WILDE WITTICISMS ABOUND IN EDA HOLMES’S STYLISH A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE – Long-concealed secrets and scandal are exposed beginning May 29

WILDE WITTICISMS ABOUND IN EDA HOLMES’S STYLISH
A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

–  Long-concealed secrets and scandal are exposed beginning May 29 –

Taking inspiration from photographer Cecil Beaton’s celebrated Vogue fashion shoot and the creations of couturier Charles James, designer Michael Gianfrancesco’s set and costumes transport the play to the fabulous 1950s – evoking striking parallels between the decadent high societies of the Victorian era and the booming post-war decade. Kevin Lamotte’s lighting design and John Gzowski’s original music and sound design complete the on-stage portrait.

A lively group of aristocratic women converge on the terrace at Lady Hunstanton’s (Fiona Reid) country house party. Among them is Hester Worsley (Julia Course), a visiting American heiress; entitled Lady Caroline Pontefract (Mary Haney) and dazzling narcissist Mrs. Allonby (Diana Donnelly). Marriage, affairs, divorce and, of course, the wickedly attractive and scandalously unmarried Lord Illingworth (Martin Happer) are all thoroughly discussed. Illingworth, who aspires to be a diplomat, plans to make the young Gerald Arbuthnot (Wade Bogert-O’Brien) his protégé. But when Gerald’s mother, Mrs. Arbuthnot (Fiona Byrne), arrives at the party, their lives are forever changed as she lays bare a long-concealed secret.

The Shaw’s production of A Woman of No Importance also features the talents of Claire Jullien, Thom Marriott, Jeff Meadows, Jim Mezon and Ric Reid.

A Woman of No Importance is on stage at the Festival Theatre (10 Queen’s Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake) from May 29 to October 22 (opening June 25).

This Shaw Festival production is sponsored by CIBC.
Cast (in alphabetical order):

Creative & Production:

 
The Shaw Festival’s 2016 season is on stage April 9 through October 23. The playbill features Alice in Wonderland, A Woman of No Importance, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Uncle Vanya, “Master Harold” …and the Boys, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, Our Town, Mrs Warren’s Profession, Engaged, and The Dance of Death. Tickets for the Shaw Festival’s 2016 Season are available through the Box Office at 1-800-511-7429 or online at www.shawfest.com.

The Shaw Festival is a theatre company inspired by the work of Bernard Shaw. The Festival produces plays from and about his era along with contemporary plays that share Shaw’s provocative exploration of society and celebration of humanity.