through various trials and tribulations the women face a plethora of emotional obstacles. Like most, they have all at one point or another questioned their values and beliefs and what ultimately defines and burdens them.
The appearance of a sudden last minute character brings a much needed reality of unity and vulnerability and a deep sense that past conflicts are momentarily forgiven, if not forgotten. There was a true feeling of peace that gripped us all - characters and audience alike.
Age of Arousal isn't really about women finally giving a voice to their silenced erotic desire or sexual shortcomings, but rather about making freedom of expression, independence, gender equality and/or sexual preference, an acceptable and a very much needed social requirement.
As a footnote, the overlaps of dialogue, movement and inner reflection make it somewhat tricky to fully capture the essence and nuances of each and every one of these characters. Any theatre enthusiast would benefit from and equally enjoy seeing this play again.
When three Remington typewriters are unveiled, they are extremely effective on the set, on the verge of intimidating. Their shiny cold steel and presence alone emote an almost futuristic quality. They make a particular impression on the sisters, more so on Alice who soon discovers how liberating and invigorating the keystrokes will become... almost to ecstatic abandon. Has a sense of purpose and true happiness finally engulfed her? And possibly the others?
I was especially enamoured and admittedly feverishly bothered by Everard Barfoot (Tim Oberholzer) who comes off as debonair and cavalier at the onset. He is a 19th century bad boy. Well travelled and educated, he exudes confidence, arrogance and a healthy measure of sexual prowess. He is oftentimes required to rein in his primal urges in the presence of women. When cousin Mary invites him to visit the school, he meets Rhoda and a connection is imminent. He is deeply enchanted by her 'intelligent unhappiness' and a non-traditional relationship flourishes. The suggestion and definition of a 'free union' will be exposed and subsequently revealed.
Playwright Linda Griffiths' vision shows us through various trials and tribulations the women face a plethora of emotional obstacles. Like most, they have all at one point or another questioned their values and beliefs and what ultimately defines and burdens them.
The appearance of a sudden last minute character brings a much needed reality of unity and vulnerability and a deep sense that past conflicts are momentarily forgiven, if not forgotten. There was a true feeling of peace that gripped us all - characters and audience alike.
Age of Arousal isn't really about women finally giving a voice to their silenced erotic desire or sexual shortcomings, but rather about making freedom of expression, independence, gender equality and/or sexual preference, an acceptable and a very much needed social requirement.
As a footnote, the overlaps of dialogue, movement and inner reflection make it somewhat tricky to fully capture the essence and nuances of each and every one of these characters. Any theatre enthusiast would benefit from and equally enjoy seeing this play again.
The Team
Linda Griffiths—Playwright
As playwright and actor, Griffiths is the winner of five Dora Mavor Moore Awards, a Gemini Award, two Chalmer's Awards, the Quizanne International Festival Award for Jessica, and Los Angeles' A.G.A. Award for her performance in John Sayles's film Liana. She has twice been nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award (The Darling Family, 1992; Alien Creature, 2000). She is best known for writing and performing a triple role in the play Maggie & Pierre in which she played Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Trudeau, and a journalist called Henry. Since then, she has continued to create unique, highly theatrical plays that are magical, literate, and popular. Her plays include Alien Creature: a visitation from Gwendolyn MacEwen, The Darling Family, and The Duchess: a.k.a. Wallis Simpson. She co-authored The Book of Jessica with native author and activist Maria Campbell, creating a new hybrid of theatre book that fused a play of the same title with the personal and political process of its creation. An anthology of her work, Sheer Nerve: Seven Plays by Linda Griffiths, was published in 1999. She is an adjunct professor to the University of Toronto's Masters Program in Creative Writing.
