Bryan Saunders, Arts & Entertainment Staff
Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)

Written by Ann-Marie MacDonald
Directed by Marianne Copithorne
Starring Andrea Jorawsky, Robert Markus, Karyn Mott, Darren Paul, Tatyana Rac, and Sarah Sharkey
Runs November 26–December 5. no show Sunday.
Tickets $5-20 at the Timms box office or at tixonthesquare.ca

What would happen if two of Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies, Othello and Romeo and Juliet, were rewritten as comedies? perhaps they were even intended to be comedies all along!

This concept is the doctoral thesis of PhD student Constance Ledbelly — one of the characters in Ann-Marie MacDonald’s play Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) — but she’s struggling to find the evidence to prove it. that is, until she tumbles down, down, down into a wastebasket and finds herself magically dropped into Othello’s Cyprus and, later, into Romeo and Juliet’s Verona. in quick time, Constance bumps into the kooky characters from these plays and support for her theory starts to pile up.

According to Karyn Mott (Juliet), audiences will be rolling out of their seats with laughter when they see how some of Shakespeare’s most well-known characters have been transformed.

“They’re heightened to a different extent than they are in the original play,” she laughs, pointing out that the character archetypes aren’t really “transformed,” per se, just exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness.
Juliet, for example, becomes just your stereotypical melodramatic 14-year-old girl, where every tiny decision is live-or-die — more often the latter, as it turns out.

“Juliet tries to kill herself a lot,” Mott deadpans. “She tries real hard.”

Sarah Sharkey, who’s making her Studio Theatre debut in the role of Desdemona, notes that her character is the opposite.

“My archetype is a raging, bullish, warrior princess,” she chuckles.

“Another interesting thing is that in Othello and in Romeo and Juliet, our two characters would never meet,” Mott points out. “And, in this play, [...] our archetypes go head-to-head.”

The result, of course, of two over-the-top characters meeting is something even more over-the-top, but Sharkey says the production manages to walk the line between being a satire and being a valentine.

“I think it’s very much both,” she says. “I mean, to make fun of something is quite endearing. People love to laugh. So, to parody something is essentially to love it, to give it an homage — it’s kind of like a roast.

“Our goal was to make this the funniest journey we possibly could,” Sharkey continues. “So, anyone who will sit down and watch it will enjoy the pure comedy of it all: there are SNL kind of moments; there are YouTube comedy clip moments [...] there are also these elements of Die Hard. It’s very fast-paced; there’s a lot of action and stage fighting to it.”

“And there are a lot of surprises,” Mott offers.

“Yes, be prepared for surprises,” Sharkey menaces, before breaking down into laughter.

NEW YORK — Reliance Industries, owner of the world’s largest oil-refining complex, made a cash offer at the weekend to buy a controlling stake in closely held LyondellBasell Industries , the bankrupt chemicals and fuels maker.

Terms were not disclosed.

The buyout would be co-ordinated with emergence from bankruptcy and represented a “potential alternative” to its reorgani sation plan, Rotterdam-based LyondellBasell said.

The offer is subject to due diligence and sufficient creditor support, Mumbai- based Reliance said in a news release.

Reliance said earlier this month it was considering “interesting opportunities” internationally as companies roiled by the world’s worst recession since the great Depression struggle to maintain cash flow. LyondellBasell, a maker of plastics such as polypropylene and polyethylene, was formed in December 2007 when Basell paid 12,7b n for Lyondell Chemical , which declared bankruptcy 13 months later.

The acquisition would help Reliance expand beyond its customer base in Asia into Europe and North America to become “a global player”, Gregg Goodnight, an analyst at Houston-based ChemAnalysis, said.

Chemical makers from Germany’s BASF , the world’s largest, to Dow Chemical, the largest in the US, are trying to sell low-margin assets such as styrene, which is used to make plastics.

Abu Dhabi’s International Petroleum Investment bought Canada’s Nova Chemicals for 2,6b n, including the assumption of debt. Huntsman has agreed to buy plants that make titanium dioxide pigment from bankrupt Tronox , barring a higher offer.

LyondellBasell sought bankruptcy protection after chemical demand plunged a year ago, Goodnight said. A concurrent drop in chemical prices reduced inventory values and related borrowing capacity, he said.

