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Combined with Richard III. the Henrys provide an exciting unencumbered account of the medieval peri- od of foreign and domestic strife known as The War ofthe Roses. Rubin has cleverly omitted minor characters. grand heroic speeches that would slow down pace. plus other extraneous detail, to give the audience a more concise and dynamic visinn of the events leading up to Richard m: Reign ofrerror, This season is the first time this particular version of the first part of Henry VI has been presented, Two other eon Rubin has done just Lhat in two marvellous enditions of three Shakespearean plays that are rarely presented at the Strat- ford Festival. Rubin. who has directed around the world from Thai- land and Japan to Russia and the U.K, took three plays and brilliantly condensed. and de-cluttered them for today's audiences. The plays in question - Henry W, Parts I. ll. and Ill. It took Rubin a good six months to accomplish this task, apparently still fine-tuning the text last April, to simplify the content to better suit the needs of a modern audience. Henry VI Revenge in France lakes most of its content from Henry w Parts I and some of Pan II. HemyVI Revolt in Eng- land draws its content from parts of Henry w Part II and Panllh Never a dull moment as 'The Henrys' take Stratford Festival's Tom Patterson stage I think whatever you are doing has to talk to the nudi- em‘e who is seeing it'lhe only thing I feel strongly about is that ir is alive. energetic and commit to the audience " Henry VI " director lmn Rubin, from 2002 Stratford Beacon Herald Festival Edition BY 0mm ANmtrws-Ueugr For I ha hrottirle WALK OF [Elirljl CANADA'S abridged versions have been done. one in 1966 directed by John Hirsch at The Festival Theatre covering the first part of the story. and the other in I980 adapted and directed by Pam Brighton. Brighton com- bined the three plays into one single play for the Tom Patter- son. In 2002, theTom Patterson Theatre has never looked bet- ter. The set is a two-tier steel skeletal bridge or "tudor tim- hering" as designer lohn Pen- noyer refers to it. Actors can climb it, hang from it, be thrown from it, hide in it ' bum on it, and scale it as if it were a timeless battlement. Audience members are on the edge of the their seats from Revenge to Revolt, and there is never a dull moment. Those sitting higher up in the Patterson observe the action on the bridge: those sitting lower see the action below, and these plays are beautiful- ly choreographed by fight director John Stead, who is another silent star in both productions. Stead and Rubin worked together in these fight sequences, and they dir fer from play to play. In Henry VI Revolt in England continues through Sept. 28 at the Stratford Festival ARTS FOCUS The story is complex. and the characters many, but Rubin stylishly begins Henry VI Revenge in France with the opening lines from Henry V. When Seana McKenna mpris- es her chorus role from last season's Henry V, the audi- ence is momentarily puzzled - but not for long. That is Ruhin's clever way of letting the audience know where young Henry VI fits in the midst of all this mayhem. Shakespeare writes of a young ruler with a brace of conspirators on all sides of The costumes are renais- sance with a hint of modern lower coat hems and Second World War footwear. to create visible nuances of modern warfare incorporated into this fascinating historical mix, Revolt; there is more of a slyl- ish slow-motion battle sequence. that was used in last season's Henry V. In Revenge. the fighting is faster, more ground zero, in your face. and bloody. For those who do not like fake death sequences in theatre, both Henrys, with their heads-a- rollin' premise, deliver a visu- alwallop. This trend continues to strengthen and progress into this season. Audiences see a powerful side of Therriault that will serve him in seasons to Come. if he chooses to con- tinue in more dramatic his- torical roles. He does use his well-known comic timing to great effect when playing the courting testosterorte-crazed youth. at the thought of being matched with Margaret Reignier of France. who even- tually becomes his queen. Michael Therriault. makes an excellent Henry VI in both productions. This gifted actor seems to have a trend of working with some of the fes- tival's finest in every show he has been in. from Martha Henry to William Hurt. That started when he played Mor- dred in Camelot opposite Cynthia Dale and Tom McCa- mus. him, a philosopher king in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught in a bloody war between France and England, a conflict far beyond his youthful control. Seana McKenna is a Continued on page Is Midnight Madness takes over the Theatre on the Grand The Schneider Male Chorus will perform "A Joint Concert Between Friends" with the Measure for Mea sure Male Chorus ofAnne Arbor next month at Cen, tral Presbyterian Church in Cambridge. The concert will be held July 28 at2:20 p.m. Tick- ets are $10 for adults and $5 for students with a valid student card. All proceeds will support K-W Big Brothers and Big Sisters and Cambridge Big Brothers. For further ticket information, call 579-5150, 743- 5206 or 651-0404. Tickets are also available at all local Scotiabanks, Midnight Madness features Anne Page as Anna Bregner and Joel Hechter as Wesley Marshall. Page grew up and trained in Guelph and Waterloo, was a 2002 nominee for the Canadian Comedy Award for Funniest Female in a Television Series and currently lives in Toronto where she is co-artistic producer of Theatre Voce. Hechter. originally from Manitoba, has numerous leading roles on stage. in film and on television to his credit. These include starring appearances at the Shaw Festival and Manitoba Theatre Centre. and in Alliance/Atlantis' The Associates. He is also co-artis- tic producer of Toronto's Theatre Voce. Midnight Madness is directed and designed by Michael Waller. with design by Christopher McHarge and lighting design by Karen Bayer. It is stage man- aged by Barbara McleanWright. Midnight Madness is performed at 8 p.m. Wednes- day to Saturday. with 2 pm. matinees on Thursdays. Tickets are $18 for all Wednesday evening perfor- mances and $23 for the matinees. Tickets for all Thursday through Saturday evening performances are $27. Theatre on the Grand is located at 244 St. Andrew St. W. in Fergus. For further ticket information. call the box office at (SIS) 787-198l. The romantic comedy Midnight Madness takes over the stage at Theatre on the Grand July 321 Written by well known Canadian playwright Dau- Carley. Midnight Madness is the fourth production ut Theatre on the Grand's lOth anniversary professional summer/fall season. It's just minutes before midnight at Bloom Furni- ture's going-out-of-business sale, when Anna trips up the stairs and back into Wesley's life... This heart warming love story about two misfits who get togeth- er will appeal to anyone who has ever suffered through high school. Male choirs perform concert 'Between Friends' 234 King St, S., Waterloo hunk: trt King St & Umun '.tittrHrave1pttus.com I', I 741-0770