THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST - Shaw Festival
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THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
2022 Ensemble
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Tim Carroll EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Tim Jennings ASSOCIATE
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Kimberley Rampersad DIRECTORS Chris Abraham • Philip Akin •
Molly Atkinson • Keith Barker • László Bérczes • Tim Carroll • Diana Donnelly • Kelli
Fox • Kate Hennig • Brian Hill • Marla McLean • Kimberley Rampersad • Sanjay Talwar
• Jonathan Tan • Severn Thompson • Jay Turvey MUSIC DIRECTORS / COMPOSERS / SOUND
DESIGNERS Ryan Cowl • Darryn deSouza • Ryan deSouza • John Gzowski • John Lott •
Thomas Ryder Payne • Miquel Rodriguez • James Smith • Paul Sportelli • Christopher
Stanton • Claudio Vena • Gilles Zolty CHOREOGRAPHY / MOVEMENT / FIGHT DIRECTION
Richard Comeau • Alexis Milligan • Allison Plamondon • Kimberley Rampersad •
Kiera Sangster • John Stead MAGIC AND ILLUSIONS / PUPPETRY Skylar Fox • Alexandra
Montagnese • Mike Petersen DESIGNERS Judith Bowden • Isidra Cruz • Bálazs Cziegler
• Anahita Dehbonehie • Laura Delchiaro • Shannon Lea Doyle • Rachel Forbes • Julie
Fox • Gillian Gallow • Michael Gianfrancesco • Camellia Koo • Sue LePage • Christine
Lohre • Joyce Padua • Christina Poddubiuk • Cory Sincennes • Sim Suzer • Ming Wong
LIGHTING DESIGNERS Nick Andison • Bonnie Beecher • Mikael Kangas • Kevin Lamotte
• Jennifer Lennon • Chris Malkowski • Kimberly Purtell • Michelle Ramsay PROJECTION
DESIGNER Cameron Davis STAGE MANAGEMENT Sara Allison • Beatrice Campbell •
Jordine De Guzman • Meghan Froebelius • Ashley Ireland • Amy Jewell • Diane Konkin
• Meredith Macdonald • Leigh McClymont • Annie McWhinnie • Théa Pel • Melania
Radelicki • Andrea Schurman • Allan Teichman • Dora Tomassi • Kathryn Urbanek
ENSEMBLE David Adams • David Alan Anderson • Neil Barclay • Kyle Blair • Kristopher
Bowman • Andrew Broderick • Jason Cadieux • Shane Carty • Julia Course • James
Daly • Peter Fernandes • Jonathan Fisher • Sharry Flett • Jenn Forgie • Kristi Frank •
Patrick Galligan • Katherine Gauthier • JJ Gerber • Élodie Gillett • Alexis Gordon •
Martin Happer • Deborah Hay • Kate Hennig • Jeff Irving • Patty Jamieson • Gabrielle
Jones • Nicole Joy-Fraser • Nathanael Judah
• Claire Jullien • Graeme Kitagawa • Andrew
Lawrie • Allan Louis • Julie Lumsden • Caitlyn
MacInnis • Marie Mahabal • Michael Man •
Allison McCaughey • Kevin McLachlan • Marla
McLean • Alexandra Montagnese • Nafeesa
Monroe • André Morin • Mike Nadajewski •
Monica Parks • Mike Petersen • Drew Plummer
• Kimberley Rampersad • Alana Randall •
David Andrew Reid • Ric Reid • Jade Repeta •
Tom Rooney • Kiera Sangster • Travis Seetoo
• Adam Sergison • Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane
• Gabriella Sundar Singh • Donna Soares
• Graeme Somerville • Johnathan Sousa •
Jeremiah Sparks • Sanjay Talwar • Jonathan
Tan • Taurian Teelucksingh • Jacqueline Thair
• Jay Turvey • Sophia Walker • Kelly Wong •
Jenny L. Wright
IN MEMORIAM Tadeusz Bradecki • Richard Farrell • John Gilbert • Martha Henry •
Wendy Jarry • Christopher Newton • Ada Slaight • Allan Slaight • Bob Vernon •
Colin D. Watson
“back to normal.”
What do those words even
mean now? There can be
no doubt, after two years
unlike any we have lived
through, that the world is
a different place. We have
all learned a lot, about
ourselves and each other.
Here are some things we
have learned at The Shaw:
To experience theatre,
you need to be there,
live, sharing a space
with other people.
Theatre can happen in gardens and up trees as well as in theatres.
What happens before and after the show is just as important as the
performance.
All of which explains why the computer can only supplement what
we do, not replace it: what is the point of watching a play if, at the end,
you simply click a button and go back into your online echo-chamber?
Instead, here you are, about to watch a performance among people you
don’t know. Please don’t waste the opportunity. Turn to your neighbour,
in the interval, or at the end, and ask them: “What are you thinking?”
tim carroll, artistic direc tor
FESTIVAL THEATRE DAMN YANKEES • THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
• THE DOCTOR’S DILEMMA ROYAL GEORGE THEATRE CYR ANO DE BERGER AC
• GASLIGHT • CHITR A • JUST TO GET MARRIED JACKIE MAXWELL STUDIO
THEATRE THIS IS HOW WE GOT HERE • TOO TRUE TO BE GOOD • EVERYBODY
• August Wilson’s GEM OF THE OCEAN OUTDOORS @ THE SHAW FAIRGROUND
& SHAWGROUND • Outdoor Concerts & Events • A SHORT HISTORY OF NIAGAR A
HOLIDAY SEASON A CHRISTMAS CAROL • Irving Berlin’s WHITE CHRISTMAS
The Shaw wishes to acknowledge and honour the land upon SPECIAL THANKS
which we gather as the historic and traditional territory of
Paul Rodermond’s internship in
First Nations peoples. In particular, we recognize and thank
Music Direction is supported
the Neutral Nation, the Mississauga and the Haudenosaunee
by The Shaw Guild. Nathanael
for their stewardship of these lands over millennia. We also
Judah, Graeme Kitagawa, Caitlyn
wish to thank all of the First Nations peoples in Canada, and
MacInnis, Kevin McLachlan, Jade
the Indigenous peoples of the United States, for their ongoing Repeta, Olivia Sinclair-Brisbane
and important roles in the caretaking of the lands beneath and Taurian Teelucksingh are sup-
our feet, wherever we travel on Turtle Island. ported by the RBC Foundation and
the RBC Emerging Artists Project.
The 2022 Christopher Newton
Interns are Beyata Hackborn and
2022 Boards David Andrew Reid, generously
supported by Marilyn and Charles
Baillie.
SHAW FESTIVAL THEATRE, CANADA The Shaw Festival Archives are
housed at the University of Guelph
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ian M.H. Joseph, Chair • Timothy R.
and maintained by the staff of the
Price, Vice Chair • Gregory N. Prince, Treasurer • Elizabeth
L.W. Conolly Theatre Archives.
S. Dipchand, Secretary • Peter E.S. Jewett, Past Chair • Tim
Carroll, Artistic Director (ex officio) • Tim Jennings, Executive Lobby display materials courtesy
Director (ex officio) • Philip Akin • Glen Bandiera, MD • Sylvia of David Grapes II.
