Numéro Cinq

Rob Reid’s an old friend of some newspaper cronies of mine from days gone by. He’s been following and reviewing my work for ages. This piece has the added virtue of presenting some background material on the actress Severn Thompson who adapted my novel for the stage and is playing Elle.

d

I became a Douglas Glover fan in 1983 after reading Precious while working at the Brantford Expositor. Brantford is not far from where the writer was born in Simcoe, Ont. — I worked at the Simcoe Reformer before The Expositor. He was raised on a tobacco farm outside of nearby Waterford. Since then I have eagerly anticipated each new novel or, later, work of non-fiction. He has become my favourite postmodern, metafictional novelist — to think, our very own homegrown Italo Calvino.

Read the rest at Rob Reid’s Between the Lines: Elle Hitting the Boards.

Buy tickets here!

.

Buy tickets here!

Severn Thompson, a.k.a. Elle

Severn emailed me last night after dress rehearsal to say it went really well. Each iteration of the play builds on the rest. Last night was the first time with an audience, small, yes. A dress rehearsal.

Also yesterday Now ran a small piece on Severn and the play. The writer made a nice nod to my joke about Elle’s boyfriend being a tennis pro (in 1542).

Severn is quoted as saying:

“The book brought to life an early chapter of Canadian history. From the start I saw it as a staged piece, since the character expresses herself in a contemporary way that I could relate to,” Thompson says. “She might not be much more than a sidebar in history, but in this story she’s constantly saying, ‘Look at me, be aware that I exist.’

Yes, that was the point. Severn has consistently been one of my best readers.

Read the rest of the interview @Now.

#ElleTO

dg

.

Buy tickets here!

Another update on Severn Thompson’s play based on my novel Elle.

Christine Brubaker, the director, just posted this shot of the set on Twitter. The magic of theatre.

#ElleTO.

dg

Buy tickets here!

Severn Thompson’s adaptation of my novel Elle goes up at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille this week, preview performances start Thursday. The official world premiere is January 19, already sold out. I’ll be there. And then I will participate in an onstage interview the second night, January 20.

Severn is a wonderful, magical actress. Two years ago she did a trial performance from the opening of the novel in a bare room above a bar in Toronto. Jonah and I were there. It was entrancing. Jonah kept punching me in the shoulder, whispering, “You wrote that!” Severn was doing a monologue in period costume, no other decor but for a straight backed chair, which she was having sex with (some of you will remember that opening scene).

I’ve been watching the script develop. After getting over the initial shock of seeing my 180 pages  shrunk to about 45 pages, I’ve been fascinated, enthralled. The novel to stage adaptation process is not easy AT ALL. But Severn has found her own rhythm and line and the last draft gave me a thrill. Something really happening there. And with her charm and skill as an actress, not to mention the stage effects they have been working on, this should be an extravagant delight.

Watch the Theatre Passe Muraille Facebook page here. Twitter hashtag #ElleTO.

dg

Buy tickets here!