At a press conference at Cupids Haven in Cupids on April 7th, 2010, plans for the New World Theatre Project were revealed. The
New
World
Theatre
Project is
a
classically
based
theatre
project
created
by
Rabbittown
Theatre
Company,
launching
in
the
summer
of
2010.
Its
first season
will
contribute
to
the
Cupids
400
celebrations,
an
event
marking
the founding
of
the
first
English
settlement
in
Canada
in
1610. The New World Theatre Project will explore, present and celebrate John Guy’s England, particularly what settlers may have seen, heard, or written in the London of 1610. Through ongoing dialogue and consultation with institutions such as Shakespeare’s Globe (UK) and Shakespeare’s Globe Centre of Canada, the project will provide unprecedented artistic opportunities for Newfoundland theatre artists and provide the community with a new and unique cultural experience.
See photos from the press conference > >
For
its
inaugural
season,
the
New
World
Theatre
Project
will
design
and
build
a
portable
interpretation
of
an
Elizabethan
stage.
It
will
be
called
The
Indeavour (after the 12 ton vessel that the colonists built to sail into Trinity Bay to meet the Beothuk.)
This
summer,
The
Indeavour will
remain
in
Cupids;
however,
in
years
to
come
it
will
tour
Provincially,
Nationally
and
Internationally.
The company
will
produce
two
plays
from
the
Shakespearian
catalogue:
A Midsummer
Night’s
Dream and
Julius
Caesar,
and
three
original Newfoundland
pieces: Colony
of
the
Heart,
The
Tiring
House and
Feast
of
the Sword.
These
plays
fulfill
the
company
mandate
to
produce
classical
work
and
new
work
inspired
by
the
investigation
of
this
work.
The Producers
Aiden Flynn
Aiden Flynn – General Director
Aiden Flynn is a respected and well-rounded theatre professional currently living in St. John’s. He is an actor, director, producer and writer of note in Newfoundland and is also the owner and operator of Rabbittown Theatre Company in St. John’s. Aiden moved back to St. John’s in 2001, and shortly after, founded Rabbittown Theatre Company, a venue and production company dedicated to the emerging artist and new work from established professionals. In 2008, he received the Patron of The Arts Award from The Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council for his ongoing efforts to promote and produce theatre and its practice in the province. Aiden also sits on numerous arts-focused boards including the St. John’s Municipal Arts Infrastructure Committee, the board of directors for ACTRA in Newfoundland, and the St. John’s Metto Theatre Alliance – an initiative started by Flynn.
Brad Hodder
Brad Hodder – Artistic Associate
Brad Hodder is a native of St. John’s and a founding Artistic Associate of c2c theatre, which has produced over 20 productions since 2003. A graduate of the University of Alberta (BFA Acting), his work as an actor, director, writer and producer has taken him across the country. Along with c2c theatre, Brad co-founded Bill’s Bad Dance Production Company with Sara Tilley, has sat on the Board of Directors for Resource Centre for the Arts and served as an Artistic Associate for the Shakespeare By The Sea Festival. He has worked with a number of companies, including CBC, Global, Pope Productions, The Grand Theatre, Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, Rising Tide Theatre, Resource Centre for the Arts, Shakespeare By The Sea Festival, Rabbittown Theatre She Said Yes! and New Curtain Theatre Company.
Geoff Adams
Geoffrey Adams – Artistic Associate
Geoffrey Adams is the Artistic Managing Director of The New Curtain Theatre Company in Clarenville, Newfoundland. Prior to this he worked in Vancouver in the film and television industry, as well as the theatre as an actor, director, designer and producer. He also served on the board of Workshops for the Performing Artists. Geoff has worked with a number of Vancouver theatre companies including Presentation House Theatre, North Vancouver Theatre Savage God Productions, Apple Core Productions, Highland Leads Cc-operative, and Down East Productions (of which he was the founder). Geoff was also one of the founding company members of The Norstead Theatre Festival in L’Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. Having started in the theatre industry as a set designer and actor, Geoffs experience has led him to work as production and set designer in film as well, originating from his architectural background where he holds a Bachelor and Masters degree in Architecture from the Technical University of Nova Scotia.
The New World Theatre Project Productions
The Indeavour Stage
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
June 19 – July 4, 2010
The Indeavour Stage
“Are you not mov’d when all the sway of earth Shakes like a thing unfirm”’ An assassination plunges the world into violence and instability, thrusting democracy and tyranny into a bloody conflict. Set on the high seas, this fast-paced and dynamic adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar explores the complexities of power while upturning the notion of “the ship of state”. What would it take for you to act? What would it take for you to challenge a tyrant?
Feast of the Sword
June 23 – August 21, 2010
Cupids Community Hall
In 1610 it was recorded that John Guy, along with a group of 39 settlers departed from Bristol, England, to make their way across the Atlantic to the New World. Thirty days into the journey as per a secret naval custom, three ships meet in the middle of the harsh Atlantic to engage in Feast of the Sword. What begins as a simple exhibition of swordplay quickly devolves into a dangerous battle for life and death. Laden with exhilarating stage combat, Feast of the Sword is an historical re-imagining of one man’s journey to the New World.
Tbe Tiring House by Chris Driedzic
June 19 – August 22, 2010
The Indeavour Stage
On June 29th 1613, the Globe Theatre in London, England went up in flames during a performance of Henry VllI. A theatrical cannon, set off during the performance, misfired igniting the wooden beams and thatching. According to one of the few surviving documents of the event, no one was hurt except a man whose burning breeches were put out with a bottle of ale. An interactive comedy for the entire family, The Tiring House will use the newly built Indeavour as its stage.
Colony of the Heart by Ben Pittman
July 8 – July 30, 2010
Cupids Legacy Centre
Drawing lines between the lives of the Englishmen and women who settled in Cuper’s Cove in 1610 and the present day Newfoundlanders moving to Alberta, Colony of the Heart is an innovative narrative history of the last 400 years. From who we were yesterday to who we are today.
Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare
August 5 – 22, 2010
The Indeavour Stage
“The course of true love never did run smooth ” One of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream celebrates the ecstasies and jealousies of being in love. Four young lovers chase each other into a forest, where they ate caught up in the quarrels and games of the King and Queen of faeries.
Well known local performer Andy Jones will be starring as Bottom
