Also in the Cast: The Memoirs of Tony van Bridge

Pauline Carey is the author of Magic and What’s in a Name?

The Academy of the Shaw Festival has launched a series of publications
on Canadian theatre history with the memoirs of the Festival’s senior
actor. It’s a good choice, since Tony van Bridge arrived in Canada in
1954 and proceeded to become an important part of three important
theatre groups: the Canadian Players, with whom he performed, directed,
and toured for almost 10 years; the Stratford Festival, where he played
for 15 seasons and is fondly remembered for Falstaff; and the Shaw
Festival, where he first performed as Captain Shotover in Heartbreak
House and, in 1975, served as stand-in Artistic Director. In the 1980s,
van Bridge became a familiar face on CBC television. He had come a long
way since his days at RADA, where he was once fired from a play for
being lazy.

There are few revelations in these quietly told memoirs. Only in
recounting the death of his second wife does van Bridge fully engage our
emotions. Some of the liveliest pages are devoted to theatrical
landladies in England and theatrical tours in North America. The book
has been well edited by Dennis Johnston and includes a foreword by
Christopher Newton.