Hinterviews

Peter chats with Patricia Hamilton, famous for her stage work at the Shaw Festival and TV productions such as Road to Avonlea, for a discussion on her career as an actress, teacher and cast member who appeared in the original production of Belle Moral: A Natural History, then titled The Arab's Mouth.

Jackie Maxwell, director, dramaturg and Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival speaks with Laurie Brown in the second National Arts Centre English Theatre 2008-09 Celebrity Speakers Series about her career, including her beginning in Canada at the NAC.

Peter chats with Buried Child Set and Costume Designer Eo Sharp, Lighting Designer Robert Thomson and Sound Designer Troy Slocum for a discussion on the working progress on their design, how they came to their respective fields and how they worked together with Peter to bring Buried Child to the NAC stage.

To mark the second anniversary of the NAC's Celebrity Speakers series, here is an encore presentation of the inaugural edition with very special guest, Paul Gross and host, Laurie Brown.

Known foremost as an actor, Canadian Paul Gross is also a writer, producer and director. His portrayal of Constable Benton Fraser on Due South, a drama series he co-wrote and executive produced, won international acclaim. His directorial debut, Men with Brooms, broke Canadian box office records. Paul was the recipient of a Golden Nymph Award for Best Lead Actor at the Monte Carlo Television Festival for his role in H2O, a Whizbang mini-series that he also co-wrote and executive produced. For his portrayal of Geoffrey Tenant in the critically acclaimed series Slings & Arrows, Paul recently picked up his fourth Gemini Award. He portrayed Romeo and garnered a Dora Award, and a career highlight was playing Hamlet to record-breaking audiences at the Stratford Festival in 2000. Paul served as Playwright-in-residence at Stratford and the National Arts Centre and has won numerous playwriting and screenwriting awards. Currently Paul Gross is producing the sequel to H2O, Trojan Horse which he also co-wrote and will star in. He is also preparing to direct Passchendaele, a feature film script which he penned to pay tribute to the sacrifice made by Canadian Soldiers in the World War I

Peter Hinton, Artistic Director of the NAC English Theatre, chats with Laurie Brown about the 2008-09 season, and about his career as a director and playwright.

Peter speaks with Leah Cherniak, the Co-Artistic Director (with Martha Ross) of Theatre Columbus in Toronto. The company has created over 30 new plays and also has an excellent reputation for innovative productions of classics. Leah studied theatre at École Jacques Lecoq in Paris, and currently teaches an intensive clown course for the Ryerson Theatre Program. She also teaches at George Brown College, York University and the National Theatre School in Montreal.

Happy Days, written in 1961, is Beckett's last full-length drama and follows in the tradition of earlier work casting a crystal clear and almost affectionate gaze upon man’s (in this case Woman’s) determined optimism in the face of a universe without meaning.

Laura Denker interviews Alison Lawrence on the subject of her play "And All for Love". Set in 1660, following the restoration of the monarchy, And All for Love is a new play that explores the friendship between the celebrated actress Elizabeth Barry and the not-so-celebrated actress Winifred Gosnell (also housemaid to the diarist Samuel Pepys.) Between them stands Edward Kynaston, the great actor once famous for his portrayals of women. A romantic comedy that celebrates what two women did for the love of the theatre, and for the love of their lives.

Peter Hinton is in conversation with Rick Chafe on the subject of his play, Shakespeare's Dog.

Hooker is a dog with a gift for sniffing out "soul". When his master, the young William Shakespeare, becomes entangled in domestic difficulties and possibly a crime, he quickly understands it’s up to him to ensure that the playwright follows his fortune to the London stage. A tour de force of inventive wit, Shakespeare’s Dog features a kennel’s-worth of unforgettable characters, both canine and human. A gritty, growling look at the life and influences of the greatest playwright in the English language.

Peter Hinton in conversation with Yvette Nolann

Shakespeare’s tale of Julius Caesar is unearthed … this time on native ground. "We struggle to find some kind of self-government, to achieve some kind of self-determination, we’re working with very flawed systems and very flawed tools and that’s a hard thing. I guess that’s why this story is so fascinating to us, because if we can work it out in this play then maybe we can work it out in our lives too." — Yvette Nolan