tolkien | audience responses

"Outstanding. Riveting. A must-see."
- Tom Cooper

"Magical. It felt like I was eavesdropping on history."
- Reinier Van De Poll

"So inspiring and affirming that it brought me to tears in the first act. Then when I saw how Tolkien and Lewis's artistic and religious convictions could create such a gulf between them as friends, it confronted me in my own attitudes and brought up so many questions. Chief among them is, how important are your convictions, artistic, religious, or otherwise, that you would allow them to erode a relationship that is potentially so rich and vital?"
- Karl Petersen

Such a stunning production! It was incredible to see these literary giants – these writers who have been with me from childhood into adulthood with their profound thoughts and stories – embodied so truthfully. The writing and performances captured both their almost otherworldly brilliance and their basic human struggles in a way that made these men completely relatable. A mesmerizing night of theatre. Huge congrats to all involved!
- Julie Lynn Mortenson

"A splendid show, splendidly performed."
Diana Maureen Sandberg

"So well done, so interesting and so intelligent. I attend many theater productions each year in Vancouver and this will be my favorite for 2018 (with apologies to productions not yet seen)."
- Karin Sipko

"Stellar performance, excellent cast. Also, I learned something cool about PT tonight. They take great care to make their props all exceedingly authentic, because the space is so intimate. So, for this production, the copy of Screwtape Letters that shows up in the third act is a first edition, and Farthing inscribed it as if it were CSL inscribing to Tolkien. (I wonder if that's going to fool some antiquities dealer 50 years from now. The manuscript for Lord of the Rings isn't just a pile of blank paper with the cover page; it is an actual print-out of LOTR! And that's a LOT of words on pages. Very impressive. And the chalkboard that Tolkien writes on in the beginning of the play is full of actual Anglo-Saxon. No detail is too small!"
- Rosie Perera

tolkien | production photos 3

J.R.R. Tolkien (Ron Reed) & Edith Tolkien (Erla Faye Forsyth)

J.R.R. Tolkien (Ron Reed), Charles Williams (Anthony F. Ingram) & C.S. Lewis (Ian Farthing)

at the Eastgate Hotel

Warnie Lewis (Tim Dixon)

The Inklings at The Eagle and Child

J.R.R. Tolkien & C.S. Lewis

Another round of photos from Pacific Theatre's production of TOLKIEN by Ron Reed. Set Design by Drew Facey. Lighting Design by John Webber. Costume Design by Christopher David Gauthier.  Photos by Jalen Laine.

tolkien | chronology of a friendship

In his research for TOLKIEN, Ron Reed amassed a huge amount of information about J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, their friendship, and how the rest of the Inklings mix in. The result is an incredibly detailed timeline of their meetings, significant interactions, publications, and more. Below, we've got a portion of that data. Some of it you'll recognize from the play, and some elements didn't quite make the cut. Ready to dive in?

HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY

1892, Jan 3 J.R.R. Tolkien born, Bloemfontein, South Africa
1898, Nov 29 Belfast, Ireland

1926, May 11 Tolkien meets Lewis
1929, Spring Lewis's Headington bus experience
1929, July Tolkien: "Friendship with Lewis compensates for much..."
1931, Sep 19/20 Addison's Walk conversation
1936, early Tolkien submits The Hobbit for publication
1936, Mar 11 Lewis writes Williams about Place of the Lion
1936, Mar 12 Williams writes Lewis about Allegory of Love
1936, May 18? Williams meets Lewis in Oxford?
1937, Sep 21 The Hobbit published
1937, Oct 15 Tolkien: "Nothing more to say about hobbits..."
1937, Dec 19 "I have written the first chapter of a new story about hobbits..."
1938, Sep 23 Out of the Silent Planet published
1939, May 6 Lewis riposte to "The Flowering Rifle" published

