Taste of Cathedral offers wide assortment of food to raise funds for arts festival - 980 CJME

A striking example of site-specific theatre, TS Eliot’s Murder in the Cathedral was first performed in 1935 at Canterbury Cathedral. This was the location, in 1170, for its pivotal event: the killing by Henry II’s knights of Archbishop Thomas Becket during a dispute over the powers of church and state. Subsequently, audiences have been more likely to enter a production via a church nave than a theatre aisle. The latest host venue is St John the Divine, opposite the Orange Tree theatre, whose boss, Tom Littler, co-directs with Francesca Ellis. David Suchet’s Becket, in gilded vestments, preaches from the pulpit. Dozens of candles on the altar and lining a marbled walkway between pews (design by Rob Jones, lighting by Peter Mumford) cast shadows on the walls around stained glass windows. The overall classiness of the show is extended by a programme essay by an actual former archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, covering Eliot’s concern with whether priests, in 1930s England and Germany, served or resisted politicians. Hard lesson … (from left) David Yelland, Ben Caplan, David Suchet, Nick Sampson and Jyuddah Jaymes.

Open this photo in gallery:A Swedish JAS 39E Gripen flies overhead at the centenary event of the Swedish Air Force at Malmen Air Base outside Linkoping, Sweden, on Aug. 22. Gavin John/The Globe and MailIn the final-assembly hall for the Saab Gripen fighter jet in the Swedish city of Linkoping, the flags of Saab’s eight customer countries hang above the production line. A ninth spot holds a white banner reading, in red capital letters, RESERVED. Asked whether it was for Canada, a Saab official smiled, shrugged and said nothing. Behind the scenes, though, Saab is pulling out all the stops in order to put Canada’s name on the banner. At a recent briefing at Saab’s Linkoping headquarters that included The Globe and Mail, company officials laid out a range of benefits that Canada can expect should it go ahead with a major order for Gripen jets. Saab had already promised a Canadian assembly line for the Gripen but had yet to detail the scope of that promise. The company is proposing to build the fighter jets in Canada from parts to finished aircraft, across a network of roughly 10 prime partners and some 250 suppliers in several provinces.