The Cadre -

By MELISSA DOUCETTE

Saturday night marked the final showing of the UPEI Theatre Society production of Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), a play directed by Richard Thomas Haines. The play, written by Ann-Marie MacDonald, won the Gover- nor General’s award, and the combined efforts of the Thea- tre Society did it justice.

The main character was Constance Ledbelly, played by Jill McRae. At

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first, McRae’s acting was somewhat stiff, but as the night wore on, her perform- ance improved. Her acting was complemented by her fellow performers, including Steven Forbes as a boasting Othello. Michael Farrell also turned out a strong perform- ance as the egotistical Profes- sor Claude Night, maintain- ing a perfect level of preten- sion. Andrea MacDonald was a bloodthirsty Desdemona, and Lindsay Kyte played a well-executed Tybalt. Peter Forbes as lago and Nicholas

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Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juilet) Goodbye UPEI

Kenny as the chorus both had perfect timing, and perform- ances by Lana Mill, Kim Yaciuk, Erin Fagan, and Brenton Driscoll helped to complete the strong perform- ances by the cast

Noteworthy perform- ances by Todd MacLean as Romeo/Romiet, Lisa Carmody as Juliet, and Mickey Acorn as the Ghost further enhanced the play. MacLean and Carmody played Romeo and Juliet as petulant and spoiled teenag- ers, and both displayed won- derful chemistry with the other players. A particularly memorable scene they had together was the two lovers’ fight over Hector, Romeo's beloved turtle, The star- crossed lovers pulled the un- fortunate pet in two, to the (sick?) delight of the audi- ence. Acorn’s presence, al- though brief, stole the show almost every time he came on stage

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Of course, actors can’t perform without a set. The columns of Verona were par- ticularly well done, and the sets in general were appropri- ately stark. James Cameron uses lavish sets to thump his audience away from dismal plots, but Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) is too good a play to resort to such distractions, and the sets were designed accordingly. The stagehands never missed a beat in chang- ing scenes, and even man- aged to get involved in the play now and then.

Naturally, the actors weren't naked on stage, and their costumes were one of the high points of the play All costumes were sewn by UPEI students Heather Ludlow, Kristen Patterson and Carolyn Knox. Each one was of a professional quality, had beautiful colours and de- signs, and fitted well. Also adding to the play's aesthet-

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ics was the lighting, espe- cially the garden atmosphere which was solely created by the lighting. The sound also came off without a glitch.

Generally speaking, Richard Haines’ direction brought the play together into a coherent whole. The three different periods were well-represented, yet flexible when they interacted. The only dim point of Saturday night's performance was the first act, where the comedic elements seemed slightly off. However, the comedy came together better in later acts, particularly in Act Ill, which shone

At the end of the evening, the audience ex- pressed their pleasure with the play with enthusiastic applause, resulting in two curtain calls. All in all, Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) was a strong note for the end of the Theatre Society's year.