As playwright and actor, Griffiths is the winner of five Dora Mavor Moore Awards, a Gemini Award, two Chalmer's Awards, the Quizanne International Festival Award for Jessica, and Los Angeles' A.G.A. Award for her performance in John Sayles's film Liana. She has twice been nominated for the Governor General's Literary Award (The Darling Family, 1992; Alien Creature, 2000). She is best known for writing and performing a triple role in the play Maggie & Pierre in which she played Pierre Trudeau, Margaret Trudeau, and a journalist called Henry. Since then, she has continued to create unique, highly theatrical plays that are magical, literate, and popular. Her plays include Alien Creature: a visitation from Gwendolyn MacEwen, The Darling Family, and The Duchess: a.k.a. Wallis Simpson. She co-authored The Book of Jessica with native author and activist Maria Campbell, creating a new hybrid of theatre book that fused a play of the same title with the personal and political process of its creation. An anthology of her work, Sheer Nerve: Seven Plays by Linda Griffiths, was published in 1999. She is an adjunct professor to the University of Toronto's Masters Program in Creative Writing.
Diana Fajrajsl—Director and Sound Designer
Montrealer Diana Fajrajsl has spent more than 35 years in Canadian theatre as an actor, director, and teacher. She has played in more than 120 professional productions across Canada, and appeared in first productions of plays by Ann-Marie MacDonald, Norm Foster, Michael MacKenzie, and Banuta Rubess, to name a few. In 1991, she portrayed the infamous Canadian historical figure Gerda Munsinger in the film Gerda. In 1995, she began a parallel directing career. She has collaborated with playwright and actor Carolyn Guillet, directing 17 Anonymous Women and dramaturging Plucked, Hammered and Strung, both for Infinitheatre in Montreal. She has taught and directed at the National Theatre School of Canada since 1996 and has been a guest director and instructor at several universities, including Bishop’s, Concordia, and McGill. Well known to Ottawa audiences as both an actor and a director, Fajrajsl has appeared as an actor in Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (GCTC; Nightwood Theatre National Tour), GTT (Gone to Texas), Seven Stories, Wrong for Each Other, Savage Finesse, Wedding Day at the Cro-Magnons (all NAC); The Czar's Daughter-in-law was a Frog, Don Juan, Turandot (all Odyssey Theatre); Criminals in Love, Clutching the Heat, Our Country’s Good, Time After Time (all GCTC); Taming of the Shrew (Ottawa Shakespeare Festival). As a director, Fajrajsl’s Ottawa credits include The Illusion and Bungsu and the Big Snake (both Odyssey Theatre). She recently received a Capital Critic’s Circle best director nomination for her direction of Age of Arousal cast member Margo MacDonald’s play Shadows (Fringe Festival; GCTC Undercurrents Festival).
Montrealer Diana Fajrajsl has spent more than 35 years in Canadian theatre as an actor, director, and teacher. She has played in more than 120 professional productions across Canada, and appeared in first productions of plays by Ann-Marie MacDonald, Norm Foster, Michael MacKenzie, and Banuta Rubess, to name a few. In 1991, she portrayed the infamous Canadian historical figure Gerda Munsinger in the film Gerda. In 1995, she began a parallel directing career. She has collaborated with playwright and actor Carolyn Guillet, directing 17 Anonymous Women and dramaturging Plucked, Hammered and Strung, both for Infinitheatre in Montreal. She has taught and directed at the National Theatre School of Canada since 1996 and has been a guest director and instructor at several universities, including Bishop’s, Concordia, and McGill. Well known to Ottawa audiences as both an actor and a director, Fajrajsl has appeared as an actor in Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) (GCTC; Nightwood Theatre National Tour), GTT (Gone to Texas), Seven Stories, Wrong for Each Other, Savage Finesse, Wedding Day at the Cro-Magnons (all NAC); The Czar's Daughter-in-law was a Frog, Don Juan, Turandot (all Odyssey Theatre); Criminals in Love, Clutching the Heat, Our Country’s Good, Time After Time (all GCTC); Taming of the Shrew (Ottawa Shakespeare Festival). As a director, Fajrajsl’s Ottawa credits include The Illusion and Bungsu and the Big Snake (both Odyssey Theatre). She recently received a Capital Critic’s Circle best director nomination for her direction of Age of Arousal cast member Margo MacDonald’s play Shadows (Fringe Festival; GCTC Undercurrents Festival).
