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[thetheatrereader]

Lungs remount continues to charm audiences

Veronica Appia

Editor-in-Chief

It's no secret that Lungs (written by Duncan Macmillan and directed by Weyni Mengesha) is a fan favourite. For a number of Torontonian theatregoers, this remount provides them with the opportunity to see the show for a second or third time and to even bring their family and friends who are visiting for the holidays.

That's what this show does. It charms people. And its charm stems from the fact that this show has no aesthetic “wow” factor. Mengesha does minimalism right.

Presented in the intimate Tarragon Extraspace, the audience sits around a bare wooden set, created by Ken Mackenzie, and listens to two characters speak for 75 minutes. No intermission. No escape. Just your average modern-day couple and their problems.

While in the checkout line of IKEA, M (Brendan Gall) casually sparks up a “conversation” with W (Lesley Faulkner) about having a baby. She panics. He panics. This anxiety about the future drives the piece as the two go on quite the unpredictable – and unconventional – romantic roller coaster ride.

The duo weave through moments of passion, comedy and tragedy seamlessly and do not miss a beat. This show revolves around performance and script and hits the mark with both, creating an absurd air of honesty that has audience members chuckling throughout.

The scene changes are fresh and unique, though still too abrupt for my taste. Gall and Faulkner successfully take spectators to a variety of places and time periods through the sole use of voice and movement. It's an interesting concept that begs spectators to keep their focus throughout the play's entirety, though it appears a bit unpolished at times.

Regardless, Lungs is a play that has bullets for words and Macmillan truly is a master of dialogue. Under Mengesha's direction, Gall and Faulkner give this fast-paced text a reflective quality and the ability to create the perfect balance that aids to immerse spectators into their world.

Lungs is presented by Tarragon Theatre and is playing in the Extraspace until Jan. 25. For tickets and more information visit www.tarragontheatre.com. 

photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann

[thetheatrereader]

Leila Leaves Audiences Ready to Make the Yuletide Gay

Nicole D'Amato

Staff Writer

Written, directed, produced and performed by Toronto-based actor and BC native Izad Etemadi, A Very Leila Christmas reunites its audiences with the endearingly sassy Leila –a vibrant and stylish Iranian woman with a beard. I was lucky enough to experience this truly one-of-a-kind Christmas special, featuring Lyla Miklos, at its Hamilton premiere at the Staircase Café and Theatre.

  Leila first won the hearts of her audiences in Etmadi’s original solo show Borderland and her popularity lead to her own show, Love With Leila, which played to sold out houses at the Hamilton and Toronto Fringe Festivals this past summer.

  A newcomer to Canada, Leila works a 9 to 5 as a receptionist at Rogers Wireless and pays $2900/month for her Barton Street apartment, and is celebrating her first ever Christmas. She is in awe that one can “drink wine with the opposite gender and not get arrested” in her new country, and cannot wait to wake up Christmas morning with presents under her tree (which the audience joyfully helps her decorate), from the infamous Santa Claus –the “Jesus Christ of Christmas.” But when Santa doesn’t drink Leila’s almond milk and cookies, Leila is forced to travel to the North Pole aka Limeridge Mall and find out what went wrong.

  The atmosphere in the Staircase’s studio space was undeniable. The audience was buzzing with excitement and having a blast before Leila even set foot on stage. Unlike any other performance I’ve attended, not only is the audience allowed to drink their favourite wine or beer and snack on popcorn in the space, they are also encouraged to keep their cell phones on and take photos, videos and tweet with the established hashtag #LeilaNation throughout the show.

  Etmadi needs nothing but a bare stage and himself to command his audience. His energy is palpable and contagious as he sings and dances around to Leila’s own renditions of her Christmas favourites –my personal favourite being the hilarious “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” Which includes five seasons of The Real Housewives of Vancouver, six pairs of Uggs and, of course, seven twerking lessons. The guest of the evening, Lyla Miklos proves to be a valuable addition to the performance with her outstanding singing voice and quirky presence.

  This entertaining and interactive piece of theatre will make you laugh, cry, sing, dance, teach you that happiness equals kale smoothies and leave you undoubtedly inspired and wanting more. Leila is a force to be reckoned with and is surely not to be missed!

    A Very Leila Christmas runs from now through December 19th at the Staircase Café and Theatre (27 Dundurn Street North, Hamilton). Tickets are $15. More performance dates to be announced in January 2015. Follow Leila on Twitter to stay updated at www.twitter.com/LoveWithLeila or www.izadetemadi.com. 

[thetheatrereader]

Playful Potter Parody

Veronica Appia

Editor-in-Chief

Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience is a show for the six-year-old child and the 90-year-old child alike.

