Patrick Du Wors on the set of As You Like It

Crossing the Bridge

 Blue Bridge raises As You Like It as first show

There are many reasons Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre chose As You Like It for their inaugural production. First of all, says artistic director Brian Richmond, “our focus is classical and most people associate Shakespeare with classical theatre.” But on top of that, there was the play’s multiple characters, meaning it gave Blue Bridge a chance to employ a lot of new actors—not only graduates from UVic, but also the Canadian College of Performing Arts, Langara and UBC.

“We don’t want this company to become just another summer stock company,” says Richmond. “In the centre of the mandate for Blue Bridge is the idea that we’re here to give significant creative opportunities for young artists.”

This includes not only those on stage—As You Like It’s cast includes up-and-comers such as Rielle Braid, Victor Dolhai and Elliot Loran appearing alongside well-established performers like Jay Hindle, Sarah Donald and Fran Gebhard—but also folks behind the scenes. Take, for example, the set design. While established UVic alumnus Patrick Du Wors is designing the sets for all three of Blue Bridge’s productions this summer, he’ll be handing over some creative control to an associate for the August production of The Fantasticks.

“I won’t be in Victoria for the rehearsal and the tech, so there will be an associate who will be able to respond to the director immediately and then call me and we can make aesthetic decisions together,” says Du Wors. “To be in a creatively responsible position, it’s a tough gig to get the first one. I think it’s a great opportunity.”

For As You Like It, though, Du Wors—whose most recent local work includes Dark of the Moon and Turn of the Screw—is handling both set and costume duties. When it came time to think of a concept for a set that could be employed in all three of Blue Bridge’s shows, Du Wors says inspiration came from a master.

“The way Peter Brook, the famous theatre director and academic, talks about it, there’s a sacred space to tell the story,” he explains. “So there is an oval rake, a stage on an angle, and that’s the thing that’s shared between all three plays.”

But all three shows—the middle one being Death of a Salesman—will be using the space differently. Du Wors says the oval stage will be used frequently in As You Like It, as he and director Jeannette Lambermont-Morey decided to set the show in the 19th century and taken an approach that would have all of the actors—16 in total—on stage nearly the entire show.

“We didn’t want to plunk it in a specific period, but we also wanted it to be before the age of telecommunications—because in Shakespeare, with all these mixups and things, why didn’t they just pick up the phone?” he says. “We came up with this approach where all the actors are on the stage almost all the time, as observers and participants, and the story is told by this group of people who come together and can quickly change costume pieces.”

This marks Du Wors’ first Shakespeare production since spending a year as resident assistant designer at the Royal Shakespeare Society in the United Kingdom. “I think my time as an assistant at the RSC really informed this production because one of the things I learned is that with Shakespeare, as a designer, you don’t want to get in the way,” he says. “If we’re actually doing Shakespeare’s plays as he wrote them, he didn’t have anything. He had a couple of pillars and a trapdoor and the actors had their own costumes. That kind of storytelling approach, I think, is quite important.”

Although he’s now Toronto-based, Du Wors always welcomes an opportunity to come back to Victoria.

“Whether you’re from Victoria or not, if you went to UVic, if you went to school here, Victoria becomes a really important part of your psyche,” he says. “I never wanted to leave here and if I could earn a living here, I’d be back in a second, but the second best thing is to be invited back as often as possible.”

And we’re more than happy to have him.

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As You Like It
Opens 8pm Thursday, June 11 • Runs to June 28
McPherson Playhouse, Centennial Square
Tickets $26.50-$47.50
250-386-6121