LyondellBasell said its management would work with all parties to ensure “value for the company’s creditors through the pursuit of a confirmable plan of reorganisation”. the company, which has a crude oil refinery and other operations in Houston, is a unit of new York-based Access Industries Holdings , founded by billionaire Len Blavatnik.

India’s Economic Times reported on November 9 that Reliance may spend as much as 6b n to buy assets from LyondellBasell Industries. Reliance, which is controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, had 5,2b n in cash reserves in April.

“Reliance is reviewing a number of global opportunities for growth in its core business,” the company said in its news release. “This review is ongoing and there can be no assurance of the outcome with respect to any of the opportunities under review, including with respect to LyondellBasell.”

Lyondell Chemical and other US affiliates of LyondellBasell Industries filed for bankruptcy in January. Lyondell Chemical had assets of 27,1b n, debt of more than 19,4b n and more than 25000 creditors, according to the petition filed in US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan.

Local labor leaders and Democrats gathered together last week tothank Indiana Rep. Joe Donnelly for his vote on comprehensivehealth-care reform.

The first speaker at the event was local Democratic Party chairmanRick Ward.

Ward thanked Donnelly for his vote on the legislation and commentedon how Donnelly worked hard to represent all the different views ofhis constituency.

“He dealt with this issue on both sides of the fence,” said Ward.”He was elected not just for Democrats, but Republicans and all thecitizens of the second district. He listened to both sides of theissue. At the end of the day, Joe Donnelly did what was right. Hevoted in favor of health care for all.”

The second speaker was mayor Greg Goodnight, who warned of theeminent attack Donnelly faces from health-care lobbyists.

“There is an extreme amount of money coming from the health-careindustry trying to protect the status quo,” said Goodnight. “Theyhave a lot of interest in preserving how it is. They have a verygood system for themselves, and they see this as something thatwill be in the best interest of American families and not in theirbest interest.”

Goodnight also pointed to several statistics to demonstrate whyAmericans need health-care reform. “If you look at thisstatistically, the United States spends more per capita than anycountry in the world; we have a higher infant mortality rate thanCuba. Children have a better chance of dying in their first yearthan 38 other countries. Our life expectancy is less than mostother European countries. The No. 1 reason for bankrupts in thiscountry in the last five years is because they have no health careand have been faced with a catastrophic situation in theirhousehold.”

The mayor reminded the labor leaders to stand by Donnelly even whenthe onslaught of negative publicity from his vote starts in thenext election cycle.

“I am going to make a prediction those groups that I mentionedearlier are going to target him,” said Goodnight. “They are goingto put every ounce of energy in defeating him, and they are goingto misinform, mislead, and misinterpret those votes. Rememberthis.”

Howard County commissioner bill Thompson said it was Donnelly’svote that confirmed for him that this legislation was the rightlegislation for the residents of the second congressionaldistrict.

“There are many citizens in this country who don’t have good healthcare and something needs to be done,” said Thompson. “I was not 100percent sure what would be the best course of action for Washingtonto take, but when our congressman Joe Donnelly voted for this bill,I knew it was the right course of action.”

State Rep. Ron Herrell said this all hit home with him in the pasttwo months with situations he has faced with his family.

“My wife has been very ill. She had the flu for a week, and thedoctor said to take her to the hospital,” said Herrell. “She hadone of the worst cases of pneumonia the doctor ever saw in what hecalled a healthy person. She was in the hospital for a week. We gethome on a Friday. I pull in and get the mail. I look in the mail,and I had a letter from Anthem insurance. That was the first letterI opened. She was in the hospital for a week. She had sepsis. Iopened up that letter and Anthem has denied our coverage for a weekin the hospital. They said it could be taken care of at thedoctor’s office. I was irate. I called a man I knew at Anthem, andhe said he would look into it. He called me back later and saidthere is some new information and I should discard the letter. Idiscarded that letter into my computer bag so I could show peopleat the state house what is happening.”

He also told a story about a health-care problem his brother isfacing.

