Didn’t expect to be writing this Chapter…
Another acting icon has passed…
The news hit me rather hard yesterday morning – Martha Henry had died. She is not the first actor I have watched at Stratford to have died. Seriously now, when the first play one sees is Julius Caesar in the original tent, with Lorne Greene as Brutus and Robert Christie as Julius Caesar, the succeeding decades are bound to begin to present moments when a favourite stage persona dies.
But this time there was more immediacy to it. This summer Stratford Festival returned to the stage, albeit in limited venues, mostly outdoors (in new style tents/canopies). Because of initial limitations on seating it was not always possible to get seats for one’s priority choices. Even though I am considered a Benefactor in the Festival’s giving hierarchy, that simply means I donate at least $300/annum. While I might think that is generous, given that I live about 4,000 kms away, it doesn’t place me very far up the ladder. Consequently when the ticket-wicket was opened for advanced purchases for my category I could not get a single seat for the play Three Tall Women. I wanted to see this play not because I knew much about it, but rather due to the fact that two powerhouses of the Canadian stage – Lucy Peacock and Martha Henry – were starring in it. I wasn’t sure I would ever see the two of them on the same stage again.
Since I was going to be in Ontario in September I decided to buy tickets for another two performances which I did attend while staying at the delightful cottage on Moira Lake I mentioned in an earlier Epistle. Just before leaving for the East however, Ontario increased the capacity of indoor venues. This meant that Stratford could open more seats for its plays and they contacted me offering me a seat for Three Tall Women during the time I was to be in Ontario. I jumped at the opportunity even though it would mean driving across the province as I would be in Montreal by that time. As mentioned earlier, the production was a tour de force. It was amazing.
It turns out my premonition was eerie correct. I will never see Lucy & Martha on the same stage again – I won’t ever see Martha again, period. But in the aftermath of this news, I realized that I owe to Martha a great deal of thanks. Because of her performances in numerous productions I rank her alongside some other greats of Stratford including Brian Bedford, William Hutt and William Needles. Her portrayal of Prospero, for example, was stunning and as good as any I’ve seen (and I’ve seen several). However my thanks is more expansive. Her passing reminds me that great acting has brought me to Stratford almost every year since I left Grade IV. Furthermore her passing reminds me that I have seen some very talented people – some Canadian, some from elsewhere.
Humour me a moment while I mention some of the people beyond those mentioned above that have made these trips so memorable, so wonderful, so delightful…
• Bruno Gerussi as the quintessential Caliban in the Tempest
• Christopher Plummer in any play he was in
• Jessica Tandy & her husband Hume Cronyn
• the entire casts of the various Gilbert & Sullivan productions in the Avon Theatre teaching me to love the musical format all over again
• Cynthia Dale
• Jonathan Goad
• Clare Julien
• Thom Marriott
• Colm Feore especially in the role of Coriolanus
• the entire Campbell clan – three generations
• Stephen Ouimette
• getting to watch Maggie Smith opposite Brian Bedford, even in one production where they appeared in supporting roles
There are many more but I think you get the point. Sometimes a person’s passing allows your memory system to kick into overdrive and you realize that their importance transcended their own roles. I’ll miss Martha, but I am so thankful that one month ago I witnessed her at her best in a small black box theatre wherein I thought she was performing, just for me…
Continue to enjoy your autumn, but take time to be thankful for someone who has passed away yet who in their lifetime brought you to new awarenesses..
g.w.