• HOME
  • LATEST READS
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Video Blog
  • About
  • Commenting Policy
  • Search Archives

The Theatre Reader

  • HOME
  • LATEST READS
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Video Blog
  • About
  • Commenting Policy
  • Search Archives
  • Menu

Hanchard tells Toronto ‘we can all effect change’

September 27, 2014

Veronica Appia

Editor-in-Chief

Martin Luther King Jr. was no superhero. 

Kevin Hanchard, who plays King in Obsidian Theatre’s The Mountaintop, says that this is one of the most inspirational aspects about him. “He was just a man,” says Hanchard. “There was no cape.”

The Mountaintop is currently being remounted at Toronto’s Aki Studio Theatre after its successful run at the Shaw Festival this year. The show paints a picture of King’s last night before his assassination at the Lorraine Motel. It is a play about his life, his hopes and his dreams both as an activist and, more importantly, as a human being.

“There’s a lot of pressure that comes with playing someone who has such a wide range of reference,” says Hanchard. “Everyone sort of has their own ideas about what he was like.”

The play’s move to Toronto means a smaller theatre and a more intimate playing space, a factor that Hanchard says he believes will pull the audience in and make for a more profound experience.

Performing for Toronto’s audience demographic will be a stimulating experience for Hanchard, who acknowledges that the reception may be different from that which he received at Shaw. “We might end up with many young students for whom Dr. King is simply someone from a textbook. So the question will be: how will they receive it?”

Regardless, Hanchard says there is something in the play for everyone. “I think we live in an age where it is easy to be anonymous,” says Hanchard. “(In King’s time) you really had to fight for your opinions. You had to put them out there and the consequences were imminent. There were no buffers of the internet or secrecy of anonymity.”

Being around the same age that King is in the play, and having four children himself, Hanchard tries to juxtapose King’s life to his own and understand the hardships King faced and all that he accomplished. Hanchard explains that King lived off of three to five hours of sleep consistently, but despite that obstacle, he continued to persevere. “I was surprised by the unrelenting pressure that was on him,” says Hanchard. “He tirelessly soldiered on for what he thought was right.”

The Mountaintop delivers a powerful message that Hanchard says each and every spectator can be inspired by and can apply to their everyday lives.

“I want people to walk away with a deeper and more profound respect for who Dr. King was and is, not just because of the speeches, but because of the lengths he went to, to try to accomplish the goals he felt were worthwhile,” explains Hanchard. “People need to realize that this is a responsibility we all have and no matter how big or small we are, we can all effect change.”

The Mountaintop, written by Katori Hall and directed by Philip Akin, is playing at Aki Studio Theatre from Sept. 27 to Oct. 19. For more information, visit http://www.obsidiantheatre.com/season/mountaintop/.

← Shakespeare goes to trial…and it’s about time!Borderline Me kicks off Mental Health Awareness Month in Hamilton →
  • The Theatre Reader
    TTR: We are very sad to announce we will be taking our final bow https://t.co/6JvXOlAM3m
    about a year ago
  • The Theatre Reader
    REVIEW: Shaw Festival’s Dracula lures but lacks bite https://t.co/1oQyWOo6Rp
    about a year ago
  • The Theatre Reader
    We're back at @ShawTheatre and in for a dark and dramatic evening. https://t.co/AptKoyH1z1
    about a year ago
  • The Theatre Reader
    ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMERITUS HONOURED WITH CREATION OF THE CHRISTOPHER NEWTON INTERNS PROGRAM #Shawfestival #TheaTO
    about a year ago
  • The Theatre Reader
    "Feore’s choreography delivers some of the best dance numbers I’ve ever seen." #guysanddolls #TheaTO https://t.co/Sdiel6HZcZ
    about a year ago
  • The Theatre Reader
    Hamilton Fringe Announces Line up for Frost Bite 2018 #HamiltonFringe
    about a year ago
  • The Theatre Reader
    The Stars Align: Toronto Masque Theatre’s final season is a chance to celebrate #TheaTO #Torontomasquetheatre
    about a year ago
  • The Theatre Reader
    RT @StephanieTzogas: Last review of the 65th @stratfest season for @TheatreReader : Guys and Dolls 🎭 Luck be a lady tonight 🎲… https://t.co/h1tU4ihGPy
    about a year ago
  • The Theatre Reader
    REVIEW: @stratfest's TWELFTH NIGHT is "thoroughly entertaining" https://t.co/bO4SNQ6K4U https://t.co/uGXiWcgNzw
    about a year ago
  • The Theatre Reader
    RT @StephanieTzogas: Exciting news from @TheatreReader 🎭 support their #GetDramatic campaign today! https://t.co/0iXD4u7YgK
    about a year ago