Sock ‘n’ Buskin (SNB) Theatre Company is back for the 2019-20 season with a lineup of plays that offer a compelling look into the world of classic literature while incorporating modern storytelling.
The plays include the classic novel-turned-play Pride and Prejudice, the award-winning Angels in America, the Shakespeare tragedy King Lear, and Eurydice, a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus. All the shows draw inspiration from pre-19th-century texts with the exception of Angels in America, a powerful story about AIDS and homosexuality in the 80s.
The selection process remains the same, but SNB continues to strive for new ways to push thematic boundaries.
“I think with this year’s lineup, we kind of moved out of our comfort zone,” said Sarah Sheils, an artistic director for SNB. “We are always used to doing lighter, fluffy stories.”
“Angels in America, Eurydice and even King Lear, they are all very intense. King Lear is a tragedy, Angels in America is [about] a very important topic,” she added. “Because those shows are a little sadder or a little more dark, it’s nice to have that fluffy piece in Pride and Prejudice.”
Sheils said the variety of themes and settings allows SNB to reach a lot of different audiences.
“It’s good, because we’re not just catering to the people who consistently come to our shows,” she said. “It’s nice to branch out and get different people to come to our shows.”
Audiences may be familiar with the stories being told, but some will have a fresh appeal thanks to the directors’ creative adaptations.
SNB is taking some creative liberties with their production of Pride and Prejudice by adding a twist to the classic story.
“With Pride and Prejudice, what I’m looking forward to is the 1930s theme. It’s a twisting element to how it is normally portrayed,” said SNB artistic director Natascha Sekerinski.
King Lear will also be altered from the original Shakespeare. Instead of being set in the 8th century-BC, the theatre is situating the tragedy in the 50s.
Sekerinski said the play will explore the character of Queen Lear.
“The focus is of her as an aging actress and how she deals with changes around her,” she said. “Silent movies are happening, her daughter is reaching stardom beyond her and she is trying to deal with this whole transition.”
On the other hand, Eurydice and Angels in America stay faithful to their source material to present still-powerful stories.
For a Carleton club, there is undoubtedly much work to be done. Of course, challenges arise.
The introduction of the Student Choice Initiative this fall enabled students to opt-out of certain non-tuition fees including Sock ‘n’ Buskin’s levy.
“With students dropping out of extracurricular stuff and clubs, it’s a potential loss of budget for our shows,” said Sheils. “This year, we have to be a lot tighter. The biggest challenge will be to balance our budget this year so as to not lose money.”
Sekerinski added that directors will have to learn to work in different spaces.
“The spaces we perform at are all very different in what they have,” she said. “So one is a full-size theatre where the lighting is much more integrated than what you’d have at, say, the church.”
These challenges are expected, but when utilized correctly, the locations can add to the ambience of the shows.
Angels in America will be shown in January at a church, an appropriate setting for a drama that features angels and ghosts. Meanwhile, Eurydice will be performed in March at the University of Ottawa’s Studio Léonard-Beaulne, which Sekerinski said resembles a black box theatre.
She said the locations each have a different feel to them.
“That’s up to the production team to find out how they can use the spaces to their advantage,” said Sekerinski. “Knowing the space and how you are going to approach it makes it challenging and fun.”
Challenging and fun may be the perfect way to summarize Sock ‘n’ Buskin’s upcoming season.
As Sheils said with a smile after discussing the busy season ahead, “That’s showbiz, baby!”
Pride and Prejudice, the first show of the season, will be showing in November.
Feature image by Tim Austen.