Mary Davidson—Stage Manager
Ottawa born and raised, Mary’s experiences in theatre have taken her around the world. She is a graduate of Sheridan College's Technical Production program & has a BFA in Playwriting from Concordia University. Credits include: Seven contracts with Royal Caribbean as a Stage Staff; Assistant Stage Manager on Come From Away (Sheridan); Scenic Painter on Merrily We Roll Along/Theory of Relativity (Sheridan); Properties on Spring Awakening / Colors in the Storm / Blood Brothers & Oklahoma!
(Sheridan); Wardrobe on Sweeney Todd (Sheridan); Stage Manager on The Flood Thereafter (Talisman Theatre); Apprentice Stage Manager on The Blonde, The Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Stage Manager on Othello & Cherry Docs (Persephone Productions) and
Assistant Stage Manager on Richard III in Bouffon
(Company of Fools.)
Ottawa born and raised, Mary’s experiences in theatre have taken her around the world. She is a graduate of Sheridan College's Technical Production program & has a BFA in Playwriting from Concordia University. Credits include: Seven contracts with Royal Caribbean as a Stage Staff; Assistant Stage Manager on Come From Away (Sheridan); Scenic Painter on Merrily We Roll Along/Theory of Relativity (Sheridan); Properties on Spring Awakening / Colors in the Storm / Blood Brothers & Oklahoma!
(Sheridan); Wardrobe on Sweeney Todd (Sheridan); Stage Manager on The Flood Thereafter (Talisman Theatre); Apprentice Stage Manager on The Blonde, The Brunette and The Vengeful Redhead (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Stage Manager on Othello & Cherry Docs (Persephone Productions) and
Assistant Stage Manager on Richard III in Bouffon
(Company of Fools.)
Jane Vanstone Osborn—Pre-Production S.M.
Based in Ottawa, Jane’s career has taken her across the country with operas, school tours, a visually impaired theatre company, puppet theatre, and almost every community hall in Nova Scotia. Some highlights of Jane’s stage management career include the Capital Critics Award–winning productions of And Slowly Beauty (NAC/Belfry), A Christmas Carol (NAC), and a Rideau Award for Stage Management on The Turn of the Screw. Jane has worked for five seasons as an ASM at the Shaw Festival, and for 10 years at the NAC as an SM, ASM, and shuttle van dispatcher. She has also worked at GCTC (Facts, The Net, Rock & Roll) and the Thousand Islands Playhouse (Little Shop of Horrors, Nunsense II, Lend Me A Tenor, Up The River). She is following in the footsteps of the amazing women in her life who shared their love of theatre, and her Mom, who taught her to type so she could always find a job and her essays would be legible.
Based in Ottawa, Jane’s career has taken her across the country with operas, school tours, a visually impaired theatre company, puppet theatre, and almost every community hall in Nova Scotia. Some highlights of Jane’s stage management career include the Capital Critics Award–winning productions of And Slowly Beauty (NAC/Belfry), A Christmas Carol (NAC), and a Rideau Award for Stage Management on The Turn of the Screw. Jane has worked for five seasons as an ASM at the Shaw Festival, and for 10 years at the NAC as an SM, ASM, and shuttle van dispatcher. She has also worked at GCTC (Facts, The Net, Rock & Roll) and the Thousand Islands Playhouse (Little Shop of Horrors, Nunsense II, Lend Me A Tenor, Up The River). She is following in the footsteps of the amazing women in her life who shared their love of theatre, and her Mom, who taught her to type so she could always find a job and her essays would be legible.
Patrice-Ann Forbes—Costume Designer
Patrice-Ann Forbes is a professional costume, set, and props designer in Ottawa. A graduate of the University of Ottawa, Patrice specializes in textile arts. She is co-founder of Dead Unicorn Ink and enjoys writing, performing, and directing with them. Her recent shows include Salamander Theatre's The Last Drop, 9th Hour's My Name is Asher Lev, and Dead Unicorn Ink's Space Mystery from Outer Space. She won the Outstanding Design Award at the 2011 Ottawa Fringe Festival for her zombie puppets in Playing Dead from Dead Unicorn Ink.