Bennett • Sheila Brown • Vivien Dzau • Lyle Hall • Thomas
R. Hyde • Tim Johnson • Corinne Foster Rice • Robin Ridesic ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• Samiha Sachedina • Nicole R. Tzetzo • Alan J. Walker (Presi- The Shaw Festival is a member of
dent, Shaw Guild) • Jaime Watt the Professional Association of
BOARD OF GOVERNORS Timothy R. Price, Chair & Frances Canadian Theatres, and engages
M. Price • Ian M.H. Joseph, Vice Chair & Rebecca H. Joseph • professional artists who are
Tim Carroll, Artistic Director (ex officio) • Tim Jennings, Execu- members of the Canadian Actors’
Equity Association and The Niagara
tive Director (ex officio) • Marilyn Baillie & A. Charles Baillie •
Region Musicians’ Association,
Charles E. Balbach • Barbara Besse & Ronald D. Besse • James
American Federation of Musicians
F. Brown & Jean Stevenson, MD • Robin Campbell & Peter E.S.
of the United States and Canada,
Jewett • Alberta G. Cefis & Ilio Santilli • Betty Disero (Lord
Local 298.
Mayor, Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake) • Wendy Gitelman &
Bruce Gitelman • Lyle Hall (Chair, Development Committee) • 828
Nona Macdonald Heaslip • Mary E. Hill • Carolyn Keystone
& James D. Meekison • Diane K. King • Elizabeth A. Simmons
& Edward D. Simmons, MD • Nancy Smith • Marc St-Onge The Shaw Festival engages stage
(Chair, Boxing Committee) • Elaine G. Triggs & Donald L. Triggs technicians, audience sales and
services staff, and facilities staff
• Alan J. Walker (President, Shaw Guild)
supplied by Local 461, and scenic
SHAW FESTIVAL THEATRE ENDOWMENT FOUNDATION artists supplied by Local 828, of the
Anthony R. Graham, Chair • Lorne R. Barclay, Vice Chair • International Alliance of Theatrical
Tim Jennings, Secretary (ex officio) • Roy Reeves, Treasurer Stage Employees, Moving Picture
(ex officio) • Vivien Dzau • Richard D. Falconer • Kenneth P. Technicians, Artists and Allied
Friedman • Colleen Johnston • Peter E. Nesbitt • Andrew M. Crafts of the United States, its
Pringle • William J. Saunderson (Chair, Investment Committee) Territories, and Canada.
• Bruce Winter Copyright © Shaw Festival 2022.
SHAW FESTIVAL FOUNDATION (USA) James M. Wadsworth, The Shaw’s house programmes
President • James F. Brown, Vice President • Sylvia Bennett, are designed and produced by
Vice President • Victor A. Rice, Vice President • Kenneth P. Scott McKowen at Punch & Judy
Friedman, Treasurer • Ronald H. Luczak, Secretary • Nicole Inc. They are compiled and edited
R. Tzetzo (Legal Counsel) by Jean German, with assistance,
editorial writing and research
FOUNDERS
by Bob Hetherington. Additional
Brian Doherty, C.M. (1906-1974) assistance by Leonard Conolly and
Calvin G. Rand (1929-2016) Elaine Calder. Artist portraits and
HONORARY PATRONS production photography by David
The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau Cooper. Printed by Sportswood
The Honourable Doug Ford Printing, Staffordville.
A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR OUR PARTNERS
MAJOR
SUPPORTERS Marilyn & Charles Baillie Tim & Frances Price
THEATRE, PRODUCTION AND STAGE SPONSORS
Wendy
James F. Brown & Bruce
Gitelman
William and Nona Mary E. Hill James &
Macdonald Heaslip Diane King
Foundation
Gabriel Pascal Dorothy Strelsin
Memorial Fund Foundation
PROGRAM AND PROJECT SUPPORTERS
Children and Family
Shaw Link for Schools Bridging Borders Partner Program Supporter Accessibility Partner
Christopher &
AT TO R N E Y S
LLP
Jeanne Jennings
Emerging Artists Program Stage Door Program B&B Partner Theatre for All Program Hotel
Partner
MEDIA, PRODUCT AND IN-KIND SPONSORS
GOVERNMENT SUPPORT
We acknowledge the support of the
Government of Canada through the Federal
Economic Development Agency for
Southern Ontario.
Nous reconnaissons l'appui du
An agency of the Government of Ontario
gouvernement du Canada à travers l’Agence
Un organisme du gouvernement de l’Ontario fédérale de développementéconomique
pour le Sud de l’Ontario.
For information on corporate partnerships please
contact Cindy Mewhinney, Director of Advancement,
at 1-800-657-1106 ext 2339, or cmewhinney@shawfest.com
Stimulate your phagocytes!
THE INTERNATIONAL
SHAW SOCIETY
A community for
Shaw Scholars,
Theatre Artists,
and Enthusiasts
Join us at shawsociety.org
A LASTING IMPACT “The Shaw was a major part of our theatre
Thank you, Leo!
experience for me and my late partner,
Denny. I fondly reflect on our many lively
discussions after every performance.
It became obvious to Denny and me, that
we wanted to leave a legacy to ensure that
The Shaw will continue to encourage such
conversations and provide inspiration –
something that is so needed in our world.
Thank you, Shaw Festival.”
– Leo Maloney
Patrick Galligan, Leo Maloney and Kimberley
Rampersad. Photo by David Cooper.
To find out more about becoming a part of The
Doherty-Rand Legacy Circle, contact Kim White
at kwhite@shawfest.com or call 289-783-1924.
Client: SHAW FESTIVAL Publication: 2022 House Programme Insertion Date: 2022
Size: 4.875 in in x 3.875 in Contact: BRUCE@KEYGORDON.COM
Design Assistants Cutters Outdoor Audio Operator 1
Staff EMILY DOTSON RAMONA CRAWFORD MIKE WALSH
BEYATA HACKBORN MORGAN MACKINTOSH Outdoor Audio Operator 2
EXECUTIVE TEAM PAIGE PRYSTUPA BOBBI PIDDUCK WAYNE BERGE
Design Mentor AVRIL STEVENSON Electrics
Artistic Director
TIM CARROLL JUDITH BOWDEN Tailors Head of Electrics
Lighting Design Director MONIQUE MacNEILL JOHN MARSHALL
Executive Director
TIM JENNINGS KEVIN LAMOTTE DENIS PIZZACALLA Festival Electrician
Executive Assistant Assistant Lighting Designers First Hands STUART WILLIAMSON
JANET HANNA NICK ANDISON AUDREY-JOY BERGSMA Royal George Electrician
MIKAEL KANGAS PILLING
PAUL McMANIS
CREATIVE JEFF PYBUS DARLENE HENDRY
MANAGEMENT KATHY SCOZZAFAVA Studio Electrician
EMILIE TRIMBEE MEL THIVIERGE
Associate Artistic Director VERONICA WATKINS
Stage Management 2nd Studio Electrician
KIMBERLEY RAMPERSAD Sewers
Production Stage Manager BRIAN SKELTON
Planning Director MEREDITH MACDONALD TIINA ADAMS
JEFF CUMMINGS REBECCA BOYD Festival Deck Electrician
