The Grapes of Wrath

"On the highways the people moved like ants and searched for work, for food.

And the anger began to ferment."

What a heartbreaking story and a heavy one. John Steinbeck's novel set in the great depression turned into a play about a family trying desperately to hold onto one another, their lives and their hope in the midst of devastating crisis. I have to admit the first time I saw it I was too overwhelmed to appreciate it. The shock of what desperation could cause us to do was too much for me to take in and I didn't like it.

Thankfully I was lucky enough to have a ticket to a second performance (the first was a freebie thanks to the festivals annual Easter egg hunt for tickets). This time the beauty of the story, not the sadness of it all, but the beauty of the love this family has for one another and their desire above all to stay together is what hit me.

Acted beautifully by actors in the company the standouts for me were Janet Wright as Ma, Evan Builing as Tom and Tom McCamus as Jim Casy. The narrating band was also a great treat.

After the second viewing I got to thinking about the plight of migrant workers. Firstly they do still exist in Ontario, now manly comprised of poor immigrant families with no other choice of employment. Yet we choose to ignore the unregulated work they are forced in to. That anyone could be treated like the lepers the Joads were in our time appals me. It was an eye opener, seeing what folks went through, what they survived and what is still happening now.

John Steinbeck's book was controversial and convicting back then, I wish I could say it wasn't so relevant now.

My love of theatre knows no bounds

Settling into the balcony or orchestra, waiting with anticipation for the lights to go down and the curtain to go up ... all tantalize my senses with the hopes of another great theatre experience.

It began in high school with our school's productions of Guys and Dolls (which I wasn't in, sadly) and Lil' Abner (which I was in). I fell in love with the stage. Not so much being on it but seeing it unfold. I knew I was not an actor by any means. I had fun, sure, but it was not calling me to a career. I did know that my love affair with theatre would not end.

It did dwindle for a while as school got in the way. Then at the end of the summer in 2007 I took a trip to New York City with a friend and OF COURSE we had to go see something on Broadway. I was hoping to see Wicked but sadly those tickets were hard to come by and very expensive. Instead we saw Hairspray and Mary Poppins, both of which I loved. This time in a real theatre my addiction was born!

Then a year later I moved just north of Stratford, Ontario, home of the World Famous Stratford Shakespeare Festival where every year from April until October they put on 12 productions in 4 theatres. Of course there is Shakespeare every year but also musicals, Canadian playwrights and stage classics. It is truly a feast for the theatre-loving soul. And I fell hard.

I've lived here for almost 3 years now and I have been to see almost every Stratford production since, many more than once as they are just that good! I will look back and reminisce on the ones from seasons past and I will post after each show this season.

I am in no way affiliated with the Stratford Shakespeare festival other than that I am a devoted fan.