“My brother, who works for a company that puts in undergroundcable, told me that they were going to do away with his healthinsurance,” said Herrell. “It is a small company, and they arestruggling, too. Come the end of October, my brother is bringingthe company truck home and he passed out. He crossed the median,crossed the northbound lane, and ended up in the opposite lanesside ditch. He had a blood clot. He lost the sight in his left eye,and one third of the sight in his left eye. here is a man that hasworked hard his whole life, and now has no health insurance. … Justas the mayor said it is a catastrophic situation, and how does hemake his house payment. He didn’t overextend himself. … what kindof bailout is he getting?”

Herrell finished by saying that Donnelly was the one making surehis family was getting the help they needed.

GM Said to see No Saab Bids as Board Nears Shutdown (Update1)

Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) — General Motors co. doesn’t expect tofind new bidders for Saab and may shut the bankrupt unit afterKoenigsegg Group AB canceled a planned acquisition, peoplefamiliar with the matter said.

Saab’s future will be decided at a Dec. 1 GM board meeting,said the people, who asked not to be identified because thetalks are private. while directors might opt to keep Saab, asthey did with the Opel division this month, GM has a contingencyplan that calls for winding down the brand, the people said.

“They should just get rid of it,” said Tom Stallkamp,industrial partner at buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC, whichwas part of an unsuccessful bid for Opel in Germany. Saab”really doesn’t matter in terms of technology, and there is nosynergy like there was with Opel.”

Closing Saab instead of selling would still help GM achievethe goal of trimming U.S. brands to four from eight whileworking to return to profit after a U.S.-backed bankruptcy. AKoenigsegg sale would have protected jobs at Saab while wrappingup GM’s affiliation with the brand by year’s end.

The collapse of that accord yesterday marked the thirdbrand sale to falter since GM’s July 10 exit from Chapter 11. GMbacked out of the Opel sale to a group led by MagnaInternational Inc., and Penske Automotive Group Inc. withdrew inSeptember from a plan to buy Saturn.

Contingency Plan

GM’s Saab contingency plan is modeled on its blueprint forSaturn, one of the people said. Saab owners would continue to becovered by GM warranties and be assigned to a new dealership forservice, the person said.

“We will take the next several days to assess thesituation and will advise on the next steps next week,” ChiefExecutive Officer Fritz Henderson said in a statement. “We’reobviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out.”

Earlier today, Beijing Automotive Industry Holding co.,which in September agreed to take a minority stake in theinvestment team set up by Koenigsegg to take over Saab, said ina statement it will “cautiously” reconsider plans to buy astake.

Expected Transaction

Saab had expected the transaction with Koenigsegg Group toclose by the end of this month, pumping in fresh funds tofinance a ramp-up of production of older models and productionof new car types.

The investment group includes Koenigsegg Automotive, makerof the $1.2 million CCXR sports car; China’s Beijing AutomotiveIndustry Holding co.; and Baard Eker, a Norwegian entrepreneur.The team is led by Augie Fabela II, an American who co-foundedRussian mobile-phone operator OAO VimpelCom.

“We’re extremely disappointed. It’s like a plane crash,”Eker said. “Our deadline was Nov. 30 and at one week away werealized that we had so far to go that we weren’t going to makeit, so unfortunately we had to call it a day.”

GM began getting indications of a possible snag over theweekend, and Koenigsegg Group’s board decided on Nov. 23 to backaway, one of the people said.

Koenigsegg Group had sought to obtain in advance all 400million euros ($600 million) of financing approved by theEuropean Investment Bank, while the lender planned to disbursethe funds in tranches, another person said. Rainer Schlitt, abank spokesman in Luxembourg, couldn’t be reached yesterday.

‘End of the Road’

“That’s it, goodnight, goodbye,” said Stephen Pope,chief global strategist for Cantor Fitzgerald in London. “Saabhas reached the end of the road, there’s nothing left in thetank.”

Saab traces its roots to aircraft company Svenska AeroplanAB, founded in 1937 to secure production of Swedish warplanes,and is based in Trollhaettan, a cradle of the country’s 19th-century industrialization. GM bought one half of Saab in 1990and took full ownership a decade later.

Posting losses in most of its years under GM, Saab hadplanned to become profitable by 2012 with annual sales of100,000 cars, according to Christian von Koenigsegg, one of theinvestors in the acquisition group.

