Lady Windermere’s Fan will be the first performance this year for George Brown theatre students
Sheila Ingabire Isaro in Lady Windermere’s Fan. Photo: Andrew Oxenham courtesy of George Brown College
George Brown theatre students are at it again with the production of Lady Windermere’s Fan beginning on Nov. 11.
Written by Oscar Wilde, the second most produced playwright in British drama, this production “offers a sharp critique of moralizing, of breaking people down into categories of good or bad, of communally judging those who have not met one’s moral standards,” according to Michael Ruderman, who is cast as Lord Windermere.
Revealing that the play “is such a great mix of comedy and tragedy with moments of hilarity and moments of heartbreak,” Julia Vescio, cast as Lady Windermere, adds that the production will also encompass hilarity and moments of heartbreak, which Wilde weaves together beautifully.
Students can also expect passionate, detailed and wonderfully embodied characters, according to Ruderman, who said that the cast and director “went to great lengths to create a fully detailed, living and breathing Wilde-world, all of which is available to the audience if they wish to look just below the Victorian veneer.”
With the help of director James Simon, Ruderman says Lady Windermere’s Fan will also showcase “beautiful, accurate costumes and sets that cast members hope will suck the audience right into the world of the play.”
Describing her role as Lady Windermere, who takes a journey from girlhood into womanhood throughout the play, Vescio says that though it was like a marathon it was fun and she is incredibly grateful for the opportunity.
“She is forever changed by the news she receives at the top of the play and the events that ensue throughout the rest of the play,” says Vescio. “She is put into situations that she has never been in before and she doesn’t quite know how to cope. She is just a girl. She is vulnerable, she is unsure of herself, but she is trying desperately hard to do the right thing.”
Lady Windermere’s Fan is playing until Nov. 21 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in the distillery district. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for seniors and $8 for students.
For more information, students can call the box office at 416-866-8666 or visit youngcentre.ca
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the actor in the photo. It is a photo of Sheila Ingabire Isaro.
