Andrew Gillies (1/97 In Good King Charles's Golden Days)
Excerpt from Playbill 1/7/97: Andrew Gillies
Shaw Festival '97 Announces Casting
07 Jan 1997
Artistic Director Christopher Newton has announced major casting for all productions in the 1997 Shaw Festival at Niagara on the Lake, Ontario.
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In Good King Charles Golden Days by G.B. Shaw, directed by Allen MacInnis (Prev. July 1, July 11-Sept. 27), features Andrew Gillies as Isaac Newton and Peter Hutt as King Charles II, Sarah Orenstein and Patricia Hamilton.
© Playbill
Excerpt from Stage Door 1997: Andrew Gillies
Unexpected delight like a fabulous house party
by Jim Lingerfelt and Roger Kershaw
In Good King Charles's Golden Days
by George Bernard Shaw, directed by Allen MacInnis
Shaw Festival Court House Theatre, July 1 to September 27, 1997
In Good King Charles's Golden Days by George Bernard Shaw can be likened to attending a fabulous house party with all the "right" guests...including a king. Now playing at the Shaw Festival's wonderfully intimate Court House Theatre, and intelligently directed by Allen MacInnis, IGKCGD (what a mouthful) is a little-known Shaw delight containing a "mini-tour" of everything he ever wrote about: government; religion; art and science; personal freedom; and the existence of God.
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The play opens in Cambridge, England in 1680, in the study of the famous scientist Isaac Newton (Andrew Gillies). The stage is set with a series of gilded frames, in which frozen actors pose in historic portraits. The scene comes alive with the noisy entry of punctilious housekeeper Mrs Basham (Patricia Hamilton). A stream of famous visitors, including "Mr Rowley" - a pseudonym favoured by King Charles II (Peter Hutt) - follow, interrupting Newton and disturbing his housekeeper. Almost instantly a heated all-encompassing debate commences on everything from astronomy to physics to art, religion and government. Thus begins one of the great examples of Shavian brilliance and wit. To keep the flow with subjects as exciting as algorithms, logarithms and perihelions is testament to Shaw's talent.
A pontificating George Fox (Guy Bannerman) arrives, founder of the Quakers, and the conversation naturally turns to a discussion of astronomy and the Bible. Subsequent visitors include three of Charles's most celebrated mistresses. Nell Gwynn (Helen Taylor), the former actress; Louise de Kérouaille (Phillipa Domville), long suspected of being a French spy; and the Duchess of Cleveland (Brigitte Robinson) in a jealous rage. It's at this point that the merging of math and mirth ensures a sprightly affair. Newton proceeds to calculate the age of King Charles after bombastic Barbara Villiers (the Duchess of Cleveland) accuses him of having "hundreds of thousands" of affairs. It's a truly hysterical scene.
MacInnis gets marvelous support from his actors, especially the trio of trollops. Taylor provides authentic stage presence as the sweet harlot, Gwynn, while Robinson contributes to the hilarity with the haughtiest Mrs Slocombe (Are You Being Served?) imitation since Molly Sugden blue-rinsed a wig. Always dependable Gillies plays a deadpan Newton to genuine effect, which juxtaposes Bannerman's brilliantly blustering, Bible-thumping Fox.
© Stage Door
Performing Arts and Entertainment in Canada Fall 1997: Andrew Gillies
The state of the monarchy - the play 'In Good King Charles's Golden Days
by Brigid Elson
Performing Arts & Entertainment in Canada, Fall, 1997
Audiences at the 1997 Shaw Festival who bought tickets for In Good King Charles's Golden Days were rewarded with a superb production.
The intimate Court House Theatre proved to be a most suitable site for a work set in Sir Isaac Newton's library and the Queen's boudoir. Here it seemed perfectly natural to be eavesdropping on the interplay of a masterful cast whose artistry was of the highest order. Confined as the space was, Allen MacInnis' direction, (aided by wonderfully designed sets and costumes by Charlotte Dean), was so cunning that the cast never seemed trapped or hemmed in by their surroundings.
Singling out the actors for individual praise risks betraying the fact that the ensemble playing was beautifully integrated. However, if only because they had major roles, one can hardly fail to point out that Andrew Gillies as Newton befuddled by a stream of unexpected and unwanted guests was wonderfully comic, while Peter Hutt combined a royal bearing and reflective nature in an utterly convincing performance. Among the minor roles, Brigitte Robinson's handling of the sensual Barbara Villiers made for a very amusing contrast with Newton's rectitude in their scene together. Each of the other actors played their roles with the utmost attention to diction (a must in a Shaw play), and contrasting characterizations.
A comedy about statecraft with an unexpectedly poignant last act, the play had intriguing implications for our time. Thoughtful viewers left the theatre thoroughly entertained but also with much to consider about politics and the monarchy today.
© Performing Arts and Entertainment in Canada