Here’s the most crucial detail you need to know about Guelph Little Theatre’s soon to open The Giant’s Garden. It has a giant in it, a giant nearly eight-feet tall. Next most important detail, it opens Friday.
Written by Toronto’s Peter Fenton and Scott White, the production is D.J. Thomson’s directorial debut. At a rehearsal for the play this week, Thomson looked like he was having loads of fun.
“There is a giant in it,” Thomson said. “It’s somewhere between seven and eight feet tall, and it’s run by three people. It’s super cool.”
The need for an impressive, movable giant in the mythical play was Thomson’s key challenge in the early planning stages. The teamed considered using a tall person on stilts, but that didn’t seem like the most stable idea.
“So we settled on a big puppet,” he said.
Thomson said the play was written for a young audience, but is appropriate for all.
“One of the things I really liked about The Giant’s Garden as a script is that kind of hit the same area of audience as something like the Muppet’s Show does,” he said. “There’s something in there for all audiences. There’s good stuff for the really, really young, for all the in-betweenies, and sly jokes for the parents. It hits all our appropriate audiences.”
The story revolves around the creation of a garden, one originally made by a giant. The personifications of the winter and summer seasons, Thomson explained, are allowed to rest in the garden. The action revolves around the balancing act, and competition between the seasons.
“The story is about how that garden is used,” he explained. “It starts with summer hogging it, and with winter trying to wrest it away from summer.”
Thomson said he’s ecstatic about the progress that’s been made on the piece of musical theatre. A great deal of work, thought and commitment has gone into it, and it will be ready for Friday’s opening night. The curtain goes up at 7:30 p.m. at the theatre, 176 Morris Street, off York Road.
“That energy and that excitement really shows,” Thomson said. “One of the most wonderful things is to sit, watch and see that joyous excitement about the show, every night we rehearse.”
Judi McCuaig is the show’s producer. It is her first involvement in a GLT production. She said there are 12 cast members, with six of them being young actors under the age of 18. A couple of cast members have never acted with GLT before, she said.
“Some of the core cast members have done several shows with GLT,” she added. “We’ve got occasional actors, and those who aspire to be professional actors.”
The theatre continues to enjoy broad-based community support, she indicated.
The Giant’s Garden runs over the next three weekends, through to Dec. 11. Shows are Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12, and there are special rates for school groups. Call the theatre at 519-821-0270.
One more important detail: Along with the giant puppet, there are a pair of icicle puppets in the play, each about as tall as a person.
