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This is a scan that was cut off of a section talking about women's underwear for research purposes. The information that can be seen starts with the first page of the 'ladies' belt' which was to help to prevent chafing. The next page talks about the production of underwear and clothing from George Langridge & Co. of Bristol and Charles Bayer of London Wall. Corset and chemise and the combination of the two were seen as popular in the mid to late 18th century.
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This is two pages of Anne Marie MacDonald's notebook. The top of the first page mentions the end of Act 1 talking about the pregnancy of Pearl. The rest of the page is after thoughts of the play with quotes at the bottom that carry onto the next page. There is an insert on the next page talking about the History of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital. The note page ends with descriptive words.
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The Arab's Mouth is a 1990 production written by Anne Marie MacDonald. The play is about the finding of Egyptian heiroglyphs on the coast near Edinburgh that holds the key to a secret that has been haunting the MacIsaac family.
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The two photos show the Toronto Star's issue from September 28, 1990 of the list of productions that are happening in the coming year. In the second picture Anne Marie MacDonald's play, The Arab's Mouth, is announced to be the opening of the Factory Theatre on October 21st. The play is described as a gothic comedy with recognition to her clever work of "Goodnight Desdemona".
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Ewan Forbes was the 11th Baronet that he inherited from his older brother, William Forbes. Ewan Forbes is known for the story of his sexuality. He claimed that is was mistake to originally put woman down for his gender when he was born. Even when he was little he had issues with his sexual orientation and constantly dressed and presented a male. Ewan refused to do schooling at an all girls school and settled on going to an institution in Dresden which is where he started hormone medicine with the help of his mother.
Ewan found his passion to study medicine where he continued to study in Dresden then found himself going to University of Aberdeen where he graduated in 1944. He worked at a practice in Alford and still publicly identified as a male. In 1952 he requested a warrant for the re-registration of his birth certificate from the Sheriff of Aberdeen. It was then announced in a newspaper in 1952 about his change of name and openly talked about his situation to the press. He a month later married his house keeper of 5 years, Isabella Mitchell.
Ewan went through a lawsuit about the inheritance of the baronetcy. His cousin, John Forbes-Sempill argued that his re-registration in 1952 is invalid and that Ewan was still legally a female which would mean John would receive the inheritance. In 1965 it was announced that a re-registration for gender can only be done if the gender was unknown or mistaken at birth and later fixed after finding the true sex of the child. The challenge was taken to the Court of Session which had multiple doctors produce evidence on the situation. Professor Martin Ruth presented that in Ewan's situation it relates most towards transsexuality. The case was settled to Ewan being a female-to-male transsexual which in short term means he is a trans man. John Forbes-Sempill still challenged the right to the title. In 1968 Ewan was given the right to the title and roll which declared he was the right candidate for the position.
In AMM's notes she writes about the transition of names for Ewan, the need for a doctor for the re-registration, and the Court of Session which granted him his rightful baronetcy.
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This is a series of various scenes from XXXY with a page of notes on each scene. There are 7 of these pages in total.
The setting for this scene is a club and it introduces various characters:
- Shirley
- Clem
- Earnest
- Jekyll
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This is a page of notes focused on the plot of XXXY and two characters Alec and Sandy.
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A page of notes on the play XXXY. This page of notes appears to be focused on a can of Dutch Cleanser.
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Notes on XXXY. This page lists a theme song, "The Days of Wine and Roses" and references Tennessee Williams' play "A Streetcar Named Desire" in reference to one of the characters from MacDonald's play, "Sandy - Blanche Dubois" as well as the title "Some Frantic Notes of a Conceptual Breakthrough".
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This is a list of topics which XXXY: A Mystery Play would cover. Topics like reproduction, gender, religion, and lust are the most prominent from this page as they seems to be mentioned several times throughout.
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Three pages of general plot/character notes for Ann-Marie MacDonald's play XXXY. This play serves as the basis for MacDonald's later novel, Fayne.
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Notes on XXXY, the play that is the basis for Ann-Marie MacDonald's later novel Fayne. The notes on this page include:
- X is me - blue faceless, will find the light and turn green (blue + yellow = green)
- Alec and Alex and Sandy - archetypes although they are the most realistic
- Which is the root and which is the crown?
- Which is the picture and which is the negative?
- X will communicate via dream - emblematic, fragmented, abstract, version of each Alec
- Alex and Alec will communicate through people and things symbolically, ritualistically
- X is common to all of them + therefore, capable of inducing their synchronistic + inevitable coming together to give birth to the whole self.
