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We
are enjoying a very special period of entertainment
this Autumn at the Erin Arts Centre, based on
the play, The Lady of the Camellias,
by Alexandre Dumas, Jnr. Alexandre
Dumas, Jnr. was born in Paris on July 27th
1824, the illegitimate child of Marie Catherine Labay, a dressmaker, and
Alexandre Dumas. In 1831 his father legally recognised him
and ensured that the young Dumas received the best education possible.
Laws at that time allowed Dumas Snr. to take the
child away from his mother and her agony inspired Dumas Jnr. to write about
tragic female characters. In addition to
bearing the stigma of illegitimacy, Dumas was part
black. His father's paternal grand parents were a white
French nobleman and a black Haitian girl. In the
boarding schools, Dumas was constantly taunted by his classmates who made his
life very miserable and he never forgave them. These
issues profoundly influenced his thoughts, behaviour
and writing. The
reputation of his father, creator of The
Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Christo, helped not at all in the young man's career. By
the time he was 21 he was deeply in
debt and he moved to Saint Germain-en-Laye to
live with his father. There he met Marie Duplessis, a young
courtesan who died of tuberculosis in 1847 and inspired Dumas' romantic novel, La Dame aux Camellias. He later adapted
it into a play, known in English as Camille and it
became a huge success, enabling him to payoff his debts and help his mother. Of
the play Camille, he wrote, "I beg
the reader to assure himself of the truth of a story in which all the
characters, with the exception of the heroine, are still alive". Thus
began his playwriting career and his works dominated the serious
French stage for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. Giuseppe
Verdi based his opera, La
Traviata on the story of Camille, although
he changed the names of most of the characters. Amongst
the several films of the story,
there is one starring Greta Garbo and Robert Taylor, made
in 1936 and remade for television in 1984. We
have been delighted, therefore, with
the superb triple bill
of events taking place in the Erin Arts
Centre. The opera, La Traviata was performed
on September 10th, 12th and 14th. The original black and white film
starring Greta Garbo was shown on September
11th. Now,
from October 18th to 22nd Rushen Players will be performing
the play, Camille, translated from the original by Henriette Metcalf. |
Directed by | John Bethell |
Cast | |
Baron de Varville (a rival of Armand) | Carl Parker |
Nanine (Marguerite's maid) | Lesley Coole |
Nichette (fiancée of Gustave) | Wendy Hibbert |
Marguerite Gautier (a courtsan) | Jenny Baker |
Olympe (friend of Saint Gaudens) | Joan Hayes |
Saint Gaudens (friend of Olympe) | Brian Matthews |
Prudence (companion to Marguerite) | Caroline Coole |
Gaston Rieux (a Viscount) | Peter Wix |
Armand Duval (French nobleman) | Cliff Chapman |
Count de Giray (friend of Marguerite) | David Hibbert |
Gustave (fiancée of Nichette) | Andrew Murfin |
M Duval (father of Armand) | Wayne Kelsall |
The Doctor | Rex Nelson |
Back Stage Crew | |
Stage Manager | Susie Beswick |
Set Design & Construction | John Bethel, John Sheppard, Iris Burton |
Properties | Adrienne Sanderson, Jackie Alibone Thelma Floate, Jane Clark |
Wardrobe | Audrey Hibbert |
Jewellery | Meg McCourt |
Lighting & Sound | John Moon, Richard Watterson |
Backstage | Catie Angus, John Hayes Drew Herdman, Peter Alibons |
Front of House | Stan Woollock, Alisdair Kennedy, Sandra Lowey Vera Moon, Phyllis White, Lilian Watterson Connie Herdman |
Floral Decorations | Jean Maggs & Dalton Brown of Bridge Nurseries |
Furniture | Angela Atkinson, Meg McCourt |
Ladies Hairdressing | Sarah Appleby, Elaine Watterson, Jenny Green |
Costumes | Utopia Costumes, Dundee |
Gala Night musical entertainment | Ron Parker |