November, 2005 - Nr. 11
KW & Beyond
by Irena Syrokomla
Educating Rita
and Oleanna at Theatre & Company
Downtown Kitchener’s Theatre & Company is opening its 16th season with two difficult plays: Willy Russell’s Educating Rita and less known David Mamet’s Oleanna. Following a plan to present both plays in tandem, running simultaneously, makes it possible to see them both on the same day. Both present the male-teacher – female-student relationship, the stage set with minor modifications is the same, the same two actors, Greg Campbell and Sara Gilhirst, act in both plays. Yet they are different.
Educating
Rita, known by some readers from the
movie, is a mild story of a young woman, a hairdresser, deciding to obtain a
proper education. She approaches the professor for private tutoring. Over a
period of time both of them change: initially the professor is very
confident, somewhat overbearing, easily impressing the young woman and
engrossed in his own not very successful life. Rita is brash and speaks with
the accent and mannerisms of the "working class." She is interested in
getting a university education and does not really know what it is. She
begins to read and study and gradually we see her change in the way she
dresses, behaves, and speaks. The education is taking root. It affects her
more and differently than anticipated, as Rita grows independent from the
professor and becomes the stronger party in this relationship. The professor
begins to question the value of a traditional university education, the
academic environment and his life. This is a comic and gentle piece, and it
makes you laugh and smile and ponder.
Oleanna
begins on a similar assumption. A young student asks for guidance and
tutoring. She appears simple and lost, but really wants to graduate. The
professor is preoccupied with his tenure application, purchase of a house,
telephone conversations with his wife. He offers to personally tutor the
girl and assures her she will pass the course. His thoughts wander between
the student taking his time and the constant interruptions of the telephone
calls.
The second act brings a surprise. The simple girl has taken steps to file a complaint of sexual harassment. The professor offered "private tutoring" and apparently personally assured her of his intention to give her an A in his course. He touched her. The casual words and academic ramblings of the professor are taken as evidence and the girl is full of righteousness and condemnation. He is sexist, his attitude is demeaning, and he should be punished for it. The professor attempts to salvage the situation, but he has lost his tenure, he is losing the house and his career is irreversibly damaged. He does not know what to do, at first he pleads, then discovers that the fact that he touched her in passing is interpreted as attempted rape.
Needless to say, Oleanna is very disturbing. We witness the initial encounter, so common in the academies of learning, listen to the conversation, haven’t we heard it before? And then the table turns, as the young woman, empowered by "political correctness" and " gender politics" of the 90’s, picks up words and statements and situations and is prepared to destroy the man to prove her point. There were repetitive comments from the audience after the play, disturbing was the word used several times.
Apparently Mamet completed the writing of this play after the Clarens Tomas and Anita Hill story, so widely publicized in 1991, based on "he said/she said", and polarizing not only Americans and Canadians, but even reaching commentaries in Europe. It is a difficult play and a difficult issue, in 1991 I was personally convinced of truth and accuracy of Anita Hill’s testimony. After seeing Oleanna I admit I am giving Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas the benefit of the doubt. Whichever side you take – it is not comfortable!
Theatre & Company is following an ambitious path and Mr. Scadron-Wattles is choosing provocative plays. The plays are good, with a clear path, clear conclusion, excellent acting, professional staging and direction: Educating Rita directed by Joel Greenberg, Oleanna by Lind Bush. At the opening night for Rita the house was almost full, at Oleanna – maybe only half full.
Hopefully the attendance will be better after the positive reviews in The Record, and now in Echo. Incidentally, if you buy tickets for Rita, you can get tickets for Oleanna for $20. A great deal.
Educating Rita is running till November 6th and Oleanna till November 5th.
Box office number is 519-517-0928, the web site
www.theatreandcompny.org
Sunday Light Classis Series
at The Centre in the Square, Kitchener.
One of several series of concerts, Sunday Light Classics is so easy to enjoy. In October it was Rogues Gallery program, with the K-W Symphony playing Mozart’s overture to Don Giovanni, Prokofiev, Verdi’s overture from Nabucco, Bizet’s March of the Contrabandiers from Carmen, compositions of Dvorak, Saint-Saens, Liszt and Copland. The music appealed to the audience, and the details and solo parts were appreciated by music lovers.
Tom Allen, CBC Radio Two morning show host and commentator, and obviously a familiar face to the audience, offered his views, comments and humour, for this afternoon concert. The conductor, a very young, barely 35 years old, Charles Olivieri-Munroe, is a talent to watch, - his achievements are broad and impressive, his mannerisms and style promising a great future.
And the orchestra is coming into its own. I have attended concerts of K-W Symphony for the last seven years and can affirm that they are getting better and more cohesive every year. After some turbulence a few years ago the orchestra has settled with Simon Streatfield as a conductor, and Brian Jackson, principal Pops conductor, whose charm and humour should not be missed. Charles Olivieri-Munroe is highly appreciated this season.
In November 4th and 5th there will be a special Masterpiece concert featuring Grieg’s concerto, and December 9 and 10 Christmas Pops conducted by Daniel Warren. This is worth marking in your calendar.
Centre in the Square box office phone is 519-578-1570 or on the web www.kwsymphony.on.ca.
