Ada Kelly Scrapbook Volume One

Captions to images above:

Page 2:

This page in Kelly’s first scrapbook is interesting for a number of reasons. In contains an article on GI Hamlet (a version of Hamlet that has been “streamlined for action” by Maurice Evans, according to the article), an article on a technicolour version of Henry V and most importantly there is a program for The Taming of the Shrew. This production was directed by Dora Mavor Moore (a prominent figure in Canadian theatre and founder of the New Play Society) and premiered at the Hart House Theatre on November 23, 1946. Notes by Moore in the program inform the reader that 1) the cover was designed by Cay Annis who based it upon “the cover of an early edition of The Taming of a Shrew, an anonymous play from which Shakespeare drew the plot of his comedy” and that 2) an epilogue from this work has been added to Shakespeare’s play.

Page 3:

On this page Ada Kelly has included a program and newspaper review of The Tempest, an early production of the New Play Society. The play premiered on February 26, 1948, and the mission statement of the New Play society on the front of the program reads “…to establish a living theatre in Canada as a professional but non-profit basis.” There is also an interesting note on the play, written by James Mavor Moore (son of Dora) which can be found within the program.

Page 4:

Here is an article and a series of pictures and captions regarding the New Play Society its members. On the top left there is a picture from the first New Play Society production Playboy of the Western World. The picture on the bottom left is from a production of Macbeth and a picture from The Tempest can be seen on the left, middle section of the right page. What can be seen of the article in the middle, at the bottom of the page is all that can be read without damaging the scrapbook as the stiffness of the paper prevents it from being opened any further.

Page 5:

On the left side of this page is an article, picture, and programs from two productions of Othello. The fist ran from February 25 to March 4, presumably in 1950 (the program indicates it was part of the 1949-50 season), and was a production of Hart House Theatre. The second, a Margaret Webster production, premiered at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on September 25, 1944 and starred Paul Robson. The review on the far left side of the page by Hector Charlesworth is particularly interesting because it links the popularity of Shakespeare’s tragedies in Canada to the presence of World War II. It is likely that Kelly attended the Hart House Theatre production but not the Margaret Webster production as she has a program from the former and only a newspaper clipping of the latter. Also of note is the fact that these two plays, produced at least four years apart, are glued onto the same page.

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Fischlin, Daniel. Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare Project. University of Guelph. 2004. <http://www.canadianshakespeares.ca>.