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Camille

by Alexandre Dumas Jnr.

October 18th - 22nd 2006

Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin


Photos

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.

camilleprogramme



Directed byJohn 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 DoctorRex Nelson
Back Stage Crew
Stage ManagerSusie Beswick
Set Design & ConstructionJohn Bethel, John Sheppard, Iris Burton
PropertiesAdrienne Sanderson, Jackie Alibone
Thelma Floate, Jane Clark
WardrobeAudrey Hibbert
JewelleryMeg McCourt
Lighting & SoundJohn Moon, Richard Watterson
BackstageCatie 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 DecorationsJean Maggs & Dalton Brown of Bridge Nurseries
FurnitureAngela Atkinson, Meg McCourt
Ladies HairdressingSarah Appleby, Elaine Watterson, Jenny Green
CostumesUtopia Costumes, Dundee
Gala Night musical entertainmentRon Parker

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