by AMY BARRATT

For the last year or so, Gravy Bath Productions has probably been the most talked-about English theatre company in town. They even caught the attention of Saidye artistic director Bryna Wasserman and are now producing "second stage" productions at the theatre. Next week marks the opening of their most ambitious project yet, two shows in repertory, Coriolanus, directed by Madd Harold, and The Portrait of Dorian Gray, an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray, directed by Gabor Zsigovics.

But all the buzz around the company has also created some false impressions, says co-founder Tony Palermo. "I'll have actors calling up saying, ‘You guys are doing really well. So how much do you pay?'"

They are often shocked to learn that the answer is "practically nothing." "We don't have any money," says Palermo. "Nobody that's working with us is in it for the money."

Instead, the appeal of working with GB is in building something from the ground up. "When you're cast in a Gravy Bath show, we're asking you to be involved," says actor-writer-producer Palermo. "You don't just come and say your lines. You're involved in every aspect of the show, and that makes you appreciate it more."

The two plays currently in rehearsal constitute the first edition of the New Classical Theatre Festival, which will run Aug. 21-Sept. 6 at the Saidye "B" space. The space, which is just the mainstage of the theatre curtained off and turned into a black box, was inaugurated by GB last winter with its play Ugly. The NCTF is starting small, but GB hopes it will grow from year to year with companies from all over Canada and even international companies being invited to participate.

The festival is "New" because this is its first year, but the title also signifies that this is a place to take a new look at classic works, whether it's an adaptation of a novel like The Portrait, or a contemporary staging of Shakespeare.

Bare-bones bard

Madd Harold doesn't want to give too much away about his production of Coriolanus, one of Shakespeare's later, less-familiar tragedies. As opposed to Henry V, which he directed at this time last year, Harold's Coriolanus has "no particular concept," according to the director, who has also written a book on playing Shakespeare. That distinguishes it from Henry. Octobre. 1970., which was set during the FLQ Crisis.

"We are asking ourselves with this play, ‘How do we tell this story in a new way?'" says Harold. "If we throw out the text, how do we convey this scene?"

The director has pared the text down to its bare bones, as is his wont. There is no set for Coriolanus and, in keeping with the no-budget approach, all of the props are "found."

"We'll pick up an object and say, ‘How can we play the scene with this prop?'" says Harold, "And at the end, [we ask], ‘How do we join it all together?'"

"It's a new way of working for us, and I don't see any style that's familiar from Henry or Ugly."

Zsigovics, the artistic director of his own company, Q Art Theatre, naturally has his own directing style, but what binds these two very different productions together, according to Harold and Palermo, is that they are "Theatre of the Imagination."

"I'm learning how to provoke an imaginative interaction with the audience," says Harold.

As for the 17 actors who have roles in both productions, GB is working them hard, and not just in rehearsal. "We were given 100 seats from the old Village Theatre," says Palermo, "and we're fixing them up to use in the "B" space, so it'll be a bit more comfortable than the folding chairs we had for Ugly."

But the seats weren't in very good shape, so the members of the company have been cleaning and sewing upholstery in their spare time, getting ready for opening night. It's all part of that unique Gravy Bath experience.

"We all have to do something else to pay the bills," explains Harold. "But theatre is our life's work - it's what we love. That idea has really clicked with this group of actors."

"Even if I had a lot of money," says Palermo, "I wouldn't pay the actors $450 a week (equity scale). They'd get too comfortable. You want to keep them a little hungry."

The New Classical Theatre Festival begins previews Aug. 21, and continues to Sept. 6, $10-$15, Info: 739-7944

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