Stage Managers CASEY BROWN JASON CHESWORTH
Producer BEATRICE CAMPBELL
NATALIE ACKERS VIVIAN CHEUNG 1st Spot Operator/
AMY JEWELL Deck Electrician
CAROL FARNAN
Music Director DIANE KONKIN JEAN ST-ONGE
PAUL SPORTELLI SAMANTHA FELSBOURG
LEIGH McCLYMONT
BONNIE GETTY 2nd Spot Operator
Associate Music Director / ANDREA SCHURMAN BRIAN SKELTON
DEANNA HERBERT
Company Pianist ALLAN TEICHMAN
RYAN deSOUZA AURORA JUDGE Festival Changeover
DORA TOMASSI
SANDRA LaROSE Electrician
Company Manager Assistant Stage Managers CARLA LONG PAUL TOYNE
STÉPHANIE FILIPPI MEGHAN FROEBELIUS ALLISON MacISAAC Electrics Apprentice
Publications Co-ordinator ASHLEY IRELAND ANDREA MacKENZIE NICOLE GENGE
JEAN GERMAN ANNIE McWHINNIE KAYLEN McCORMACK Stage Crew
Assistant Producer THÉA PEL KAREN MERRIAM
MELANIA RADELICKI Head Stage Carpenter
MEGHAN FROEBELIUS DARLENE NASZADOS
(to February 25th) JEFF BINGLEY
Apprentice Stage Managers KATHLEEN VAN DYKE
CAEA/SEA Contract JORDINE De GUZMAN Festival Stage Carpenter
MICHELLE WARREN ARCHIE MacKENZIE
Co-ordinator KATHRYN URBANEK Scenic Art Royal George Stage Carpenter
SARAH PHILLIPS Properties Head of Scenic Art DAVID SCHILZ
Covid Compliance Manager Head of Properties GWYNETH STARK
ALISON PEDDIE WAYNE REIERSON Royal George Lunchtime
Assistant Head of Scenic Art Stage Carpenter
THE SLAIGHT Assistant Head of Properties MARK CARREIRO FOLKERT BERGSMA
FAMILY ACADEMY TAMMY FENNER Scenic Artists Festival Properties Runner
Voice and Dialect Coaches Properties Buyer JANA BERGSMA JOY BEELEY
NANCY BENJAMIN BRENT HICKEY ANDREA HARRINGTON Royal George
JEFFREY SIMLETT Properties Builder 1 JESSICA MacDUFF Properties Runner
JENNIFER TOOHEY ANNA-MARIE Assistant Scenic Artist LAURA MASCITELLI
Alexander Technique BAUMGART DANIELLE POIRIER
ROD HILLIER Studio Stage
VICTORIA HEART Scenic Construction Properties Runner
Singing Coaches KATHRYN KERR JOE BONAR
MATT LECKIE Head of Scenic Construction
VAN ABRAHAMS LESSLIE TUNMER Studio Stage
PATRICK BOWMAN ALEXA MacKENZIE
Assistant Head of Swing Supervisor
EILEEN SMITH JENNA PURNELL DAVID DiFRANCESCO
JENNIFER STEVENS Scenic Construction
Movement Coach MYRON JURYCHUK Royal George Holiday
ANDREA WILLETTE
ALEXIS MILLIGAN Trades Properties Runner
Properties Builder 2 MARTIN WOODYARD
Senior Manager, Education CHRYSTINE ANDERSON
SEAN BEER
SUZANNE MERRIAM ROB BROPHY Festival Stage Trade
EMILY DYCK FRANK ZALOKAR
Education Co-ordinator MAC HILLIER GEORGE GALANIS
MEGAN GILCHRIST COLIN WELSH BLAIR GREENWOOD Royal George Stage Hand
Education Assistant MICHAEL HASLEHURST TREVOR HUGHES
Wardrobe TOM HURST
WARREN BAIN Outdoor Stage Supervisor
Head of Wardrobe KEVIN McGUIRE
Music Intern Shop Administrator
JASON BENDIG
PAUL RODERMOND SHANNON ENGEMANN Changeover Crew
Associate Head of Wardrobe
Intern Directors Construction Electrics Festival Changeover
JANET ELLIS
RYAN G. HINDS Head of Construction Supervisor
Wardrobe Co-ordinator Electrics PAUL TIMMERMAN
CHRISTOPHER
MANOUSOS KENDRA COOPER JOHN VANIDOUR Festival Changeover
Wardrobe Apprentices Construction Electrician Flyperson
PRODUCTION CHRIS FARIS ROB MAZZA
ANTHONY BLASCHUCK,
Production Director CARLYN RAHUSAAR JR Festival Changeover Hands
DON FINLAYSON ROUTLEDGE
Audio SHAWN GILBERT
Production Administrator Buyer CARM SACCO
MARGARET FERENCZ Head of Audio
MAUREEN GURNEY AARON WILLICK
COREY MACFADYEN
Technical Directors Milliner Royal George
MARK CALLAN Assistant Head of Audio
MARGIE BERGGREN Changeover Supervisor
KAITLYN MacKINNON
JASON WOODGATE Accessories ROB GRINDLAY
Festival Audio Operator
Associate Technical Director MICHELLE HARRISSON Royal George
FRED GABRSEK
JEFF SCOLLON Boots/Shoes Changeover Trade
Royal George Audio Operator MIKE PALMIERI
Assistant Technical STACEY BONAR
Director – Logistics JULIAN MAINPRIZE
Fabric Art/Dyer Royal George
DAN GALLO Studio Audio Operator Changeover Hand
JEAN RUMNEY
Design ROB ROBBINS ROLF LIEDTKE
Crafts
Design Co-ordinator Festival RF Technician
TRULY CARMICHAEL
LAUREN REBELO JAMES MASSWOHL
Wardrobe Running Research Officer VERA LENC Digital Engagement Specialist
Head of Wardrobe Running CATHY LINDSEY ISAAC LILLIE RHIANNON FLEMING
MARGARET MOLOKACH Senior Associate, Events MATT MARTIN Production Photographer
1st Festival Wardrobe RENATA Di FILIPPO MARY MATHEWS DAVID COOPER
Supervisor Associate, Reporting AMANDA McDONNELL Sales
JOANNE BLASCHUK and Direct Response SARAH McDOUGALL Senior Manager,
Royal George Wardrobe COLLEEN MONFILS JENNIFER McLAREN Ticketing and Analytics
Supervisor Associate, Corporate Partner- JULES MOORE AARON BOYD
KATY NAGY ships and Communications JOANNE PRIESTMAN Managers, Sales
Studio Wardrobe Supervisor TINA SCHMIDT ROSS RINGLER and Box Office
MICHELLE GADULA Co-ordinator, Major KATHERINE ROBERT CARI GOSNELL
2nd Festival Wardrobe and Special Gifts DANIELLA ROUSAL RYAN HULL
Supervisor LAURA LANGLOIS JESS SCHRYER Assistant Manager,
BOBBI PIDDUCK Co-ordinator, Gift Processing ELEANOR SNIDER Sales and Box Office
Royal George Lunchtime MADELINE MAMBELLA PAUL SNIDER MICHELLE CHASE
Wardrobe Supervisor Administrative Co-ordinator KEITH SUTHERLAND Co-ordinator, Reports
KATHLEEN VAN DYKE STEPHANIE BROWN NINA TAYLOR and Scheduling
Festival Wardrobe Trades MELANIE THOMPSON SARAH RODGERS
Administrative Assistant
CHRISTINA GALANIS STERLING TOOKE Co-ordinator,
BROOKE BARNES
ELAINE REDDING OLIVIA TRIVIERI Sales Technology
Supervisors, Membership JOCELYN WARD
ANGELA THOMAS Services SHANNA TAILLON
DOT WARD JULIEN WARD Administrative Assistant
JEFF MacKAY
KATHRYN WILSON PIPPA BARWELL
Royal George MATT RATELLE
Wardrobe Trades Housekeeping Staff Box Office Staff
Membership Representatives
PAM GALLOP PAMELA BRAZEAU ERIC BAUER
ELIZABETH ABRAHIM
SHEILA RADOVANCEVIC DOROTHY CARTER BRYAN BROOME
TERESA COSTELLO
Wigs and Make-up MARIE DUMOULIN GENY COLICCHIO-
THERESA FEOR
DONNA INGLIS QUINN
Head of Wigs and Make-up NICOLE MEADE
LORI-ANN McALLISTER TESSA GROOMBRIDGE
LORNA HENDERSON ALISON PETTEN
PAT McAULAY SUSANNE HESLOP
Festival Wigs Supervisor ANNE WILSON
CARMELLA SAPIENZA JOEL RENNER
FLORENCE LEWIS FINANCE AND SUE SIMS
ADMINISTRATION ANTONETTA TREMONTE
Royal George Wigs Supervisor JUDY SOBIERAJ
