Middleton in Love

TORONTO, April 2, 1999 -- The Changeling, a biting Jacobean play written by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley, younger contemporaries of Shakespeare, opens at York University on Tuesday, April 13.

Directed by Anna MacKay Smith, this Theatre @ York production is a darkly sardonic look at a world in which people pursue personal gratification with a breathtaking absence of moral scruple.

Though billed as a tragedy, The Changeling has the makings of a black comedy vacillating between sanity and madness. When Beatrice fancies a man other than the one she is engaged to, she calls on the repulsive but devoted De Flores to solve her problem - by killing the fiancÈ. De Flores is only too willing to oblige, but for a price, namely the charms of Beatrice. Her situation is made still more awkward when her new fiancÈ requires his betrothed to pass a virginity test. Meanwhile, two young blades who fancy the young wife of the local madhouse keeper disguise themselves as lunatics to gain access to her. Their disappearance puts them under suspicion of murdering the first fiancÈ - whose brother is out for revenge!

First performed in 1624, The Changeling illustrates the shift in drama in the Shakespearean era towards a jaded sensationalism. The characterization is sharp and ironic, the dialogue startling, candid and naturalistic.

"What I love about the play is that it shows no matter what era, when we are caught up in our passions - revenge, jealousy, lust - we are close to madness, " says MacKay Smith. "All the characters in this play are trying to reason away their passion."

Anna MacKay Smith teaches at York and also serves as artistic director and teacher at Players Academy, an actors' training program affiliated with Equity Showcase. A graduate of Ottawa University, the Drama Centre in London, England and York University's MFA program in directing, she has also performed in regional theatres across Canada. This summer, MacKay Smith will be collaborating on a one-woman show with Teatro Escambray in Cuba.

In The Changeling, MacKay Smith directs students from the second-year Graduate Acting Ensemble and fourth-year undergraduate acting class of York University's Theatre Department. Sets and costumes are designed by William Corcoran with lighting by Paul Major.

The Changeling previews Sun. April 11 and Mon. April 12, opens Tues. April 13 and runs to Sat. April 17. Showtime is 7:30 p.m.. Location is the Elmina Atkinson Theatre, Main Floor, North Lobby of Atkinson College at York University, 4700 Keele St. at Steeles Ave. Admission is $10, $7 for students and seniors, $5 for groups. Previews are PWYC on Sun. April 11 and $4 Mon. April 12. For more information call 736-5172 ext. 3. Tickets are available at the door or in advance at The Source in York University's Student Centre. Phone: (416) 736-5101.

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For further information, please contact:

Carol Bishop
Communications, Faculty of Fine Arts
York University
(416) 736-2100 ext. 20421
email: cbishop@yorku.ca