Patrice-Ann Forbes is a professional costume, set, and props designer in Ottawa. A graduate of the University of Ottawa, Patrice specializes in textile arts. She is co-founder of Dead Unicorn Ink and enjoys writing, performing, and directing with them. Her recent shows include Salamander Theatre's The Last Drop, 9th Hour's My Name is Asher Lev, and Dead Unicorn Ink's Space Mystery from Outer Space. She won the Outstanding Design Award at the 2011 Ottawa Fringe Festival for her zombie puppets in Playing Dead from Dead Unicorn Ink.
David Magladry—Lighting Designer
David Magladry has been a professional lighting designer for over 20 years, working in theatre, television, museum exhibitions, and special events. He has also been a set designer for over six years. Clients include the Great Canadian Theatre Company, SevenThirty Productions, Plosive Productions, the Thousand Islands Playhouse, the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College theatre departments, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Canadian War Museum, CBC, BBC, and Rogers Television. David is also the Resident Set and Lighting Designer for the Classic Summer Theatre Festival in Perth, Ontario.
David Magladry has been a professional lighting designer for over 20 years, working in theatre, television, museum exhibitions, and special events. He has also been a set designer for over six years. Clients include the Great Canadian Theatre Company, SevenThirty Productions, Plosive Productions, the Thousand Islands Playhouse, the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College theatre departments, the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the Canadian War Museum, CBC, BBC, and Rogers Television. David is also the Resident Set and Lighting Designer for the Classic Summer Theatre Festival in Perth, Ontario.
Annie Lefevbre - Wig, Hair and Makeup Consultant
Annie Lefebvre is working on ten years as a bilingual actor, creator and now as a makeup artist in Ottawa. You may have seen her play, host, dance or you may have sat in her chair to be turned into something completely beautiful or absolutely hideous. She graduated from Complections International Academy of Makeup Artistry and believes in the complete transformation from actor to character. Makeup application is the ritual of the actor’s metamorphosis and is only complete when the reflection in the mirror is no longer the actor’s own. Hearing “I had no idea it was you” is the utmost compliment. Makeup design credits include: Exit the King, The Jew of Malta, Under Milkwood, Les Fridolinades, La Conférence des Oiseaux, ODD-Ottawa Dance Directive and The Prix Rideau Awards.
Annie Lefebvre is working on ten years as a bilingual actor, creator and now as a makeup artist in Ottawa. You may have seen her play, host, dance or you may have sat in her chair to be turned into something completely beautiful or absolutely hideous. She graduated from Complections International Academy of Makeup Artistry and believes in the complete transformation from actor to character. Makeup application is the ritual of the actor’s metamorphosis and is only complete when the reflection in the mirror is no longer the actor’s own. Hearing “I had no idea it was you” is the utmost compliment. Makeup design credits include: Exit the King, The Jew of Malta, Under Milkwood, Les Fridolinades, La Conférence des Oiseaux, ODD-Ottawa Dance Directive and The Prix Rideau Awards.
The Cast
Eleanor Crowder—Mary Barfoot
Eleanor Crowder revels in this ensemble opportunity. She last worked with Diana Fajrajsl in Peter Hinton's production of The Taming of the Shrew. A founding partner of Bear & Co., she's just back from touring from Sioux Lookout to Halifax this fall with her script Momma's Boy. Featuring Eleanor, Anna Lewis, and David da Costa, the play garnered raves across half the country. Eleanor's interest is often in outdoor and site-specific work. Ottawa audiences know her for seventeen summers of outdoor Shakespeare in parks and curious sites across the city, her work as Mother Courage for Third Wall Theatre, the arsonist nun Mary in Wendy Lill's Sisters for GCTC, and a decade of successful gambles with Rachel Eugster where big musicals and big casts delight the Glebe.
