NIAGRA-ON-THE-LAKE, Ont. -- In the superstitious world that is theatre -- a world where certain plays can't be mentioned by name and good wishes are couched in curses -- some believed a disastrous dress rehearsal is the harbinger of a great opening night.

In Harlequinade -- the Terence Rattigan one-act comedy that opened on the stage of the Shaw Festival's Royal George Theatre on Thursday to round out the Fest's lunchtime bill of fare -- they've figured out a way to take advantage of that little bit of lore by actually making a disastrous dress rehearsal an opening-night performance.
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