LORENA GHIRARDI Director Senior Manager,
ROY REEVES Maintenance Lead Hand Group and On-site Sales
2nd Royal George DAVID McCARTHY WES BROWN
Wigs Supervisor Controller
EMMA DIRKS JULIE ALLEN-SARGENT Maintenance Crew Heads Green Room
ANDY LOUTER Cook
Royal George Lunchtime Assistant Controller NEIL SMITH
Wigs Supervisor KIM EPP JUDE JONES
NANCY GYORKI Grounds Crew Staff
Payroll Co-ordinator TYLER LEYLAND
1st Festival Wigs Trade RICK FOKKENS CHASE CRAWFORD
JEANETTE WARD Distribution ERIKA LOFFELMANN
Senior Accounting Clerk SIMON MARTINSON
1st Royal George Wigs Trade GREG McARTHUR Supervisor
MELISSA MOTTOLA PAUL RODGERS Retail
Accounts Payable Clerks
MONICA BUDD Co-ordinator Manager, Retail Sales
MANAGEMENT MARGARET CUMMING and Shaw Express
TRISH FEDOROWICH
Human Resources Information Technology MATT WEAVER
Audience Services
Director and Facilities Director Staff
DIANNE GIBBS SARAH FABIANI MARCUS ANDREWS
Senior Manager SAMARA BISSONNETTE
Wellness and CHUCK MEWETT Software Developer
Inclusion Facilitator VIKTOR STREMLER MARK FRIESEN
KHAN BOUBA- Manager, Food and Beverage JENNIFER PALABAY
DALAMBAYE JULIANNA UGUCCIONI Network Administrator
DANA PERESSOTTI
Managers, Front-of-House JOHN CHRISTIAN
Housing CHELSEA TOTTEN
WILL CROTHERS Reception
Manager Special Ticketing
NIKI POIRIER SUSAN DYER Supervisor
LEEANNE PRICE Senior Manager
GREG McARTHUR
Interim Co-ordinators ALLISON COCHRAN
GEORGINA PIOVESANA Database-Maintenance
NINA TAYLOR Assistant Co-ordinator
MURIEL TRIANO Receptionists
Maintenance HANNAH ANDERSON JANE McINTYRE
LARRY BENNETT Head of Housekeeping
DONNA SMITH SUSAN ASHUKIAN Assistant
DEVELOPMENT MAUREEN BUTLER JULIE JONES
Head of Maintenance/
Director of Advancement Security FRANCES JOHNSON
CINDY MEWHINNEY GREIG HUNTER MARKETING, House Programmes
Director, Annual Giving COMMUNICATIONS PUNCH & JUDY INC
Front-of-House/Food
MARTHA SPEARS and Beverage Staff AND SALES Covid Testing Partner
Associate Director DENNIS ALBERT Director McMaster HealthLabs/
MARION RAWSON JEANNIE BERG VALERIE TAYLOR Research
St Joseph’s HealthCare
Senior Officer, Individual LEA BOWMAN Senior Marketing and Hamilton
Gifts and Legacy Giving OWEN BROWN Brand Manager
JODI GILCHRIST
KIMBERLEY WHITE LYNN COATES NATHALIE IVANY-
BECCHETTI NICOLE SMIEJA
Senior Development and WILL CROTHERS DR DAVID BULIR
U.S. Relations Ambassador ROXANNE Direct Marketing
Co-ordinator DR MAREK SMIEJA
CHARLIE OWENS DiFRANCESCO
SUSAN DYER MARY CLARE LAMON Theatre Chiropractor
Manager, Governors Council DR BREANNE SCHULTZ
CHRISTINE PELLERIN ÉLIZE EARWICKER Graphic Designer
BEVERLY EDWARDSON SARAH DOWSE Shaw Librarian
Manager, NANCY BUTLER
Membership Services DARCY ELLISON Communications
TIM CZABAN WENDY FRASER Senior Manager
GAIL HEWITT ASHLEY BELMER Artistic Director Emeriti
Stewardship Officer JACKIE MAXWELL
HEATHER SARGESON- SHARON JEAN Communications
ANTHONY KUCHAR PAXTON WHITEHEAD
CALLARA Co-ordinator
ANNE MARIE LENC JENNIFFER ANAND
COME C
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BR
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O F H AT T E RY
WIT H U S
INTRODUCING
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In the Interest of All Patrons
PHYSICAL DISTANCING should be observed by all patrons as much as possible, and as directed by our
Front-of-House team.
FACE COVERINGS are required of all patrons, in conjunction with regional requirements and internal
safety protocols.
CELLULAR PHONES, CAMERAS AND RECORDING DEVICES During the performance, there is no photog-
raphy or filming permitted, and we ask that you turn off your cell phones. We do invite you to take photos
when the house lights are on – pre-show, at intermission and post-show. Please ensure that wristwatch
alarms and other noisemakers cannot sound during the performance. Alternatively, you can leave them
with our staff at the Coat Check.
ASSISTIVE LISTENING DEVICES for the hard of hearing are available at our indoor theatres only. There is
no charge, but we do ask you to consider a donation at time of pick up. This donation helps with the cost to
repair and replace these devices. Reserve early, limited availability. Please see the House Manager on duty.
IF YOU ARE LATE OR NEED TO LEAVE THE AUDITORIUM OR OUTDOOR SEATING AREA during the
performance, you will be re-seated at a suitable break in the performance, at which time the seating location
will be at the discretion of management.
FOR FIRST AID please see the House Manager or the nearest usher. At least one staff member on duty is
trained in First Aid and CPR.
FOR YOUR SAFETY all of our theatres have the requisite exits and have been inspected. The theatres and
exits to the buildings have emergency lighting in case of a power outage. In an emergency, our staff are
trained to carry out an immediate and effective evacuation. You are requested to follow their instructions
and remain calm. You will be directed to a marshalling area: please remain there until otherwise advised by
our staff or emergency personnel. If you discover a fire you should activate the nearest alarm and, immedi-
ately following evacuation, identify yourself to a staff member and provide details of the alarm.
THANK YOU FOR
60 YEARS OF
SHEER JOY
SHAWFEST.COM/SUPPORT-US James Daly and Michael Therriault with the cast of Grand Hotel (2018)
Client: SHAW FESTIVAL Publication: 2022 House Programme Insertion Date: 2022
Size: 4.875 in in x 3.875 in Contact: BRUCE@KEYGORDON.COMFESTIVAL THEATRE, MAY 18 TO OCTOBER 9
TIM CARROLL TIM JENNINGS
Artistic Director Executive Director
KIMBERLEY RAMPERSAD, Associate Artistic Director
JULIA COURSE, PETER FERNANDES, MARTIN HAPPER,
KATE HENNIG and GABRIELLA SUNDAR SINGH in
THE IMPORTANCE
OF BEING EARNEST
by OSCAR WILDE
with NEIL BARCLAY, PATTY JAMIESON, ANDRÉ MORIN,
RIC REID, GRAEME SOMERVILLE and JACQUELINE THAIR
Directed by TIM CARROLL
Set designed by GILLIAN GALLOW
Costumes designed by CHRISTINA PODDUBIUK
Lighting designed by KEVIN LAMOTTE
Original music and sound designed by JAMES SMITH
IN MEMORIAM: CHRISTOPHER NEWTON, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMERITUS (1936-2021).