Saab got Swedish court protection in February after GM saidit was cutting ties. Koenigsegg won the bidding for the unit inJune, and the European Investment Bank approved a 400 million-euro ($600 million) loan for Saab on Oct. 21 after an initialdelay. Saab had about 4,100 employees as of August.

Koenigsegg’s rivals for Saab included U.S. billionaire IraRennert’s Renco Group Inc. and Merbanco Inc., a group ofinvestors from Wyoming, a person familiar with the process saidat the time.

An aide to Rennert said yesterday that the billionairewouldn’t comment on Koenigsegg’s exit, and a voice-mail messageleft with Merbanco President Chris Johnston wasn’t returned.

At Saab’s peak of popularity in the 1980s, it appealed tobuyers who sought a European brand mixing safety, reliabilityand innovation. while Ford Motor co.’s Volvo championedpracticality, Saab peddled its aviation heritage withturbocharged engines and fighter-jet design elements.

Plunging demand and Saab’s losses made the unit a candidatefor disposal as GM slid toward bankruptcy. U.S. sales slumped 62percent this year through October, with just 513 deliveries lastmonth, and the European total plunged 59 percent. As of Nov. 15,Saab planned to reduce its U.S. dealership body by 37 percent,cutting 81 of 218 dealers.

Inventory Levels

“I don’t think that the inventory levels on Saab are veryhigh, so I would expect that dealers would get no new productsand the company wouldn’t have to heavily discount them to selloff the remaining stock,” said Eric Ibara, director of residualconsulting for Kelley Blue Book in Irvine, California.

Saab was among four U.S. brands GM planned to unload aspart of its restructuring to focus on Chevrolet, Buick, GMC andCadillac. The Swedish unit has been unprofitable for most of thetwo decades GM has owned it.

GM dropped Pontiac, had the Saturn deal fail and agreed tosell the Hummer sport-utility vehicle brand to China’s SichuanTengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery co., pending regulatoryapproval.

“You feel sorry for the guys at GM, because they just needto get Saab, Saturn and Hummer off their plate,” saidRipplewood’s Stallkamp, a former Chrysler Corp. executive.”Suddenly GM has all these leftovers when what they really needto do is start cooking a whole new meal.”

To contact the reporters on this story:Jeff Green in Southfield, Michigan, at Jgreen16@bloomberg.net;Niklas Magnusson in Stockholm at nmagnusson1@bloomberg.net;Katie Merx in Southfield, Michigan, at kmerx@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: November 25, 2009 01:02 EST

Goodnight Dad is a monologue read by illustrator and writer Mike Payne, with all net profits donated to the Yellow Ribbon Foundation (yellowribbon.org.uk)

How many times have we looked at the news on television, and thought to ourselves, I wish I could do something!

When Mike Payne, illustrator, writer and creator of the iconic Tatty Teddy from me To You Bears, and the Charlies Ark range of audiobooks saw a news item on Sky News about another soldier being killed in Helmand Province, he did do something. He is hoping that it will generate much-needed funds for the Yellow Ribbon Foundation, which spreads awareness of and support for the British Armed Forces and their families and loved ones back home.

Mike, 65, from Worthing, was formerly a professional actor. In his acting days, he often performed an old-time music hall monologue written by Martyn Herbert and Herbette Jordan. Mike wanted to do something that would both raise funds for the Yellow Ribbon Foundation and to make people stop and think – rather than just casually hear another tragic piece of breaking news.

Mike remembered the monologue, adapted it for todays climate and recorded it. Partnering with AUK Records, Mike decided to release the single as a digital download with all profits going to the foundation. In the monologue, Mike tells the emotional story of a father who is close to his son, with the son joining the army and being detailed to Afghanistan. It is a highly emotional piece, and has a non-political message about the emotional effect of losses of forces personnel.

When the Yellow Ribbon Foundation were approached with Mikes proposal for the single, they felt it was wonderful, very emotional, and gave the perfect message that tied in with the aims of the foundation. Victoria Evans, director of the Yellow Ribbon Foundation, said This is an excellent way for us to get our message across, and we hope many people will buy this not only to support the foundation, but also to appreciate the human cost of conflicts on the families of our brave armed forces personnel.

