Media Release #10

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, April 23, 2008 … On Tuesday the Shaw Festival launches the 2008 Court House season with the North American premiere of Githa Sowerby’s undiscovered theatrical gem The Stepmother, a story of marriage and money from a very female perspective.

In a twist on the classic “wicked stepmother” story, young Lois Relph (Claire Jullien) cares deeply for her husband’s two daughters and works hard to support the family as a dressmaker. It’s her husband, Eustace Gaydon (Blair Williams), who’s the problem – he can’t hold on to money and everyone in town, except Lois, knows it. When Lois wants to give their eldest daughter a dowry, more than one family secret is revealed.

The story of how this ‘lost’ play was rediscovered is as intriguing as the play itself. After the success of Rutherford and Son in 1912, Sowerby’s subsequent plays received little attention. The Stepmother, written in 1924, had only one performance by the Play Actors, a private theatre club in London. It was reviewed by several critics who expressed their hope that the play would receive more productions. The forgotten, never-published manuscript was recently discovered in the basement of a publishing company in London and delivered to Jackie Maxwell who, after the success of The Shaw’s production of Rutherford and Son in 2004, wanted to produce more of Sowerby’s work. Now, the Shaw Festival will finally present the first full public run of this stunning work.

The Shaw Festival is also very pleased to be the first to publish the full script of The Stepmother. In conjunction with previews of the production, the book will be sold at the Court House Theatre, in the Shaw Festival Shop at the Festival Theatre, and online at www.shawfest.com.

The cast of The Stepmother also includes Guy Bannerman as Bennet, Patrick Galligan as Peter, Marla McLean as Monica, and Jennifer Phipps as Aunt Charlotte, as well as Beryl Bain, Jesse Martyn, Jonathan Widdifield, Robin Evan Willis and Jenny L. Wright.

The Stepmother is directed by Artistic Director Jackie Maxwell, with set design by Camellia Koo, costume design by William Schmuck and lighting design by Louise Guinand. The stage management team includes Stage Manager Alison Peddie and Assistant Stage Manager Eamonn Reil.

The Stepmother begins preview performances Tuesday, April 29; opens Friday, May 23; and plays in repertory until Saturday, October 4. The Stepmother is sponsored by the Producers Circle, a group of donors who, through their generous support, help underwrite a production each season.

The 2008 season is proudly presented by HSBC Bank Canada/HSBC Bank USA, N.A.

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Please visit our website at www.shawfest.com for other Shaw Festival media releases.

For more information, or to download images from our image bank to accompany this release, members of the media may contact:

Odette Yazbeck
Public Relations Director
905-468-2153 or
1-800-657-1106 ext. 222
odette@shawfest.com

Patti Broughton
Public Relations Co-ordinator
905-468-2153 or
1-800-657-1106 ext. 224
pbroughton@shawfest.com

Press Contact Information

Shaw Festival
odette@shawfest.com
1-800-657-1106 ext 222
Shaw Festival Box 774 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0 CANADA

Source URL: http://www.shawfest.com

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