The videotaping or other video or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
is generously sponsored by
James & Diane King
FRONT COVER: PHOTO BY KEY GORDON.THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST
is generously sponsored by
James & Diane King
2022 Christopher Newton Intern
Beyata Hackborn is generously supported
by Marilyn and Charles Baillie.
KATE HENNIG AS LADY BRACKNELL .The Cast IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE
Maid PATTY JAMIESON
Lane NEIL BARCLAY
Algernon Moncrieff PETER FERNANDES
John Worthing, JP (Ernest) MARTIN HAPPER
Lady Bracknell KATE HENNIG
Honourable Gwendolen Fairfax JULIA COURSE
Footman ANDRÉ MORIN
Merriman GRAEME SOMERVILLE
Miss Prism JACQUELINE THAIR
Cecily Cardew GABRIELLA SUNDAR SINGH
Reverend Canon Chasuble, DD RIC REID
act i: Algernon Moncrieff’s flat in Half-Moon Street.
intermission
act iI: The garden at the Manor House, Woolton, Hertfordshire.
intermission
act iiI: The drawing-room at the Manor House.
Production Stage Manager MEREDITH MACDONALD
Assistant Stage Manager AMY JEWELL
Rehearsal Apprentice Stage Manager JORDINE DE GUZMAN
Assistant Director RYAN G. HINDS
Assistant Costume Designer BEYATA HACKBORN
Assistant Lighting Designer MIKAEL KANGAS
Voice and Dialect Coach NANCY BENJAMIN
Special thanks to Felson Tailors.
Additional Properties assistance provided by Dana Cornelius and Cheryl Hughes.
Additional Scenic Art assistance provided by Kristen McCormick and Jessica Wu.
Additional Wardrobe assistance provided by Nancy Clare Ferreira and Lise St Germain.
Additional Wigs and Make-up assistance provided by Cindy Lou Taché.
UNDERSTUDIES
NEIL BARCLAY, Reverend Canon Chasuble; SHANE CARTY, Merriman; PATTY JAMIESON, Lady Bracknell,
Miss Prism; MARLA McLEAN, Honourable Gwendolen Fairfax; MIKE NADAJEWSKI, Algernon Moncrieff; JADE REPETA,
Maid; ADAM SERGISON, Footman; OLIVIA SINCLAIR-BRISBANE, Cecily Cardew; GRAEME SOMERVILLE, Jack Worthing;
JAY TURVEY, Lane; BEATRICE CAMPBELL, Stage Manager; ASHLEY IRELAND, Assistant Stage Manager
Running time is approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes including two intermissionsDirector’s Note
by Tim Carroll
If you read any of the (literally hundreds) of books that have been written about playwriting,
you will almost certainly come across the following rules: your characters must be three-
dimensional and sharply differentiated; they must not all simply speak like you, the author;
the main characters, at least, must develop, going on a journey through the arc of the piece
and coming out changed by their experiences; the action of the play must put your characters
into difficult or even impossible situations, forcing them to make choices that will reveal
some truth about themselves; and, however big a role coincidence plays in setting the action
of the play in motion, it must be by their own efforts (or because of their own mistakes) that
the characters reach their goal (or don’t).
I have been thinking about these, and many other, rules a great deal while directing The
Importance of Being Earnest, because, as far as I can see, it breaks all of them. Indeed, accord-
ing to every book I have ever read on the art of writing plays, Earnest shouldn’t work at all:
the characters are all two-dimensional
and more or less interchangeable; they
all sound like Oscar Wilde; they never
change or learn anything; none of
them is ever faced with an especially
taxing choice; and the whole thing is
resolved by the kind of coincidence
that, when it was called divine inter-
vention, Aristotle outlawed more than
two thousand years ago. And yet it is
a delight from start to finish.
So there. Sometimes one has no
choice but to shrug and say “it just
works.” It’s not as if those books on
plays are wrong: an analysis of every
good play ever written does indeed
show the above features – and a few
others – to be common to most of them.
It would certainly not be a good idea
for any playwright to set out to write
a play that flouted every rule and de-
pended for its success purely on the
brilliance of its dialogue (plus a fairly
efficient, if obvious, plot). Unless you
happen to be Oscar Wilde, that would
be a really bad idea; and even he only
managed it once.
So thank goodness for excep-
tions. And for the exceptional, once-
in-the-history-of-the-world, talent of
Mr Wilde.
JULIA COURSE AS GWENDOLEN AND GABRIELLA SUNDAR
SINGH AS CECILY. OPPOSITE: MARTIN HAPPER AS JACK
AND JULIA COURSE AS GWENDOLEN; PETER FERNANDES
AS ALGERNON AND GABRIELLA SUNDAR SINGH AS CECILY.“ As far as I can ascertain, I am the only PORTRAIT BY YUKO SHIMIZU,
CREATED FOR THE FAIRY TALES
person in London who cannot sit down OF OSCAR WILDE, PUBLISHED
and write an Oscar Wilde play at will.”
BY BEEHIVE BOOKS IN 2019.
OPPOSITE: KATE HENNIG AS
LADY BRACKNELL .
Bernard Shaw (in Saturday Review
on Wilde’s An Ideal Husband)Victorian Cancel Culture
by Bob Hetherington
Oscar Wilde, himself, could scarcely believe that The Importance of Being Earnest was re-
ally so much better than all of his other plays. “There are two ways of disliking my plays,”
he once remarked. “One way is to dislike them; the other is to prefer Earnest.” While it is
generally recognized as a theatrical masterpiece (“the only pure verbal opera in English”
according to W.H. Auden) not every critic was immediately won over– including this
Festival’s namesake. “I cannot say that I greatly cared for The Importance of Being Earnest,”
wrote Bernard Shaw in the Saturday Review. “It amused me, of course; but unless comedy
touches me as well as amuses me, it leaves me with a sense of having wasted my evening.”
Perhaps a cranky GBS pronounced it “really heartless” and “essentially hateful” because
Wilde’s last play seems so unlike other Victorian examples, including Shaw’s. While most of
nineteenth-century drama is nearly forgotten, Earnest’s reputation appears to be expand-
ing. Biographer Hesketh Pearson noted that only Hamlet is quoted more often than Earnest.
Certainly, Shaw could not make any such
claim. Though living in “an age of surfaces”
(says Lady Bracknell), Oscar Wilde elevated
period manners to timeless art.
In 1894 Wilde found himself in desper-
ate straits. He had become famous for writing
a sort of “social comedy” which invariably
revolved around some problem such as a
“woman with a past,” in Lady Windermere’s
Fan (1892) or A Woman of No Importance
(1893), but his more experimental work, like
the symbolist play Salomé (1891), was con-
sidered too controversial to be licensed for
production in England. He found himself
torn between competing needs to care for his
wife, his two young children, his mother’s
financial affairs, and his entanglements in
barely clandestine homosexual encounters
(especially with Lord Alfred “Bosie” Doug-
las). His lavish lifestyle had left him nearly
penniless.