With more sad news of deaths in Afghanistan every day, it is hoped that the public will pick up on this single release, and download it to express non-political support for the men and women of the British Armed Forces.

Goodnight Dad is available from all major digital download sites, and all profits are being donated to the Yellow Ribbon Foundation.

Journalists Kirsty Young and Kirsty Wark transformed themselves into a female version of comic legends the two Ronnies in the name of charity.

The broadcasters became the “two Kirstys” to help raise money for Children in Need.

Both donned 1970s-style jackets and loud ties to look the part for the spoof news bulletin, which will be shown on Friday night as part of BBC1’s Children in Need appeal.

Better known for hard news programmes such as Crimewatch and Newsnight, the Scots even drafted the charity’s mascot Pudsey Bear into the sketch, replacing his trademark bandage with a pair of the black-rimmed spectacles that were the Ronnies’ signature.

Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett’s sketch about two irreverent newsreaders was one of their most popular skits.

The pair would always sign off with Corbett saying: “And it’s goodnight from me.” Then Barker would add: “And it’s goodnight from him.”

Kirsty Wark said: “The Two Ronnies was must-watch television – this is our homage to their humour, their specs and their clothes.

“It was great fun recording it with Kirsty and we were both delighted that David Renwick, who had written the original gags, had agreed to write two very special interludes for us.”

One of Renwick’s new gags brings the Ronnies’ humour bang up to date.

One of the Kirstys will say: “I’ll be meeting the woman who was thrown off her acupuncture course for not paying. In her defence, she said she had no idea how to enter her pin.”

It has become an annual tradition for serious BBC news presenters to play the fool for the charity night. Insiders revealed that the pair struggled to keep straight faces while reading the gags.

Newsreaders Fiona Bruce, Dermot Murnaghan, Andrew Marr, Nicholas Owen, Bill Turnbull and Ben Brown performed a song from the musical Chicago in 2007.

And former BBC political editor Andrew Marr created uproar when he donned stockings and suspenders for a Rocky Horror sketch.

“Thank you and goodnight!” As I said those words to the screaming fans on the last night of the Nolans tour on Tuesday in Belfast I was a total wreck.

I’d gone beyond a few quiet tears and was sobbing down the microphone. I’m sure some of the audience must have thought me and my sisters had gone stark, staring mad, we were so emotional.

But the last couple of months have been truly amazing for all of us.

With a combined age of pushing 200, kids, grandkids, cellulite and (if we’re honest) the odd (well-disguised) grey hair, just being back on stage has been incredible for us.

In the years since we were touring in the 70s and 80s, me and my sisters have faced our share of personal battles – dealing with loss, cancer, marriage breakdown and weight issues.

But we’re not unusual in that.

There are few women who get to their mid-40s without having their share of heartache to deal with. And at times you feel that all that crap is going to beat you. But women are nothing if not fighters. You know the old saying: “Put a woman in hot water and she’ll just get stronger.”

And coming out for this tour, stronger and more confident than ever before, has proved that to us.

I’m 45 next year, a mum of three who spends a lot of her time propping up an ironing board, pairing socks and emptying the bins.

And for years – after my marriage broke down and my weight shot up – I could never have dreamed of returning to performing.

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That’s why going back on the road with my sisters was so important to me. Thank you so much to everyone who came to see us and made us feel so special.

And thank you too to my sisters – Maureen, Linda and Bernie. They were there for me in the tough times of my life and again during the moments of sheer brilliance on tour.

And having Ray and my boys along with me was fantastic too – being so close to true family makes anything seem possible.

There has been a lot written about the fallout between my sisters, Anne and Denise, and the four of us who went on tour.

Things have been said that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive. But the situation has taught me the real meaning of “family” – those people who love you, support you and are there for you every step of the way.

Because someone who judges, criticises or makes you feel bad is not true family even if they are a blood relative.

Try to remember that when you’re beating yourself up about who to invite for Christmas dinner!

And thank you again to my real true loving family – and goodnight!

/ if you missed us there is a Live DVD of the whole show which is out NOW.