It was remarkable, as Lady Crawley of Downton Abbey would have said, that so much Old World nobility was gathered at the Sunshine Coast Golf and Country Club last Saturday. Doyennes and titular heads of state were everywhere. Duchess Dora of Dundee could be seen in her flowered hat rubbing shoulders with the elegant Countess Constantina of the Ukraine as they sipped a cup of best Mount Kenyan Estate tea and nibbled the cucumber sandwiches.
Driftwood Players, in a pop-up theatre event, collaborated with the Coast’s Grandmothers and Grandothers (G&G) to put on a smashing afternoon tea March 7 with fashion show and sketches, all to raise money for G&G’s cause, the Stephen Lewis Foundation, that assists African grandmothers raising a generation of orphans whose parents have suffered from AIDS. There are 215 such organizations across Canada to help those in desperate need of support, said Grandmother Julie Gleadow. Since 2007 the Sunshine Coast group has raised more than $116,000.
“Not bad for a group of little old ladies,” Gleadow told the audience.
Guests were invited to don costumes from the early part of the 20th century and allow Carson the butler (Tim Anderson) to announce their entrance and title to the room where a cluster of handsome footmen were on hand to seat the guests. Below stairs was well represented by the dutiful maids in matching pinafores (all sewn by Jean Walker), who served the trays of dainties.
Characters from the award-winning TV series Downton Abbey appeared throughout the afternoon to perform scenes and model the changing styles of fashion (costumes by Linda McTurk). Among the many highlights of the Driftwood Players’ skits was The Dowager Countess (performed magnificently by Mary Adams) sparring verbally with Lady Sybil, and the chance to relive the beginning of the series by watching the Crawley family escape on lifeboat number one from a sinking Titanic. And the true highlight was a performance from 16-year-old dancer Jaime Butler who evoked the spirit of renowned Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova by dancing The Dying Swan.
The fashion show underlined what the Edwardian lady had to endure, involving four costume changes a day. Fortunately, with the advent of the war, women could finally leave off the stifling corsets so more metal would be available for the war effort.
The popularity of this interactive Downton Abbey Tea means the next performance might be sold out. It will be held at the Sunshine Coast Botanical Garden this Saturday, March 14, at 2 p.m. Another performance is planned for March 21 in collaboration with Gibsons United Church, also at 2 p.m. Tickets for $40 (includes tea, light refreshment and entertainment) are available at The Blackberry Shop and Laedeli in Gibsons, the Sechelt Visitor Centre, EarthFair in Madeira Park and online at www.driftwoodplayers.ca.
