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August 30, 2013
An award-worthy performance
Colleen Wheeler is sublime in Timothy Findley’s Elizabeth Rex at Bard on the Beach.
TOVA G. KORNFELD
You don’t expect a bear to tread the boards at Bard on the Beach. But this year, a gentle brown giant shares stage front and centre with the actors in Canadian playwright Timothy Findley’s award-winning Elizabeth Rex, the only one of the Bard quartet set in its proper historical period. Community member Rachel Ditor, in her third directing stint at Bard, has done a beautiful job of bringing out the essence and power of this thought-provoking work revolving around a theme of role-playing and gender identity.
Findley uses the literary device of a “play within a play” for his take on one fateful night in the life of Queen Elizabeth I.
The story opens on the eve of Shakespeare’s death in 1616, with the Bard, as narrator, bemoaning his perceived uneventful life in a poignant soliloquy. Before he departs this earth, he has one last story to tell – that story recalls the events of another night 15 years earlier, before the execution of the Earl of Essex, Elizabeth’s lover.
Essex has been convicted of treason for his role in a plot against the crown and the queen has ordered him beheaded. She cannot pardon him, as to do so would send a message to the enemies of England that a weak woman rules the land. She is conflicted, however, as she loves him. Her head wins out over her heart, but she is grief stricken in her decision. She summons Shakespeare and his company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, to distract her with a performance of a light comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. After the performance, she visits the actors, who are overnighting in one of the royal barns, emoting as she enters, “Oh, I love a barn, I have always felt safe in a barn, all the animals there are benign.”
There, she meets her match in Ned Lowenscroft, Shakespeare’s “leading lady,” who is dying from the pox after a tryst with an Irish soldier. (Women did not appear in Shakespearean performances, so young men were cast in the female roles.) Ned engages in a probing thrust and parry of witty repartee with his monarch, and he forces her to bare her soul and come to terms with her gender identity crisis. She bemoans the fact that she must act like a man to be perceived as tough, yet she has loved and lost as a woman. What is she, a woman or a man, a regina or a rex? In a moving moment, she says, “I killed the woman in my heart that England may survive.” She reaches out to Ned, “If you will teach me to be a woman, I will teach you to be a man.” It is ironic that the queen receives her lesson in femininity from Ned, whose career has been built on his ability to deceive audiences as to his gender, but he, too, learns from her strength and aggression to face his impending death with courage.
Colleen Wheeler is sublime in her portrayal of good Queen Bess. This role was made for her gravelly voice and powerful physical presence. Wheeler committed to the part by shaving off her trademark curly red tresses. In an interview with a local newspaper, she noted that the action made her more vulnerable and better informed as an actor to relate to her character. She said, “It takes away my outside femininity and that is a great challenge.”
When the bell tolls for her lover’s death, Elizabeth unwigs herself and lets out a gut-wrenching primal scream, providing a memorable moment (tissue at the ready is suggested). Mara Gottler has costumed the sovereign in exquisite, bespoke jewel-bedecked dresses that add extra punch to an already overwhelming presence. Wheeler should receive a Jessie for her performance.
Haig Sutherland, as Ned, is the perfect counterpoint to Wheeler. With nothing to lose in his last days, this slightly built man says what he thinks; Sutherland’s performance is completely open and honest. Bernard Cuffling as an aging thespian reliving his past theatrical glory to anyone that listens adds a needed comedic touch, along with community member Anton Lipovetsky and Dustin Freeland, two other “lady actors.” Andrew Wheeler plays handsome, philandering Irishman Jack, Benedict to Ned’s Beatrice, Lois Anderson, Mistress Tardy (Kate “Tardy” Tardwell) and David Marr is the Bard himself.
And then there is the bear. Ned introduces us to Harry, who Ned has rescued from a bear-baiting pit; Harry is now his constant companion. Benjamin Elliott as Harry moves around the stage incognito in a costume that must weigh at least 40 pounds.
The set is simple, the timbered inside of a barn lit with the soft glow of lanterns. Musical director Patrick Pennefather has drawn on early baroque music to complement the staging.
The play runs until Sept. 11. Unfortunately, all remaining performances are sold out but you can be put on a wait list by contacting the box office at 604-739-0559 or online at bardonthebeach.org.
Tova G. Kornfeld is a Vancouver freelance writer and lawyer.
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