Director\, Timothy Findley’s The Wars[/cap
tion]Ti mothy Findley’s The Wars adapted by Dennis Garnhum\, a touchingly beautiful tale of connection through the eyes of a soldier.
Adapted for the stage in 2007 by Dennis Garnhum (MFA Directing\, 1993)\, Ti mothy Findley’s The Wars\, his 1977 novel that won the Governor Ge neral’s Award for English Language Fiction\, retains its poignantly poetic storytelling.
When Robert Ross\, a tender-hearted idealist who shares a strong bond with his wheelchair-bound sister\, trades his comfortable Ca nadian life for the harsh world of trench warfare in World War I\, we watch his slow unravelling. This story takes us deep inside the mind of a soldie r and catapults us into the mud\, smoke\, and chlorine gas of the front lin e in France during World War I. Ultimately life-affirming\, in the hands of director and alumna\, Lois Anderson (Bard on the Beach)\, this piece\, sta ged by the graduate class of 2020\, at an age similar to that of the charac ters\, directly links to our world in 2019 showing that human connection is all.
Timothy Findley’s The Wars adapted by Dennis Garnhum w as originally co-produced by Theatre Calgary and the Playhouse Theatre Comp any of Vancouver in the fall of 2007.
Robert Ross
David Volpov\; Mr. Ross Hayden Davies\; Mrs.
Ross Laura Reynolds\; Private Purchas Nicco
Graham\; Captain Taffler/Soldier 2 Guard Drew Ogle\;
Director Lois And erson\; Scenic Design Cecilia Vadala\; Costume Des ign Erica Sterry\; Lighting Design Matthew Piton\ ; Sound Design Zachary Levis\; Stage Manager Emily Chen
[caption id="attachment_14394" align="alignleft" width="197"] Director\, Timothy Findley’s The Wars[/cap
tion]
Lois Anderson has a BA (English Literature)\, a BFA (Acting) and an MFA (Directing) all from UBC. For UBC: Medea \, Pride and Prejudice.
For Bard on the Beach: On the Be ach\, Pericles\, Lysistrata.
For The Arts Club : Fun Home\, My Granny the Goldfish\, The Graduate\, The Unplugging\, It’s Snowing on Saltspring.
L ois was an original member of The Leaky Heaven Circus\, Cirque Poule and Fl ying Blind.
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Timothy Findley[/caption]
Poor health caused Findley to abandon formal education after th e ninth grade. At age 17 he began a 15-year acting career that led to roles in several television dramas and Shakespeare productions\; a protégé of Br itish actor Alec Guinness\, he appeared on the English and American stage. He also began writing short stories during the 1950s. His first two novels are set in southern California\, where he lived for a time. The Last of the Crazy People (1967) is about a despairing\, obsessive boy whose a ttempts to cope with his dysfunctional family lead to murder and madness\, while The Butterfly Plague (1969) presents a late-1930s Hollywood family whose members embody the world’s ills.
In the early 1970s Find ley wrote radio and television scripts and a play\, Can You See Me Yet? (produced 1976)\, then followed with his two most acclaimed novels. < a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Wars">The Wars (1 977) features the dilemmas of soldier Robert Ross as he attempts to cope wi th an officer and 130 doomed horses in the midst of World War I. Famous Last Words (1981) is narrated by Ezra Pound’s character Hugh Selwyn Mauberley and features noted real (as we ll as fictional) characters trying to manipulate the catastrophes of World War II for their per sonal ends. Not Wanted on the Voyage (1984) is the story of Noah’s ark\, told from the viewpoints of its animal passengers. The Telling o f Lies (1986) is a mystery story. Dinner Along the Amazon (1984)\, Stones (1988)\, and Any Time at All and Other Stories (1993) are co llections of Findley’s short stories. He also wrote Inside Memory: Page s from a Writer’s Notebook (1990) and the novels Headhunter ( 1993) and The Piano Man’s Daughter (1995). His autobiography\, From Stone Orchard\, was published in 1998.
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alignleft" width="216"]
Dennis
Garnhum[/caption]
Dennis Garnhum has been the Artist ic Director of the Grand Theatre in London\, Ontario since the fall of 2016 . Since arriving in London\, he has directed CABARET\, TIMOTH Y FINDLEY’S THE WARS\, CHARIOTS OF FIRE and A CHRISTMAS C AROL for the Grand Theatre.
Dennis has worked across North Ameri ca directing plays\, musicals and operas at a number of companies\, includi ng Vancouver Opera\, National Arts Centre\, Shaw Festival\, Stratford Festi val\, Tarragon Theatre\, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre\, Florida Grand Oper a\, American Conservancy Theatre (A.C.T.)\, Bard on the Beach\, Pacific Ope ra Victoria\, Belfry Theatre\, and Neptune Theatre. His co-adaptation (with author Cathy Ostlere) of Lost – A Memoir was nominated for a 2012 Governor General’s Literary Award. Prior to the Grand\, Dennis was Artist ic Director of Theatre Calgary from 2005 to 2016. His final production ther e was the world premiere of the musical adaptation of The Little Prince .
Dennis is a recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee and a Calgary Award for Community Achievement in Arts.
< strong>Director Lois Anderson\; Scenic Design Cec ilia Vadala\; Costume Design Erica Sterry\; Lighti ng Design Matthew Piton\; Sound Design Zachary Le vis\; Stage Manager Emily Chen
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Costume Design by Erica Sterry.[/caption]
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Timothy Findley’s The Wars[/caption]
For all me dia requests please contact Andrea Rabinovitch
Offic
e: 604-822-3723
Cell: 604-314-3905
Email: andrea.rabinovitch@ubc.ca