Q&A: Maria Aitken loves APT (except for 'mosquitoes the size of hummingbirds'

By Lindsay Christians, The Capital Times

October 29, 2017

British actress Maria Aitken has acted and directed at companies all over the country. To her mind, nobody is doing classical repertory work quite like American Players Theatre in Spring Green.

“This is so unusual,” said Aitken, speaking before an October rehearsal of “Creditors” at APT. “It’s the optimum condition for theater. You bring in a few new ones but you have a core company you depend on, and you choose plays that suit them.

“There are just a handful of theaters in America that do this and I don’t think anybody does it quite as thoroughly or on this scale.”

Aitken directs August Strindberg’s intense 1889 drama “Creditors” at American Players Theatre, opening Thursday in the Touchstone Theatre and running through Nov. 19. It’s part of the shoulder season APT runs after the outdoor space has closed for the summer.

Aitken is best known for films like “A Fish Called Wanda,” in which she played John Cleese’s wife, and “Fierce Creatures.” The Irish-born actress and director has become an authority on British comedy, notably Noel Coward, and she directed the original production of “The 39 Steps” that toured to Madison in 2009.

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