1939, Sep 3 Britain declares war on Germany
1939, Sep 4 Williams moves to Oxford
1939, Nov 9 Inklings meeting, "A roaring cataract of nonsense..."
1940, Jan 29 Williams' Chastity lecture
1940, May Warnie evacuated from Dunkirk
1940, Aug 16 Warnie returns to Oxford
1941 Witchcraft (by Charles Williams) published
1941, Aug 8 Lewis's first BBC broadcast talk
1942, Feb 9 Screwtape Letters published
1942, Mar 1 Socratic Club: "Are There Any Valid Objections To Free Love?"
1943, Apr 20 Perelandra published
1943, Dec 20 That Hideous Strength completed
1944, Jan Rings untouched for months; "I do not seem to have any mental energy or invention."
1944, Apr 1 Tolkien attends Birmingham reunion
1944, Apr 19 Tolkien: "Read The Dead Marshes to Lewis and Williams. It was approved."
1944, Oct 3 Campbell joins conversation at Eagle & Child. "Rather like the Prancing Pony."
1944, Oct 5 Campbell attends Inklings. "CSL's reactions were odd."
1945, May 8 "Hostilities will end at one minute past midnight tonight."
1945, May 9 Williams becomes ill
1945, May 15 Charles Williams dies

1945, Aug 16 That Hideous Strength published
1946, Feb Doctor orders Tolkien to apply for a term's leave. He does not.
1946, Sep 3 Lewis not elected as Merton Professor of Modern Literature
1946, Nov 28 Campbell attends Inklings
1947, Apr 24 Dyson vetoes reading from Lord of the Rings
1947, Sep 8 Time Magazine cover article on Lewis
1947, Dec 4 Essays Presented to Charles Williams published
1948, Jan 25 Tolkien writes Lewis, regrets pain he has caused, recent Inklings absences not connected to the disagreement
1948, Feb 2 Socratic Club: Elizabeth Anscombe, "Miracles: A Reply to Mr. C.S. Lewis"
1949, early Lewis shares The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with Tolkien
1949, Apr Tolkien, on Narnia: "It just won't do."
1949, Oct 27 "No one turned up after dinner" for Thursday night Inklings. Lewis writes to Tolkien with response to the completed Lord of the Rings, concluding "I miss you very much."

1950, Jan 10 Lewis receives first letter from Joy Davidman
1950, Oct 16 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe published
1952, Sep 24 Lewis meets Joy Davidman at Eastgate dining room
1954, Jul 29 First volume of Lord of the Rings published
1956, Apr 23 Lewis marries Joy Davidman in civil ceremony
1959, Mar 21 Lewis marries Joy Davidman in private religious ceremony
1960, Jul 13 Joy Davidman dies
1963, Nov 22 C.S. Lewis dies
1963, Nov 26 C.S. Lewis funeral

1973, Sep 2 J.R.R. Tolkien dies

tolkien | responses

"Run, don't walk, to get tix for Tolkien at Pacific Theatre (it's selling fast). A mature play, by a mature playwright, with super acting by all concerned. Ron Reed pulls off playing Tolkien with amazing depth, which wouldn't be a surprise, except that he had to step into the role at the last minute, after writing and directing the play. This is live theatre breathing life into two men who have become flattened by their status as icons. Here they are fully human, fully flawed, and their friendship likewise. Superb end to a superb season. Bravo."
- Karen C., audience response

"This is such a wonderfully ambitious show and it was wild seeing Ron Reed stepping in as a last second subsitute for his cast's sidelined title character. I was floored that by the end of three acts I wasn't just completely engaged with the world, but the first thing I wanted to ask Ron was, 'how many scenes did you cut?'"
- Mark Leiren-Young, audience email

"I LOVE the final scene - the appropriate pang of melancholy - and the final line struck me as beautiful and intriguing. One of the best final lines to a play, ever. Also - congratulations again Ron on your tremendous accomplishment. I left the theatre saying how I enjoyed spending that time with all the characters.”
- Katharine Venour, audience email

"Entering the intimate, underground confines of Pacific Theatre for Tolkien, there is an immediate and palpable magic in the air. At centre stage, set designer Drew Facey has stamped an elegant, ornate compass rose onto rich wooden floorboards. Hanging down over the space are leafy branches, leading back to thickly root trees that seem to grow out of the wells. It is a perfect setting to explore the odd and intricate friendship of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis."
- Brian Paterson, Vancouver Presents

"Farthing’s unstintingly generous Lewis and Dixon’s droll and doughty Warnie... Presiding over the whole scene is a sculpted larch tree so handsome that the characters – poets, after all – periodically stand back and stare just to admire its beauty.”
- Lincoln Kaye, Vancouver Observer

"The script balances these themes in an impressive fashion, and all the while educating a Tolkien-novice such as myself about the rich history behind some of literature’s most significant works... Aesthetically, Tolkien is a complete triumph.”
- Sebastien Ochoa Mendoza, UBC Players Club