Eleanor Crowder revels in this ensemble opportunity. She last worked with Diana Fajrajsl in Peter Hinton's production of The Taming of the Shrew. A founding partner of Bear & Co., she's just back from touring from Sioux Lookout to Halifax this fall with her script Momma's Boy. Featuring Eleanor, Anna Lewis, and David da Costa, the play garnered raves across half the country. Eleanor's interest is often in outdoor and site-specific work. Ottawa audiences know her for seventeen summers of outdoor Shakespeare in parks and curious sites across the city, her work as Mother Courage for Third Wall Theatre, the arsonist nun Mary in Wendy Lill's Sisters for GCTC, and a decade of successful gambles with Rachel Eugster where big musicals and big casts delight the Glebe.
Rachel Eugster— Alice Madden
Rachel appeared most recently onstage as Luciana in Bear & Co.’s summer touring production of The Comedy of Errors, and in the Ottawa Fringe Festival as Clothos in Vanity Project Productions’ The Vanity Project and Friedl in Bear’s Windfall Jelly. At the Gladstone, she served most recently as music director for Bear’s The Taming of the Shrew, and as a member of the Gladstone Sisters trio in Plosive Productions’ A Miracle on 34th Street. Rachel pulled two other big irons fresh from the fire this year: In June, she founded Dragon’s Tea Trio, in which she adds her soprano voice to the cello of Joan Harrison and the guitar of Andrew Mah. And in August, Tundra released her picture book, The Pocket Mommy, which earned a Canadian Toy Testing Council Great Books of 2014 award. (Available in bookstores or online from Random House or Amazon.) RachelEugster.com
Rachel appeared most recently onstage as Luciana in Bear & Co.’s summer touring production of The Comedy of Errors, and in the Ottawa Fringe Festival as Clothos in Vanity Project Productions’ The Vanity Project and Friedl in Bear’s Windfall Jelly. At the Gladstone, she served most recently as music director for Bear’s The Taming of the Shrew, and as a member of the Gladstone Sisters trio in Plosive Productions’ A Miracle on 34th Street. Rachel pulled two other big irons fresh from the fire this year: In June, she founded Dragon’s Tea Trio, in which she adds her soprano voice to the cello of Joan Harrison and the guitar of Andrew Mah. And in August, Tundra released her picture book, The Pocket Mommy, which earned a Canadian Toy Testing Council Great Books of 2014 award. (Available in bookstores or online from Random House or Amazon.) RachelEugster.com
Lisa Jeans— Rhoda Nunn
Lisa Jeans is an actor and writer. She has a BA (Drama) from the University College Drama Program at the University of Toronto. Ottawa credits include Medea (Third Wall) and The Ventriloquist (Evolution Theatre). Lisa is a recent alumna of the Arts Club Actor’s Intensive, a conservatory-style boot camp for actors at the Arts Club Theatre (Vancouver). A new Edmontonian, when not writing or at the theatre, Lisa is most likely to be found staring through the viewfinder of her camera. www.lisajeans.ca
Lisa Jeans is an actor and writer. She has a BA (Drama) from the University College Drama Program at the University of Toronto. Ottawa credits include Medea (Third Wall) and The Ventriloquist (Evolution Theatre). Lisa is a recent alumna of the Arts Club Actor’s Intensive, a conservatory-style boot camp for actors at the Arts Club Theatre (Vancouver). A new Edmontonian, when not writing or at the theatre, Lisa is most likely to be found staring through the viewfinder of her camera. www.lisajeans.ca
Anna Lewis— Monica Madden
Anna Lewis is an Ottawa-based actor and theatre creator, with a BFA in Theatre from Concordia University. While in Ottawa, she has worked with Bear & Co. (A Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, 'Tis Pity She's A Whore, Momma's Boy), A Company of Fools (A Midwinter's Dream Tale), 9th Hour (Agnes of God), and Chamber Theatre Hintonburg (Edmund, Tongue and Groove). Film credits include Happy Suds, and the title character in Brown Sound Underground with Nona Leslie, both filmed in Vancouver. Anna also works as a costume designer, stage manager, and director.