“I am so pressed for money,” Wilde dis-
closed to theatre manager George Alexander,
“that I don’t know what to do.” He saw writing
for the theatre as his only available financial
lifeline and managed to extract £150 for an
option on the play based on a slender plot
outline and promised that “the real charm of
the play, if it is to have charm, must be in the dialogue.” He started on the new play almost
immediately after arriving in Worthing, (which is, as Jack tells Lady Bracknell, a seaside
resort in Sussex) hindered – or possibly helped – by his well-intentioned butler, Arthur.
Oscar wrote to Bosie, “[the new play] is not shaped yet. It lies in Sibylline leaves scattered
about the room, and Arthur has twice made a chaos of it by tidying up. The result, however,
was rather dramatic.”Wilde always claimed The Importance of Being Earnest celebrates the trivial, but he
also exposed the hypocrisy and nastiness lurking under Victorian politeness. While the
characters appear to obey propriety, they lie and deceive to do so. Both Jack and Algernon
lead double lives. In his country house where he lives with his ward, Cecily, Jack is forced
to adopt a “very high moral tone on all subjects.” But since a high moral tone “can hardly
be said to conduce very much to one’s health or one’s happiness,” he pays frequent visits
to his flat in London, where, like another Victorian character, Dr Jekyll, he assumes the
mantle of wicked Earnest Worthing.
Algy also has a double life, escaping the country to visit an imaginary permanent
invalid called Bunbury. Bunburying is Algy’s way of escaping moral and social responsi-
bilities. “Nothing will induce me to part with Bunbury,” he says: “If you ever get married,
which seems to me extremely problematic, you will be very glad to know Bunbury. A man
who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very
tedious time of it.”
Oscar was almost certainly drawing on his own
considerable history of Bunburying. He had spent
the last ten years inventing excuses to get away from
his wife Constance and the children and spend time
with desirable young men. “I am off to the country till
Monday,” he told George Ives in an unmistakable bout
of Bunburying. “I have said I am going to Cambridge
to see you, but I am really going to see the attractive
young Domitian.”
Earnest chronicles the very things that led to its
author’s personal destruction: uncontrolled appetites,
double lives, and living only for pleasure. Barely six
months after the success of Earnest, Wilde would be
tried, convicted, and imprisoned for “gross indecency”
– the law’s name for homosexuality. As an affectionate
inscription engraved in a cigarette case would expose Jack Worthing’s double life, Oscar’s
would be revealed in open court when the prosecution produced multiple incriminating
cigarette cases. Wilde’s name was stripped from the marquees, cancelled from Victorian
society, and he died in exile and poverty barely five years after Earnest’s triumphant premiere.
For more than a century, The Importance of Being Earnest, Wilde’s “trivial” romp, has
made audiences giddy with subversive laughter. Like his characters, he had a secret emo-
tional life that fired his creativity and found expression in his writing until the Victorians
cancelled him. W.H. Auden observed: “From the beginning, Wilde performed his life and
continued to do so even after fate had taken the plot out of his hands.” Earnest’s comedy,
though dazzlingly bright, hid the contempt and pain beneath “an age of surfaces,” and,
anticipating our own gossip culture, Wilde’s celebrity blurred the boundary between his
public and private personality. “Would you like to know the great drama of my life?” Oscar
Wilde once inquired of André Gide. “It is that I have put all my genius into my life; I have
put only my talent into my works.”
BOB HETHERINGTON IS A THEATRE DIRECTOR AND PROFESSOR EMERITUS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS. HE IS
A FREQUENT SHAW ESSAYIST, WHOSE RECENT CONTRIBUTIONS INCLUDE DAMN YANKEES (2022), CHARLEY’S AUNT
(2021), ROPE (2019), HENRY V (2018) AND MIDDLETOWN (2017).CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: MARTIN HAPPER AS JACK AND PETER FERNANDES AS ALGERNON; PETER FERNANDES AS ALGERNON; MARTIN HAPPER AS JACK AND JULIA COURSE AS GWENDOLEN; NEIL BARCLAY AS LANE .
The Importance of Being Earnest, 2022 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: JACQUELINE THAIR AS MISS PRISM, RIC REID AS CANON CHASUBLE, PETER FERNANDES AS ALGERNON, GABRIELLA SUNDAR SINGH AS CECILY AND MARTIN HAPPER AS JACK; KATE HENNIG AS LADY BRACKNELL; PETER FERNANDES AS ALGERNON, JACQUELINE THAIR AS MISS PRISM AND RIC REID AS CANON CHASUBLE WITH ANDRÉ MORIN AS THE FOOTMAN, GRAEME SOMERVILLE AS MERRIMAN AND PATTY JAMIESON AS THE MAID; JULIA COURSE AS GWENDOLEN AND MARTIN HAPPER AS JACK.
The Importance of Being Earnest, 2022
“Shall I Lay Tea Here As Usual, Miss?”
Compiled by Bob Hetherington
Cecily and Gwendolen’s afternoon tea scene in Act Two is a famous send up of a sacred
piece of English social behaviour. Brits have been drinking tea for over 350 years, but the
beverage has been around a lot longer. Legend has it that in 2737 BC, Chinese Emperor
and renowned herbalist Shen Nung was sitting under a tree while his servant was boiling
drinking water. Chinese mythology states that a leaf from a Camellia sinensis, or tea plant,
fell into the water and Shen Nung decided to taste the concoction. And so, tea was born.
We should probably credit the wife of King Charles II for popularizing tea in the UK.
In 1662, Catherine, the daughter of Portugal’s King John IV became Queen of England,
Scotland and Ireland, and more to the point,
brought the tea trend to Britain. In response
to the new demand, the East India Company JULIA COURSE AS GWENDOLEN AND
began to import it to Britain, but high taxes GABRIELLA SUNDAR SINGH AS CECILY
on black and green tea meant that social tea WITH GRAEME SOMERVILLE
AS MERRIMAN AND ANDRÉ
drinking could only be afforded by the wealth-
MORIN AS THE FOOTMAN.
ier classes. A cup of tea became an activity
associated with luxury.
By the eighteenth century, people of all
backgrounds were clamouring for tea, but it
was still too expensive for ordinary customers.
Smugglers were sneaking in significantly more
tea than what was imported legally. Eventu-
ally, when William Pitt the Younger became
Prime Minister in 1783, he slashed the tea tax
from 119% to 12.5%, making illegal smuggling
all but vanish overnight. Consumption of tea
skyrocketed, and England finally had a new
national beverage.
Now, how do we get to the social customs
of Cecily’s afternoon tea?
For hundreds of years during the Middle
Ages and the Renaissance, daylight deter-
mined the workday and the meal schedule.
The two regular meals were breakfast and
then a dinner at noon, the big meal of the day.
Before people went to bed shortly after sun-
down, they might eat what we would call a
snack, a bit of supper.
During the Industrial Revolution and cer-
tainly the invention of gas and electric lighting,
the moneyed classes could extend their lives into the evening, so dinner for them moved
from noon to after dark, beginning at 8:00 or later. Because a light lunch did not sustain
one until a late dinner, at mid-century Ana, the seventh Duchess of Bedford, is credited
with starting to take tea with a small piece of cake or bread and butter in the late afternoon
in her room. This repast turned into a social event with her friends and moved into the
parlour, where the tea was served on the low tables amid the sofas and chairs – “low tea”
for the high society.For the working classes, however, this late afternoon meal took place after work, often
after 6:30 at night, a cold repast of bread, cheese, perhaps cold meat (leftovers from their
dinner at noon) and was eaten at the higher kitchen table – “high tea” (or “meat tea”) for the
lower classes for whom this was the only evening meal. The name derived from the height of
the table, although as the custom spread into the tourist industry in the twentieth century,
the high in “high tea” was misunderstood as referring to the social stratum and the tourist
trade responded, so that now posh hotels offer at “high tea” what Victorians enjoyed at “low
tea” – small crustless sandwiches (also English creations) and some sweets and cake slices.
