‘After this play, you’ll be changed’: Inside the incendiary world of Rosmersholm
iPhoto caption: Virgilia Griffith in rehearsal for Rosmersholm with Jonathon Young. Photo by Dahlia Katz.
For Dora Award-winning actor Virgilia Griffith, taking on complex and challenging roles is what excites her most.
In everything she does, she attributes her steadfastness to her encouraging mother, who she says helped foster her wild imagination and carve out her own lane in the arts industry — from theatre school at Toronto Metropolitan University to some of Canada’s biggest stages.
“I feel like if it wasn’t for my mom. I probably wouldn’t be where I was today,” Griffith told Intermission in an interview. “This incredible Black woman that I admire was always there for me in helping my imagination grow, and telling me that I could do whatever I wanted to do. I was able to start believing in myself.”
She also praises fellow theatre creators like Karen Robinson, Weyni Mengesha, and d’bi.young anitafrika as Black artists she witnessed fiercely break into the industry and confidently create their own paths.
One of her proudest moments was starring as Billie in a 2018 revival of another one of her inspirations’ works, Djanet Sears’ Governor General’s Award-winning drama Harlem Duet, a Shakespeare-inspired tale of a couple torn apart by racial tensions throughout multiple historical periods, from slavery in the rough American Deep South to present-day in Harlem, N.Y.
Griffith is now stepping into the lead role of Miss Rebecca West in Duncan Macmillan’s adaptation of Ibsen’s classic Rosmersholm, where themes of power, love, and change are wedded by the dynamic relationship between West and the play’s title character.
Playing at Crow’s Theatre and helmed by artistic director Chris Abraham, Rosmersholm commences in 1886 on the precipice of a looming Norway election, with noble family dynasty heir John Rosmer (played by Jonathon Young) at the centre of the storm. Soon enough, the enigmatic Rebecca enters a world of secrets within the house, leading to a deep exploration of morality, loyalty, political turmoil, and personal change.
“She’s in a position where she’s in proximity to power now, and that is a complex ride for her, since that wasn’t her beginning,” said Griffith. “I keep being drawn back to her will to transform out of survival. She is her own… she belongs to herself.
“She has a whole story before this play that informs her decisions when you meet her,” she continued. “I am sucked into her electrifying nature, her sharp mind and physically demanding journey. The history that is behind her and inside her is awakened by Rosmersholm.”
In rehearsal, Griffith and the cast refer to studying the play as “the pancakes,” an inside joke that alludes to unravelling the endless stacks of layers within the play. She said she enjoys the in-depth process, as she continues to find something new in each run-through.
“I really love the process because it’s really rigorous, and we’re constantly digging deeper and finding things that we never thought were there,” Griffith said. “It’s not a play that feels like, ‘Oh, I got it.’ I have so many questions after one pass, because there’s so many ways it can be done. It just makes me reflect on my own humanity and I just feel like my heart is open to Rebecca, to receiving her story and telling it as best as I can.”
Griffith says that being part of Rosmersholm has stretched her as an artist, from the play’s intellectual fire to its physical demand. She highlighted that working with the ensemble, as well as having the opportunity to perform a classical piece of work in the present day, has made this production special to her.
“I’m changed by it as an artist,” she said. “I feel myself expanding my mind, expanding my spirit and my heart.
“We get to dig into something in the present moment and also reflect on the world and our global community,” she continued. “That’s what makes it special, that we’re doing the play in 2024 and that it will be in conversation with the world.”
Griffith says this production is guaranteed to be surprising, chaotic, energetic, and reminiscent of the world we live in, especially as all eyes are on the U.S. presidential election this fall. For those who may be apprehensive about buying a ticket to a period piece heavy on politics, Griffith promises that Rosmersholm is also a “very human piece” that’s sure to affect audiences’ perspectives on life.
“A piece of text that my character says is, ‘you’ve changed me forever’,” Griffith said. “After this play, you’ll be changed.”
Rosmersholm runs at Crow’s Theatre from September 3 to October 6. Tickets are available here.
Janiece Campbell
Janiece Campbell is a Toronto-based freelance writer with an innate passion for uplifting voices of the unheard and underserved. She aims to provide an inclusive safe space dedicated to helping women, visible minorities, disabled people, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community tell their stories.
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