Welcome To Thebes

On Wednesday April 13th, Gerson and I had the privilege of attending a play at the Ryerson Theater School entitled, 'Welcome To Thebes'. The play stars our own Rebecca Liddiard as Antigone, in a story of modern drama and primeval tragedy. Naturally, being lovers of stories and theatrical productions we were thrilled to be invited to watch the show. It has been some time since Gerson or I have been to the theater, and that made us even more curious and excited about going to this play! If you haven't been to the Ryerson Theater School, it's located in what can be considered the main campus area of the school at Gerrard and Church Street in Toronto. It's an older building, with loads of character and as we wound our way up to the top floor of the building we peeked into the other studios to find rehearsals and productions happening within. The whole place oozes creativity, and once we found ourselves upstairs we realized that not only had the production started, but we would have to enter the performance area WITH the actors on cue, and slip into our seats. Embarrassed and energized, Gerson and I waited behind costumed actors who were already deeply into their characters. We agreed that we didn't want to get swept onto stage, that would only make matters worse. We would follow like shadowy ninjas, and appear in our seats without a trip. The usher gave us the go ahead, and as we moved forward we could hear the actors in front of us shouting (they were evidently Bodyguards), and this drew the maximum amount of attention. Without any of the smoothness we had planned on, Gerson and I bumbled over people, blocked views and generally confused folk to the point that some thought we were a part of the show! Once we were seated, the real fun began and we were wonderfully wowed!

The costumes were great and in some cases they signified a character so boldly that the director was able to have two or three actors play the role of a particular character for a portion of the play. For example three male actors played the role of Theseus. A few props helped the action along, but all in all the play was very minimal leaving the drama to the actors and their character sketches. An androgynous gypsy witch, commandos, a general, politicians, bodyguards, pissed off teenagers, romantics and a gamut of characters exploded off of each other for two hours of incredible!  There we a lot of over the shoulder comments between Gerson and I, mainly comprising of; 'this is amazing!', 'holy shit!', and 'isn't Rebecca terrific!'. The actors created an enthralling atmosphere where the days of ancient Athenians melded with that of our modern day telling a story of wounded pride, loyalty and progress.

Rebecca's character of Antigone was a conflicted and deeply emotional girl, ensnared in the political turmoil of the time, and at the same time dealing with her own dramas of love and loyalty. Her expressions conveyed her emotions long before her dialogue, and as her character was pushed further and further to the limits, so too was the performance. Rebecca and her character were reminiscent to that of a toiling Hamlet, lost in a sea of bureaucratic brew-ha while trying to honor his father, so too was Antigone looking for a proper burial for Polynices. Gerson and I were so proud and amazed with Rebecca's performance that we truly can't wait to see what she does with Sophia.

We left the Theater School energized and excited once again, talking about our favorite parts, and how much we are looking forward to seeing more theater as well as the rehearsals for 'With Her'. This week, we begin our first cast rehearsals with Joseph, Taylor, and Rececca. We will keep you posted on how it's all going, and I know that I'll be writing another rave review for our actors before too long (:

Kristopher Finnigan
Producer
With Her