FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 15, 2001

 

ELEPHANT MAN TO FEATURE TWO GUEST ARTISTS

Two of Atlantic Canada’s brightest theatrical talents are set to help make The Elephant Man one of the Saint John Theatre Company’s greatest successes.

Graham Percy, a professional actor who grew up in Saint John, will portray John Merrick, a grotesquely deformed man who is rescued from a circus and given refuge at a London hospital. Graham studied theatre in Paris and has acted in more than 60 plays. Local audiences will remember his stunning performance in the title role of the SJTC’s 1995 production of Amadeus. He reprised that role at last year’s Atlantic Theatre Festival.

Patrick Clark, meanwhile, will design the set for The Elephant Man. A native a Fredericton, Patrick has designed sets and costumes for the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, the Atlantic Theatre Festival and the famous Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis. He was associate set designer for two productions of The Phantom of the Opera. Patrick has taught at the Banff School of Design, Concordia University and Saint Thomas University.

Graham and Patrick are being hired through the SJTC Guest Artist Program. Artistic director Stephen Tobias says the program is vital to the theatre company’s growth. "It allows us to expand on the repertory of plays available," he explains. "We would not be able to do a play as difficult as The Elephant Man without the input of guest artists."

The Elephant Man opens at the Imperial Theatre on March 2.

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