Anna Lewis is an Ottawa-based actor and theatre creator, with a BFA in Theatre from Concordia University. While in Ottawa, she has worked with Bear & Co. (A Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, 'Tis Pity She's A Whore, Momma's Boy), A Company of Fools (A Midwinter's Dream Tale), 9th Hour (Agnes of God), and Chamber Theatre Hintonburg (Edmund, Tongue and Groove). Film credits include Happy Suds, and the title character in Brown Sound Underground with Nona Leslie, both filmed in Vancouver. Anna also works as a costume designer, stage manager, and director.
Margo MacDonald— Virginia Madden
Margo MacDonald is a multi-award winning actor and theatre creator. She most recently appeared as Constance in Ann-Marie MacDonald's Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) at the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC). She also appeared onstage at GCTC in last season's Fly Me to the Moon, for which she won the Prix Rideau Award for Outstanding Performance. Margo previously won that award for her role in Iron with SevenThirty Productions. Other credits include Eva Le Gallienne in Shadows (a play she also wrote) at the undercurrents: theatre below the mainstream festival; Henry V and A Mid-Winter's Dream Tale with A Company of Fools; Swimming in the Shallows with Arts Court Productions; and Blood Brothers and Noises Off with Gladstone Productions. Upcoming projects include Much Ado About Feckin' Pirates, an improv-based clown show she is co-creating with Richard Gelinas and AL Connors, which will appear at The Gladstone in March.
Margo MacDonald is a multi-award winning actor and theatre creator. She most recently appeared as Constance in Ann-Marie MacDonald's Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) at the Great Canadian Theatre Company (GCTC). She also appeared onstage at GCTC in last season's Fly Me to the Moon, for which she won the Prix Rideau Award for Outstanding Performance. Margo previously won that award for her role in Iron with SevenThirty Productions. Other credits include Eva Le Gallienne in Shadows (a play she also wrote) at the undercurrents: theatre below the mainstream festival; Henry V and A Mid-Winter's Dream Tale with A Company of Fools; Swimming in the Shallows with Arts Court Productions; and Blood Brothers and Noises Off with Gladstone Productions. Upcoming projects include Much Ado About Feckin' Pirates, an improv-based clown show she is co-creating with Richard Gelinas and AL Connors, which will appear at The Gladstone in March.
Tim Oberholzer— Everard Barfoot
Tim Oberholzer is an Ottawa-based actor, and has appeared most recently in Ethan Claymore (Same Day Theatre), Windfall Jelly, The Comedy Of Errors, The Taming Of The Shrew (Bear & Co.), The Chronicler (Screaming Artists’ Collective), The Vanity Project (Vanity Project Productions), and Sparks (NORT). In April he will appear in Vanity Project Productions’ Hedwig And The Angry Inch. Tim is a founding member of the Ottawa-based theatre collective Bear & Co., and has recently served as Production Manager for Seventhirty Productions‘ Stones in His Pockets, November, and Absurd Person Singular, and Plosive Productions’ Private Lives at the Gladstone Theatre. He will production manage My Brilliant Divorce in April/May 2014. www.timoberholzer.com
Tim Oberholzer is an Ottawa-based actor, and has appeared most recently in Ethan Claymore (Same Day Theatre), Windfall Jelly, The Comedy Of Errors, The Taming Of The Shrew (Bear & Co.), The Chronicler (Screaming Artists’ Collective), The Vanity Project (Vanity Project Productions), and Sparks (NORT). In April he will appear in Vanity Project Productions’ Hedwig And The Angry Inch. Tim is a founding member of the Ottawa-based theatre collective Bear & Co., and has recently served as Production Manager for Seventhirty Productions‘ Stones in His Pockets, November, and Absurd Person Singular, and Plosive Productions’ Private Lives at the Gladstone Theatre. He will production manage My Brilliant Divorce in April/May 2014. www.timoberholzer.com
Media Resources
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