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<H1><FONT color=#000000 size=3>Dear Colleagues: details here about the restaging
of The Theatre of Neptune 400 years on are a bit sketchy but no doubt we'll
learn a good deal more before too long.--Denis Salter</FONT></H1>
<DIV>Canada's first play to be revived</DIV><SPAN class=byline>Last Updated Wed,
08 Dec 2004 19:18:49 EST</SPAN>
<DIV class=text>
<P>HALIFAX - A new production of <I>The Theatre of Neptune in New France</I>,
Canada's first play, will be staged in 2006.
<P>The production, which will take place on Nov. 14, marks the play's 400th
anniversary. </P>
<P>It will be staged along the shores of Annapolis Royal on the Bay of Fundy,
where it was originally performed. </P>
<P>"It may be a little cold, but we want it to be at the exact same time, 400
years down to the minute if we can," director Ken Pinto told the Canadian Press
at a press conference on Tuesday. </P>
<P>"Hopefully there won't be snow falling." </P>
<P>Written by lawyer and historian Marc Lescarbot, the play was used to lift the
spirits of the French settlers at Port Royale, who had survived a fierce winter
the previous year. </P>
<P>"Good theatre, real theatre has a purpose. This play was aimed at
guaranteeing the survival of this group of people for the rest of the winter,"
added Bill Van Gorder, a member of the board of Theatre 400, the organization
behind the re-enactment. </P>
<P>According to Pinto, <I>Theatre of Neptune</I> was a remarkable production,
using cannons, smoke bombs, trumpets and canoes. </P>
<P>The cast includes the god Neptune, and a chorus at one point sings the
praises of France's king – a choice that underlines the play's secondary
purpose: to forestall a mutiny. </P>
<P>"It's a very simple play, but it's a good play and it started theatre in this
country," Pinto said.</P></DIV>
<P><FONT face=Verdana,Arial size=1>Written by CBC News Online <A
href="http://www.cbc.ca/bios.html">staff</A></FONT></P></DIV><!--googleoff: all --></FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT
color=#0000ff>__________________________________________________<BR>" . . . and
they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
pruning-hooks: <BR>nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall
they learn war any more."<BR> Isaiah 2.4<BR>___________________<BR>Denis
Salter<BR>Professor of Theatre<BR>McGill University<BR>853 Sherbrooke Street
West<BR>Montreal, QC<BR>H3A 2T6<BR>(514) 487 7309<BR><A
href="mailto:d.salter@videotron.ca">d.salter@videotron.ca</A><BR><A
href="mailto:denis.salter@mcgill.ca">denis.salter@mcgill.ca</A><BR>__________________</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
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