Windsor’s University Players are bringing St. John Hankin’s 1907 play The Cassilis Engagement to the city for the first time ever, starting tonight (Jan. 31).
In this lively clash of the classes, upper-class Geoffery Cassilis and lower-class Ethel Borridge are determined to tie the knot, and now the refined Mrs. Cassilis must take on the loud and obnoxious Mrs. Borridge as their children bring them together to plan the wedding. Mrs. Cassilis invites the would-be fiancée and her mother to their sprawling country estate to introduce them to the demands of high society. Much to Ethel’s embarrassment, her mother can’t help but show her lack of etiquette at every turn, whether it is yawning at breakfast or bursting into a raunchy after-dinner song. Audiences will laugh and cry as the Mothers strive to keep their children together – or apart.
This production will mark the first time the show has been staged locally. St. John Hankin was a contemporary of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw, although his plays are seldom produced. He went largely neglected for nearly a hundred years before several revivals of his work were produced at the Shaw Festival in Niagara, in New York, and in London, England in the 90s and early 2000s. The Cassilis Engagement is a great example of late Edwardian comedy that will delight and surprise audiences of today with its quick-witted comedy and over-the-top characters.
The Cassilis Engagement opens January 31 with an 8pm performance at Essex Hall Theatre. The show runs approximately 2 hours. Recommended for ages 14+. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at www.universityplayers.com or by calling the box office at 519-253-3000 x2808. Regular price tickets start at $19.
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