Over time, milk was added – this might have been to soften the harsh and bitter
flavours, or perhaps reducing the temperature to avoid cracking the bone China teacups.
In 1908, the tea bag was invented in America – although it was slow to gain popularity.
The UK Tea & Infusions Association (UK TIA) says 84% of the British population drinks tea
every day, and roughly 97% of those brews are served with milk. “There are few hours in
life more agreeable,” says writer Henry James, “than the hour dedicated to the ceremony
known as afternoon tea.”GOLDIE SEMPLE AS LADY BRACKNELL , DIANA DONNELLY AS CECILY, BERNARD BEHRENS AS CANON CHASUBLE,
FIONA BYRNE AS GWENDOLEN, BRIGITTE ROBINSON AS MISS PRISM, EVAN BULIUNG AS JACK AND DAVID LEYSHON
AS ALGERNON IN THE 2004 SHAW FESTIVAL PRODUCTION (PHOTO BY DAVID COOPER).
Production History
The Importance of Being Earnest premiered on St Valentine’s Day, 1895 at the St James’s Theatre,
London. Wilde’s earlier play, An Ideal Husband had opened only a month before and was still
playing to packed houses. Earnest remains one of the most produced comedies of all time.
John Gielgud starred at the Globe (now the Gielgud) Theatre in 1939, in a cast that
famously included Edith Evans’ Lady Bracknell. The Times considered the production the
best since the original. Lady Bracknell has attracted some of the most famous actors ever
since. Robin Phillips’ celebrated production at Stratford in 1975 (remounted in 1976 and
1979) was a showcase for William Hutt’s formidable Lady Bracknell. Sir Peter Hall’s 1982
production at the National Theatre featured Judi Dench; Nicholas Hytner’s 1993 production
at the Aldwych Theatre, starred Maggie Smith. The Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2011
Broadway revival was based on an earlier Stratford Festival production, directed by Brian
Bedford, who also played Lady Bracknell.
The first Canadian production was at the Princess Theatre on May 31, 1907, presented
by the Toronto Press Club. Brent Carver’s Jack Worthing distinguished a 1990 production
at Canadian Stage. Christopher Newton directed an earlier Shaw Festival production in
2004 where Goldie Semple was Lady Bracknell.The Author
OSCAR WILDE (1854-1900) like Shaw, was born in Dublin, Ireland. His father was an interna-
tionally known ear and eye surgeon, and his mother a writer who supported Irish nationalist
and women’s rights movements. Young Oscar distinguished himself in classical studies at
Trinity College, Dublin, and won a scholarship to attend Oxford. There he became influenced
by the aesthetic movement, which held that a full life was only possible through one’s devo-
tion to art. By 1881, Wilde was so well known for his aesthetic views that his eccentricities
were satirized in Punch and in Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera Patience.
Such notoriety led to a year-long lecture tour to America, where he was lionized by the
press. After returning home in 1882, he undertook a similar tour of Britain. Soon afterward,
Wilde married Constance Lloyd, with whom he had two sons. Wilde’s literary career did not
begin to take shape until the late 1880s. After a two-year stint as editor of the London magazine
Woman’s World, he published a book of children’s stories entitled The Happy Prince and Other
Tales. In 1891 he published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which generated a great
deal of critical controversy.
From 1891 to 1895, Wilde wrote four
society comedies on which his literary
reputation now rests. The first two were
Lady Windermere’s Fan (produced in
1892) and A Woman of No Importance
(1893), which ran for more than 100 per-
formances each. The last two, An Ideal
Husband (1895) and The Importance of
Being Earnest (1895), would likely have
run much longer, were it not for the
famous scandal that broke upon Wilde
at the height of his fame.
Wilde had become the lover of
Lord Alfred Douglas, known as “Bosie,”
an aspiring poet seventeen years his
junior. Bosie’s father, the Marquis of
Queensberry, detested Wilde and his
lifestyle. Two weeks after The Impor-
tance opened in triumph, the Marquis
delivered a calling card to Wilde’s club,
describing Wilde as a “Somdomite” [sic].
Instead of ignoring the incident, Wilde
(at Bosie’s urging) sued the Marquis for
libel. This gave Queensberry his long-
awaited opportunity to destroy Wilde. In court, private detectives and male prostitutes gave
ample testimony to Wilde’s homosexual practices; and when Wilde dropped the lawsuit, he
was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to two years at hard labour.
From prison, Wilde wrote a long bitter letter to Bosie which was later published as De
Profundis (1897), and on his release left for France and never returned to Britain. His last
major work was a poem entitled The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898). Dogged by poverty and
ill health, Wilde contracted meningitis and died in Paris in 1900.
PORTRAIT DRAWING BY WALTER RICHARD SIKERT MADE SHORTLY AFTER WILDE’S RELEASE FROM PRISON IN 1897.For full biographical information about
our cast and creative team, please visit TIM CARROLL
shawfest.com/ensemble.
TIM CARROLL Director
SHAW 2022: Director for The Importance of
Being Earnest. I grew up in Manchester at
a time when the Royal Exchange Theatre
there was in a golden age. I saw Helen Mir-
ren as the Duchess of Malfi, and Ben King-
sley as Doctor Faustus. These experiences
doomed me to a life in the theatre. Since
then, I have worked with many wonder-
ful people, among them Louis Scheeder,
a wonderful teacher and director at New
York University, who was my friend and
mentor for more than twenty years. He left
us this past Christmas, but his words are
still with me: “Play to win. Make a differ-
ence. Don’t give up.”
GILLIAN GALLOW
Set Designer CHRISTINA PODDUBIUK
GILLIAN GALLOW
SHAW 2022: Set designer for The
Importance of Being Earnest and
The Doctor’s Dilemma. I was born
and raised in Oakville, Ontario.
The first show I was ever in was
during first grade when I played
the Apple of Monday. In high
school, my drama class included
a design assignment for which we
had to build a maquette. The set I
designed ended up being used for
our Sears Drama production that
year, and after that I was hooked
on designing. This is my fifth
production with the Shaw Festi-
val; I previously designed set and
costumes for An Octoroon, The
Russian Play and Stage Kiss; and
costumes for The Devil’s Disciple.
CHRISTINA PODDUBIUK Costume Designer KEVIN LAMOTTE
SHAW 2022: Costume designer for The Importance
of Being Earnest. I was liberally supplied with draw-
ing paper as a child, and it was my favourite activity,
besides reading. I particularly enjoyed illustrating the
fairy stories and folk tales I loved. My father worked in
the engineering industry, so blueprints were regularly
lying around unfurled, and I recall trying to under-
stand how they worked. Perversely, I began university
in the sciences, but soon discovered what the great
designer François Barbeau, an unlikely Polonius,
meant when I was later enrolled at the National The-
atre School – “know thyself.” Once I reconciled art,
literature and design, I really did find “me.”
KEVIN LAMOTTE Lighting Designer
SHAW 2022: Lighting designer for The Importance of Being Earnest, Everybody, Gem of the Ocean, A Christmas
Carol and White Christmas. One of my early memories of watching a play was here at the Shaw Festival in 1982.
That summer I was considering a career in the arts and maybe theatre design, although that all seemed like a longshot at the time. The Shaw’s production of Cyrano de
Bergerac, with sets and costumes by Cameron Porte-
JAMES SMITH
ous and lighting design by Robert Thomson, was so
inspiring then and has stayed with me all this time.