"As Lewis, Ian Farthing is understated and persuasively human.”
- Colin Thomas, Fresh Sheet

"Ingram is brilliant as novelist and playwright Charles Williams, the most eccentric of the group.”
- John Jane, reviewvancouver

tolkien | review video

There are two weeks left to see TOLKIEN by Ron Reed!

tolkien | production photos 2

J.R.R. Tolkien (Ron Reed)

J.R.R. Tolkien & Edith Tolkien (Erla Faye Forsyth)

The Inklings: Charles Williams, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Warnie Lewis, Hugo Dyson

Edith & J.R.R. Tolkien

Roy Campbell (Simon Webb)

From Pacific Theatre's production of TOLKIEN by Ron Reed 

photos by Jalen Laine Photography

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tolkien | about lewis and tolkien | bc catholic

Christopher S. Morrissey, TWU logics and philosophy professor and Executive Advisor to the Inklings Institute of Canada, not only found time in his schedule to join us for Saturday's Theatre Club last weekend, but also to write a fascinating piece for The BC Catholic that is part-review and part-academic exploration of the collision of Tolkien and Lewis' worldviews. An excerpt is below, and you can read the entire piece here.

"The appeal of Tolkien and Lewis derives, I think, from their imaginative critique of the modern world’s domination by machine technology. In effect, the two re-humanize and re-enchant the world with their sanctifying fictions.

For Tolkien in particular, the possession of magic best symbolizes the abilities of technology in the modern age, which is intoxicated by the magic of “the machine.” Tolkien’s intricate tales capture the deep truth of our destructive fascination with this power.

But he also shows how we might overcome “the machine,” through the formation of real friendships. Think of Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee.

Lewis’ imaginative worlds may be more accessible for the very reason Tolkien criticized them: they are more didactic, as they provide vividly imaginative justifications for the truth of Christianity.

Perhaps because Lewis felt he had wasted too much of his life on atheism and materialism, he saw the need to debunk such poppycock in the most directly effective ways possible.

Lewis was a convincing apologist, but his theology is arguably best articulated in his stories, especially in his science-fiction trilogy and The Narnia Chronicles.

His strongest philosophical argument against the Age of the Machine, against which both he and Tolkien were compelled to write great literature, is found in The Abolition of Man. Still relevant today, that book is my recommended starting point for anyone seeking to understand the noble purpose animating both Lewis and Tolkien."

(Photo credit: Jalen Laine Photography.)

tolkien | theatre club

Following the Saturday matinee will be our final Theatre Club instalment for TOLKIEN! Join us for a conversation with Monika B. Hilder and Christopher S. Morrissey for a discussion of Lewis and Tolkien's work.

Christopher S. Morrissey teaches logic and philosophy at Trinity Western University and is Executive Advisor to the Inklings Institute of Canada. He studied Classics at the University of British Columbia, and at Simon Fraser University he wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on René Girard. He is a managing editor of The American Journal of Semiotics. His books are Hesiod: Theogony / Works and Days (Talonbooks, 2012), and The Way of Logic (Nanjing Normal University Press, 2018).

Monika B. Hilder is Professor of English at Trinity Western University, where she teaches children’s and fantasy literature. She is co-founder and co-director of Inklings Institute of Canada, and the author of a three-volume study of C.S. Lewis and gender, including Surprised by the Feminine: A Rereading of C.S. Lewis and Gender.

tolkien | production photos

Some shots from TOLKIEN! All photos by Damon Calderwood, featuring Erla Faye Forsyth, Ian Farthing, and Simon Webb. Set Design by Drew Facey, Costumes by Christopher David Gauthier.

Edith Tolkien (Erla Faye Forsyth) & C.S. Lewis (Ian Farthing)

Edith Tolkien & Hugo Dyson (Simon Webb)

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis

tolkien | casting change

We are sorry to announce that John Innes will no longer be playing the title role in TOLKIEN. John has been a part of this play from the very beginning, reading the role at all the workshops throughout its development. Unfortunately, due to health concerns, he is not able to complete the run of the show. We can assure all of John's fans that he will be okay, and simply needs time and rest.

