Stratford Festival sets Shakespearean comedy in 1980s Newfoundland

Bretta Gerecke, the designer for Stratford's production of Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' is pictured in the design office at Stratford Theatre on Tuesday, May 17, 2016. (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

STRATFORD, Ont. -- In adapting "As You Like It" for the Stratford Festival stage, director Jillian Keiley transported the centuries-old Shakespearean comedy to familiar territory: her home province of Newfoundland.

The St. John's, N.L., resident turns back the clock on The Rock to the 1980s for Stratford's production of the gender-bending play.

"The overall argument in 'As You Like It' is between the country and the city, the court life and the rural life," Keiley said in an interview. "In Newfoundland in the '80s, there was a great argument between urban culture and rural culture."

As people left the outports in droves, there was much concern about losing distinctive traditions that helped define Newfoundland's cultural identity, she noted. Keiley credited local artists like St. John's-based musicians Figgy Duff and theatre troupe Sheila's Brush who ventured into rural communities to retain and record the rich legacy of dance, music and folk tales.

"I think it was a really important time for us. And ultimately, I think it was a really important time for Canada because it ended up shaping the far East Coast of this country," said Keiley, pointing to the subsequent rise of comedy troupe CODCO and comedians Rick Mercer and Mary Walsh.

"A lot of the storytelling that happens now is because of the ultimate strength of the rural culture that was dragged into existence by those people that made it happen."

Stratford's "As You Like It" carries on the custom of celebrating the province through art. Newfoundland native Bob Hallett of Great Big Sea fame composed the score, which is performed onstage by a group of lively musicians, while actors recite the Bard's words in various Newfoundland-inflected dialects.

The audience members aren't mere spectators -- they're part of the show. The production includes "Running the Goat," a traditional Newfoundland set dance where the audience is invited onstage to join the cast in showcasing their moves.

"In Newfoundland, you go to a kitchen party and you're really not able to be a wallflower because the fun is so overwhelming and there are so many places for you to be involved," said St. John's resident Petrina Bromley, making her Stratford debut as Rosalind.

"You can just sing along with a song. You can dance if you want to. There are times where it's completely appropriate. And hopefully the spirit of it makes you want to be involved.... It was a beautiful thing to see so many people let the fun absolutely run away with them."

"The show is inverse. The stage is pretty much bare," said Cyrus Lane, who portrays Orlando, the male lead and Rosalind's love interest.

"But the audience has all of this stuff: colour and flash and trees and stars. It's really beautiful. It's invigorating."

An '80s-inspired show wouldn't be complete without an homage to the questionable styles of the decade, an exercise that proved delightful for designer Bretta Gerecke.

"We have a court scene that is like 'L.A. Law,' 'Dynasty,' 'Falcon Crest,' 'Dallas' all rolled up in a giant ball.... It's just awful, brilliantly awful.

"The performers come out, and you can hear the audience -- those of us who lived it -- (say): "'Oh,'" she said in a lowered voice, followed by laughter.

"'I had that dress. I had that hair. I had that Izod shirt.' There's a real fun in that.

"And what's hysterical to me right now is the 20-year-olds love it because it's all coming back," Gerecke added in reference to the fashions.

"So my only tiny, tiny, baby fear is that some 20-year-olds ... will think it's set today."

"As You Like It" will be staged at the Festival Theatre until Oct. 22.