Звёздный режиссёр Ричард Роуз возвращается в Садбери для постановки драмы «Лёгкие»

Acclaimed director Richard Rose returns to Sudbury for Lungs State of the Arts: The drama classroom at Lockerby Composite School in the 1970s under the guidance of drama teacher Bert Brankle sparked his career Article content For theatre lovers, having acclaimed Canadian theatre director Richard Rose return home to direct a play is a cause for celebration. Even though we claim him as our own, a hometown boy who grew up in Sudbury, his canvas is global. He is a sought-after theatre director, a winner of five Dora awards for direction, a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award for Direction and a Bitef Festival’s (Belgrade) Audience Choice Award. In 2024, he was selected for the Order of Canada, which stated in a release: “Richard Rose has produced many of the most memorable theatrical productions in Canada over the last four decades. His legacy of developing new work has helped shape the careers of many playwrights, and his visionary leadership has inspired writers and directors at home and abroad.” Rose has returned to Sudbury to direct YES Theatre’s production Lungs by Duncan Macmillan. The play focuses on a young couple who find themselves examining their lives and the state of the world as they consider starting a family. Should they or shouldn’t they? It is the perfect play for Rose. A master of the epic production, Rose is also drawn to plays such as Lungs that can be stripped carefully down in a way that makes an audience lean in to not miss a word. Audiences leaning in is Rose’s brand. “I’m always looking for truth,” he explained in a recent chat. “It’s not that I set out to change lives, but I’m always trying to discover and ask ‘what if?’ I like to peel back the layers.” Rose has spent a lifetime peeling back the layers for himself, his actors and his audience. It began in the drama classroom at Lockerby Composite School in the 1970s under the guidance of drama teacher Bert Brankley. In 1978, as a young man of 23, Rose became founding artistic director of the company Necessary Angel, where he pioneered an idea-based artist-driven theatre creation process that explored contemporary themes. He began to realize he was probably unable to afford to continue with his theatre passion. Then, he staged John Krizanc’s Tamara. And, as they say, the rest is history. Tamara was performed in the large Strachan House in Toronto with 10 actors performing simultaneous scenes in several different rooms. The audience was invited to accompany the character of their choice. It was truly interactive and intoxicating. Each audience member could only know so much. Tamara launched Rose’s career. He became associate director for Canadian Stage Company, director of the Stratford Festival Young Company, and spent 10 seasons directing at the Stratford Festival. Rose served as artistic director of Tarragon Theatre, Canada’s home for groundbreaking contemporary plays, from 2002 until he retired in 2020. He has directed more than 150 productions across Canada and internationally in Los Angeles, New York’s Off Broadway and London’s West End in the mediums of opera and film. He hadn’t retired for long before he was invited to teach acting and playwriting in specialized theatre programs. But he missed “playing in the sandbox,” Rose’s metaphor for unleashing the child within to create freely and with wild abandon. He pitched the idea of Lungs to Alessandro Costantini, artistic director of YES Theatre, and was given the green light. A play like no other: Lungs was first produced at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., in 2011. House of the Dragon’s Matt Smith and The Crown’s Claire Foy played the leads in the 2019 London Old Vic production. Lungs opened at the Refettorio on Aug. 4. The experience of being in the audience at Lungs is unique. Rose directs Lungs like a symphony conductor. His time signature out of the gate is prestissimo, the audience swept away by the incredible speed and passion of the opening debate. But like all skilled conductors, Rose knows when to slow things down, how to build to the next crescendo and when to insert an elongated musical rest. Each scene has its own tempo, its own build and vocal underscoring that takes the audience on a beautifully nuanced theatre journey. And Rose does it all without the production values we have come to expect. The well-crafted script is filled with surprises. It’s intimate and universal; dramatic and comedic. What more can an audience ask for? Lungs, a 90-minute production with no intermission, runs at the Refettorio on Durham Street in downtown Sudbury until Aug. 29 with four shows weekly. For tickets, go to yestheatre.com. City Medicine also playing Created and directed by Sudbury’s Sarah Gartshore, City Medicine runs in rep with Lungs at the Refettorio, each play alternating and performing four shows weekly. City Medicine addresses Sudbury’s housing and opioid crisis through collaboration between professional artists and people experiencing homelessness. Like many other Canadian cities, Sudbury is in crisis. City Medicine presents many voices of those living on the margins as well as those who fear we will not be able to find our way through seemingly insurmountable odds. It gives us hope that each of us is the medicine needed. Those who have seen the production rave about its power. Tickets are available at yestheatre.com. Indie Cinema presents a drive-In experience Sudbury Indie Cinema on Mackenzie Street presents three Saturday night drive-in experiences in August. From 1974, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre will be screened Aug. 15. The don’t-go-in-the-water Jaws from 1975 plays Aug 22. The 50th anniversary of the horror flick Carrie is celebrated Aug. 29. Located in the back parking lot of Sudbury Indie Cinema, patrons are invited to enjoy the films from the comfort of their vehicle or by sitting on the lawn for a bring-your-own-chair-and-blanket experience. Indie Cinema offers an indoor experience on those evenings, as well. The parking lot opens at 8 p.m. with the movie screening at dusk, approximately 9 p.m. Theatre concessions are available. Tickets are $10 for members and $14 for non-members and are available at sudburyindiecinema.com. Each vehicle requires a vehicle ticket to guarantee a spot, and all passengers need a ticket. Afrofest Aug. 21-22 Afrofest Sudbury is a two-day, free celebration of African art, culture, heritage and community at the Grace Hartman Amphitheatre on the shore of Ramsey Lake. It invites residents and visitors for a weekend of live performances, food, family activities and cultural exchange. The main stage lineup offers a variety of Afrobeats, traditional African music, hip-hop, reggae, soul, R&B and global fusion. It blends national and international artists performing across the weekend. State of the Arts is a bi-monthly column by the Sudbury Arts Council. For more on the arts, visit sudburyartscouncil.ca. Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.