Instead, playwright and director Ron Reed will be stepping in to read the part of Tolkien for the run. We wish Ron all the best as he steps into John's shoes, with complete faith in his skills as an actor and his ability to bring Tolkien to life.

tolkien | opening night

What an opening weekend! We had an incredible time bringing the story of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the rest of the Inklings to the stage in TOLKIEN. Here are some shots from the opening night reception.

tolkien | VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

Want to help out Pacific Theatre, see some shows for free, and spend your evenings hanging out with some of Vancouver's finest actors? We are looking for volunteer stagehands for TOLKIEN! To sign up, please fill in this form.

We require volunteers to help manage scene transitions for each performance night. You would need to lift some small furniture or set pieces and make scene changes quickly and efficiently in low-light on stage.

TO SIGN UP, FILL IN THIS FORM!

Requirements:
-Able to lift and carry small furniture or set pieces (with a partner for heavier pieces)
-Able to move quickly and efficiently in low lighting on stage

Compensation:
-Four tickets to see Tolkien (for yourself or friends)
-If you assist more than 7 performances, a Sampler Pass to our 18-19 season
-If you assist more than 15 performances, an Everything Pass to our 18-19 season

Please expect to hear confirmation of your volunteer status and schedule by Monday.

Thank you!

tolkien | meet the crew

It takes a village to put on a play, and TOLKIEN is no exception! We are thrilled to have this incredible team of artists joining us in the creation of this beautiful show.

RON REED - Director

JEFF TYMOSCHUCK - Co-Sound Designer

PAIGE LOUTER - Assistant Director

CORINA AKESON - Co-Sound Designer

DREW FACEY - Set Designer

JESSICA HOOD - Production Designer

CHRISTOPHER DAVID GATHER - Costume Designer

JORDAN WATKINS - Projection Designer

KATY ALCOCK - Assistant Stage Manager

JOHN WEBBER - Lighting Designer

JETHELO E. CABILETE - Stage Manager (not pictured)

tolkien | c.s. lewis at pt

This may be the first time we are telling a story from J.R.R. Tolkien's life and work on our stage, but it is far from the first time C.S. Lewis has been a part of our seasons! Here are some shots from past productions based on C.S. Lewis' life or writing.

FREUD'S LAST SESSION

An imagined meeting between C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud during WWII.

THE GREAT DIVORCE

An imaginative retelling of C.S. Lewis' novella exploring hell.

THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE

Images from the past two iterations of Lewis' journey to the magical land of Narnia.

SHADOWLANDS

The story of C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham's romance.

tolkien | meet the cast

It's time to meet the cast of TOLKIEN! This group of incredibly talented actors have all been involved in our seasons one way or another in the past, and we couldn't be more excited to have them together in this epic story of friendship, imagination, and faith.

Ian Farthing - C.S. Lewis - Ian is one of our Artist Advisors and also directed BAR MITZVAH BOY for us this season, but hasn't taken our stage as an actor for about 12 years. Welcome back!

John Innes - J.R.R. Tolkien - The last time John was on our stage was in the Jessie Award-winning play THE SEAFARER.

Erla Faye Forsyth - Edith Tolkien - Erla has been performing with us for almost as long as we can remember, and we wouldn't have it any other way! Last you saw her would have been in OUTSIDE MULLINGAR, and she won a Jessie for her role in HOW TO WRITE A NEW BOOK FOR THE BIBLE.

Tim Dixon - Warnie - Playing C.S. Lewis' brother Warnie, Tim was last on stage with John Innes in THE SEAFARER.

Anthony F. Ingram - Charles Williams - Most recently Anthony has been directing shows with us, including A GOOD WAY OUT and THE WHIPPING MAN, but he has been one of our core actors for years!

Simon Webb - Hugo Dyson - While Simon has performed on our stage, in the Honest Fishmongers' guest production of MEASURE FOR MEASURE, this is his first time in a Pacific Theatre production!

tolkien | advance photos

We had a wonderful time on the photoshoot for TOLKIEN! The woods in Pacific Spirit Park were the perfect place to dream about Middle Earth and Narnia. Thanks to Emily Cooper for the wonderful shots, and to Ian Farthing and John Innes (our Lewis and Tolkien) for going on a little adventure with us.

tolkien | theatre that matters

Here is actor John Innes, our J.R.R. Tolkien, on the play TOLKIEN and why it matters to him.

tolkien | first rehearsal

It's the beginning of the end -- this morning was the first rehearsal for the final show of our season! Professional theatre is always planned pretty far in advance, but it would be no exaggeration to say that this play has been a long time coming. We are so excited to finally begin TOLKIEN by Ron Reed.