JAMES SMITH Composer / Sound Designer
SHAW 2022: Composer/sound designer for The
Importance of Being Earnest. I had my first piano
lesson when I was seven years old. I remember
thinking “whelp, this is all I care about now.” I took
it way too seriously for a little kid. I still do, per-
haps. There is deep comfort to be found in a piano’s
eighty-eight keys. Comfort in how simple it is, but
also how endlessly complex and expressive. I was
lucky enough to discover the same com-
fort in theatre when I landed a role in the
NEIL BARCLAY chorus of Gypsy in high school. I knew
right away that I wanted to combine my
loves – theatre and music – and that is
exactly what I’ve spent my life doing. I’ve
had the immense pleasure of working as
an actor, composer, sound designer and
writer at dozens of beautiful theatres in
this country and beyond.
NEIL BARCLAY Lane
SHAW 2022: The Importance of Being Ear-
nest and Too True To Be Good; 32nd season.
I’m glad we’re both here and travelling
to strange and wonderful worlds again.
Over the years at Shaw, I’ve played a wide
array of characters: a circus strongman, a
suburban milquetoast, an Oxford undergraduate, a Revolu-
JULIA COURSE
tionary War lunkhead, a Victorian detective, a music-hall
compère, a Chicago crime reporter and a Chicago gangster,
a balletomane, a travel writer, a Prime Minister, a publi-
can, a vicar, a priest, a hired killer, a conflicted lawyer, a
German general, a Norwegian painter, an anecdotalizing
actor, an ineffectual director, a Russian estate manager, an
Okanagan farmer, a silent-film legend, an Italian dictator, a
Roman emperor, a medieval knight and the whole Russian
army. Plus a couple of butlers. Thanks for being here and
enjoy the trip!
JULIA COURSE Gwendolen Fairfax
SHAW 2022: The Importance of Being Earnest and Gaslight;
13th season. My first theatre experience was on my seventh
birthday. I memorized the box office phone number for The
Phantom of the Opera and begged my parents to take me.
My dad bought Phantom-shaped wine gums, and I can still
remember the dress I wore. It was all very exciting and, as I
watched the show, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. But, it
wasn’t until my high school drama class that I truly fell in
love with playing pretend. Our teacher, Debra McLauchlan,
inspired in us curiosity and creativity. She became a men-
tor and dear friend, and still inspires the way I approach
my theatre work.PETER FERNANDES Algernon Moncrieff
PETER FERNANDES
SHAW 2022: The Importance of Being Earnest and Damn
Yankees; 4th season. I was born in Awali, Bahrain, raised
in Edmonton, and now call Toronto home. Before mov-
ing to Canada I wasn’t exposed to a lot of theatre, but my
parents encouraged my siblings and me to sing as an extra-
curricular activity. Little did they know that all three of
us would become actors. In grade six, I performed in my
school’s production of The Wizard of Oz. I played the Cow-
ardly Lion, because I was so nervous during the audition
that I kept stuttering. In the show, I had to faint – this made
the audience laugh and I’ve been trying to make people
laugh ever since.
MARTIN HAPPER Jack Worthing
SHAW 2022: The Importance of Being Earnest and Too True
To Be Good; 17th season. One of the first times anyone gave
me money to perform was for a gig in which I played a robot
of my own invention that walked around a Shoppers Drug
Mart during an after-hours cosmetics application workshop.
My performance concluded with the robot rapping
about its love for and subsequent addiction to cos-
metics, because applying them to its face made MARTIN HAPPER
the robot feel more human. I thought the piece
was quite clever and subversive. This could have
been noteworthy for the five full-of-regret audi-
ence members, had I better resembled a robot and,
perhaps more crucially, remembered the words to
the rap. A tough lesson learnt in a Chilliwack drug
store, and one that I aim not to repeat for you today.
KATE HENNIG Lady Bracknell
SHAW 2022: Appearing in The Importance of Being
Earnest and Gaslight; director for White Christmas.
I was born in England, in a house called “Wit’s End”,
in a cul-de-sac, on a housing estate, in a “new-town”
that had been built up after the bombing of London
during the Second World War. This random cir-
cumstance has allowed me a certain set of dubious
credentials: firstly, I am an “Essex Girl” (if you don’t
know the meaning of this pejorative saying, it’s
worth a little Siri search); and secondly, since my
parents are both Canadians, my citizenship was
registered as: “Canadian-born abroad” – or “born
a broad”! I kind of like having official documenta-
tion of that fact.
PATTY JAMIESON Maid
SHAW 2022: Appearing in The Importance of Being
Earnest and Damn Yankees; co-author of Gaslight; 24th PATTY JAMIESON
season. Favourite plays I’ve worked on have been about
love: She Loves Me, Major Barbara, The Light in the
Piazza, Ragtime. When rehearsing, the themes perme-
ate the words, characters, space, and we examine those
themes (love?) from front, back and all sides. Maybe
all art is really about love. It’s been hard for artists the
past couple of years, and this will continue where real
survival is in question. But I believe art will spring back
because humans understand instinctively that love will
save us. We want to be reminded how to examine it from
front, back and all sides.GILLES ZOLTY
ANDRÉ MORIN Footman
ANDRÉ MORIN
SHAW 2022: The Importance of Being Earnest and Gaslight; 1st season. I
grew up in a little place called Read, which is north of a medium place
called Belleville; however, at the moment, I live farther north than Read
on a farm in Tweed – it all rhymes and that’s just fine. I live up there with
my partner Daniel and our dog Biscuit. Biscuit is a Border Collie and he’s
too smart for his own good, but he’s a loveable scamp so that’s all right.
All of this is in Ontario, by the way. You’ll definitely have passed by Bel-
leville on the 401, if you’ve ever made the trek east to Ottawa, Montreal,
and so on. I love it out there. It reminds me a lot of the vineyards and
farmland that surround Niagara-on-the-Lake, just with more rolling
hills, exposed granite and weeping limestone.
KATE HENNIG
RIC REID
Reverend Canon Chasuble
SHAW 2022: The Importance of Being Ear-
nest and Damn Yankees; 19th season. Where
is inspiration? At The Shaw I have worked
opposite Goldie Semple. A beautiful soul,
full of inspiration. You could fill an ency-
clopedia with the wisdom and experience
of Robert Benson and Al Kozlik. Bernard
Behrens was a great spirit of a man. The
thrill ride of working with Jennifer Phipps.
I will miss the laughter, drive and punch of
Mary Haney. Jonah McIntosh...you could
not breathe without being inspired. David
Schurmann, a man with a heart of gold.
Neil Munro, there are not enough words.
Christopher Newton built the company
we all celebrate. Inspiration is not lost, it is
carried within.
GABRIELLA SUNDAR SINGH
Cecily Cardew
SHAW 2022: The Importance of Being
Earnest and Chitra; 5th season. My
GABRIELLA SUNDAR SINGH
mother was a dancer growing up
and has always shared her love of
story-telling through dance with me
and my sister. When I was four, she
introduced me to Bharathanatyam, a
form of drama-dance from the south
of India. It is a highly expressive and
epic art form, and I have loved learn-
ing how to translate what I know to
my work in theatre. I was fourteen
years old when I performed in my
first musical, as a dancer in Crazy
for You, and it finally all clicked: my
training, my love for performing,
and the spaces that I knew I felt at
home in. It’s my dream to inspire
other young artists by helping to
create and maintain those spaces.
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