The future of theatre looks bright in the hands of the cast and crew of Theatre@York’s The Children’s Hour. Jamie Robinson, associate professor at AMPD, stated that the play is a student-run endeavour, with faculty members advising but not directing. According to Robinson, the students also played a role in selecting the content of the show. Given their interest in themes surrounding LGBTQ+ experiences, social justice, and morality, director Rob Kempson’s proposal to stage Lillian Hellman’s The Children’s Hour was a perfect fit.
The Children’s Hour premiered on Broadway in 1934 and is based on the true story of the Drumsheugh case, a lesbian sex scandal that occurred in 19th century Edinburgh. The play centres around Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, played by Lauren Matassa and Natalie Maddyn, respectively. The two women jointly run an all-girls boarding school, but when a student spreads the lie that Karen and Martha are lovers, their lives are changed forever.
I caught the first preview performance on March 21, and I believe that I witnessed some stars being born on and behind the Theatre@York stage that day.
Rory Baechler stole the show as Mary Tilford, the manipulative and troubled young girl who does anything to get her way. What made Baechler’s portrayal exquisite were her seamless shifts between Mary’s cunning, dramatic, violent, and sweet sides. She made each facet of Mary an organic part of the character, and had me on the edge of my seat every time she was on stage. It is unlikely that a more flawless depiction of the story’s central antagonist exists. York should consider themselves lucky to claim Baechler as part of their alumni.
Matassa’s Karen Wright was another standout performance. She played the more level-headed of the two central characters and acted as the quiet counterpart to Martha Dobie’s volatile nature. Karen is a somewhat enigmatic character, compared to the expressive nature of those around her. Matassa respected this side of Karen, while giving us glimpses into her inner self through moments of silence and her connections with other characters. Early in the play, she gives Martha a subtle look of desire, which is later followed by a look of blatant affection at her fiancé, Dr. Joe Cardin (Alexei DeLuca). Matassa and Kempson give the audience small glimpses into the duo’s relationship, allowing for curiosity and conversation.
Costume designer Nirjara Dwivedi created works that were solid and classy, staying away from any heavy patterns or garnishes that could distract from the cast’s performances. The schoolgirl outfits aged down the actors playing children, while still being attractive enough for me to wonder whether York would let me buy one post-run. Given the colour purple’s historic connection to the LGBTQ+ community, it was clever of Dwivedi to incorporate it as the central part of Karen’s costume, building the mystery around her character. With Karen being the more reserved of the two protagonists, there is a mystery surrounding where her heart lies. Dwivedi’s colour choice serves to give the audience a hint; she also costumed Joe in purple. Every costume looked flawlessly constructed from my seat in the second row, thanks to the incredible talent of the wardrobe crew (listed in full in the program linked below).
The final star I’d like to recognize is set designer Olga Korolyuk. The suspended carved panels created a sense of delicacy and fear, and the draped cloth with writing scrawled on it loomed upstage centre until a tragic moment occurs. In the second act, stacks of books act as a visual metaphor for the transformation of the pair’s put-together life into one of clutter, literally and figuratively. When executing simplicity, there is a pressure for perfection — fortunately, Korolyuk accomplished it. Every item was also masterfully made thanks to the skilled hands of the crew (also linked below).
The Children’s Hour ran until March 28 at the Sandra Faire and Ivan Fecan Theatre. The program with full crew details can be read here. This beautiful production has set the bar quite high for next year’s Theatre@York performances, but I’m looking forward to having my expectations surpassed for a second time.