- This is a four person show - X is the core
- A tidal wave - a BIRTH of self, pieces of the self
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This is a sketch of the view from Belle Moral House.
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This is a brief article on "The Arab's Mouth" which premiered at The Factory Theatre in Toronto in 1990. This gives a brief overview of the play's plot as well as of MacDonald's background.
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This is the cover of a copy of The Arab's Mouth premiere production script. This play ran at The Factory Theatre in Toronto.
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Two photos of boy clothing. The photo on the left shows a photograph of boys' sailor suits and girl's dress, 1882-6. The photo on the left is of a boy's dress of tartan check wool, 1873-4.
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This is an information sheet about animal stage props. Relevant to Arab's Mouth/Belle Moral is the coyote prop - which was used as the dog. The information included on this page lists the height, weight, and price of three different coyote models. The first two have stars above them and the notes "Sit up?" and "Desk Height."
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This is a list of the 2005 Shaw Festival staff, donors, and board of governors.
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This is page two of two, which includes photos and biographies of various cast and crew. The people included on this page are:
- Jessica Lowry - The Bride/Creature/Claire
- Jeff Madden - The Jackal/Wee Farleigh
- Jeff Meadows - Victor MacIssac
- Peter Millard - Dr. Seamus Reid
- Graeme Somerville - Mr. Abbot
- Joanna Jurychuk - Stage Manager
- Christine Oakey - Assistant Stage Manager
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This is page one of two, which includes photos and biographies of various cast and crew. The people included on this page are:
- Alisa Palmer - Director
- Judith Bowden - Designer
- Kevin LaMotte - Lighting Designer
- Paul Sportelli - Composer
- Bernard Behrens - Young Farleigh
- Donna Belleville - Flora MacIssac
- Fiona Byrne - Pearl MacIssac
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A page of Ann-Marie's notes that reads the following:
"P: 'avant garde'
V refers to "atmosphere" of the portrait
(TURNER)
the portrait needs to look misty +
suggestive Turneresque
Flora's fear of London + the stinking
Thames - 'it's beautiful' says V
LONDON was biggest city in the world
in greatest Empire
'the artist's feelings before the subject
rather than the subject itself'
revolted against idea that art should
contain some moral or didactic
purpose vs art for art's sake
'blur the line between imagination
+ reality'
V: art and science. like twins wrenched apart.
separate beings but need to know + love one another"
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A note from Ann-Marie in a notepad that reads the following:
"Eleusinian Mysteries
(Demeter, goddess of
Agriculture . . . Earth)
BRIGID
Byrn -Mysteries-
re Mr M wonders
Byrn as soothsayer/
gibberish of Pythia
-is C terrified lest Charles'
ghost be his SOUL trying to
take up residence in her BODY?"
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This is a two-page spread on the production history of "Arab's Mouth" and how it was re-written and adapted to become "Belle Moral." These pages are primarily about MacDonald's works and life, detailing where she/her family is from, where she attended school, and her subsequent plays, novel releases, and other creative endeavours.
There are three photos on these pages:
- Top is of MacDonald herself in the "Belle Moral" rehearsal hall (photo by David Cooper),
- The two images below the portrait of MacDonald is Henry Czerny, Patricia Hamilton and Martha Burns in "The Arab's Mouth," Factory Theatre, Toronto 1990 (photos by Nir Bareket)
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This is a brief article written by Ann-Marie MacDonald about "Belle Moral." In it, she discusses this plays origins in "Belle Moral" as well as her thoughts on re-writing her original play. She also discusses how she changed "Belle Moral" to be primarily about reconciling the extremes between rationalism and romanticism. She concludes by talking about the idea that "all stories are happy, because as long as there are stories, there is hope." This is due to someone being able to share the story and states that "Bearing witness can be just that: the carrying of a heavy load that eventually must be shared."
There are four images on the first page of these notes. Clockwise from the top left they are:
- Sketch of an Idea for Crazy Jane, watercolour, 1855, by Richard Dadd (Bethlem Royal Hospital and the Maudsley Hospital, Bekenham)
- A patient in a straitjacket, in Les Maladies de L'Esprit, 1818 (Mary Evans Picture Library)
- Human foetus in the womb by Leonardo Da Vinci (Bibliotheque Des Arts Decoratifs, Paris/Bridgeman Art Library)
- "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters," from Los Caprichos, 1799, by Francisco Goya Y Lucientes (Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris/Bridgeman Art Library)
There are four drawings all by George Stubbs, from "A Comparative Anatomical Exposition of the Structure of the Human Body with that of a Tiger and Common Fowl" (Yale Center for British Art, New Haven)