We know the Harry Potter books are lengthy. The question becomes: how do you condense seven books and thousands of pages into a 70-minute show? Bare minimal plot points and buffoonery. Creators Daniel Clarkson and Jefferson Turner master the art of short and spunky.

Produced by Potted Productions and Starvox Entertainment, Potted Potter was first performed in London, England in 2006 and has since become an international hit, cracking up audiences with a bizarre and comedic rendition of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.

The set may be minimalistic, but that doesn't stop performers Benjamin Stratton and James Percy from putting on a larger-than-life show. The duo masterfully uses slapstick comedy to keep the audience in stitches the entire time.

While Percy plays the serious actor/Harry Potter fan, knowing all the books like the back of his hand, Stratton plays the unprepared actor, who has never read the books, throwing on whatever hat and persona he desires to absurdly portray a variety of Harry Potter characters in the same scene.

Whether they are acting out “Dumbly-dorr's” death scene, defeating a dragon, or singing their own version of “I Will Survive,” they will have the audience giggling. And the laughter is contagious.

If these two quirky performers bumbling around on stage is not enough to suit your fancy, the pair holds a live Quidditch match, involving the audience and a beach ball, with Percy dressed as the golden snitch. Losers get sprayed with a Super Soaker. And winners? Well, they also get sprayed with a Super Soaker (sorry folks, there's no getting out of this one).

The young spectators are engaged throughout the entire show and there are enough mature jokes infused into the script to keep the adults chucking throughout, as well.

This is a show that does not take itself seriously and neither should you. Bring the kids, come prepared to laugh along with the performers and have a ton of fun.

Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience is directed by Richard Hurst and playing at the Panasonic Theatre until Jan. 11. For tickets, visit www.pottedpotter.com.

[thetheatrereader]

Jesus Christ Superstar: A biblical Brecht bender that can benefit from further innovation

Adam Borohov

Staff Writer

The Lower Ossington Theatre’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar doesn’t offer anything particularly new and interesting, but gives audiences a slightly new twist on the Rice and Lloyd Webber classic. Having walked into the LOT for the fourth time to see a musical for the first, I left without being particularly enthralled, though I was satisfied knowing with full confidence that the performances I had been presented with had definitely been well rehearsed with a cast of extremely versatile vocalists.

The show began with the obvious villain of the story, Judas Iscariot (Luiz Monterei), punching the audience straight in the face with his powerful opening number “Heaven on Their Minds.” Monterei’s performance was most definitely a powerful display of rock-driven vocals, though throughout the performance I had some issues understanding what it was that he was saying, due to lack of articulation. The most powerful performance, in my opinion, was that of Pontius Pilate (played by Ephraim Ellis). He delivered a vicious introduction with a menacing baritone jackhammer of a voice. His lack of pity and intimidating demeanour made for an unforgiving character that, even whilst trying to save Jesus from crucifixion, managed to cut through my heart like a knife.

Erik Kopacsi’s portrayal of Jesus was definitely an interesting one, as his character did not manage to grab hold of me until at least the second act. I say interesting because it seemed as though his pop icon status later coincided with his more humanized character in the second act, leading up to his crucifixion. The continual over-the-top vibe of the show in contrast to the subject matter keeps us fairly alienated in the second act, evoking more sympathy for the title character. This most definitely offered a very Brechtian approach to the original scripture, which in turn did justice to the classic in a fairly intimate space.

The most interesting aspect of the show was the use of projections as a reflection of social buzz and overall setting changes. Throughout the first half of the show, as the music progressed, animated projections of Jesus as a pop culture icon began flashing on screen in the form of newspaper articles. Animated rhythmically with the overture, the projections worked almost like an equalizer for the music, successfully capturing the over-the-top vibe of the show from the beginning. In addition to this, the projections effectively displayed different settings throughout show. A prison cell, being one of their many scene settings, depicted bars projected at the very top of the screen to create the illusion that they were much higher than the screen actually was. This created an overwhelming sense of intimidation in the face of the setting itself, being the prison that Jesus is locked up in before his crucifixion.

All in all, Lower Ossington Theatre’s production of Jesus Christ Superstar offered some interesting ideas, though created nothing too spectacular. The projections implemented some new and iconic changes, though the fight choreography seemed far too rehearsed. In the future, it would be interesting to see the LOT take a slightly larger step towards innovation, as the new ideas that they had implemented were definitely effective in delivering a new perspective on this classic biblical Brecht bender.

Jesus Christ Superstar plays at the Lower Ossington Theatre until Jan. 24. For tickets and more information, visit http://lowerossingtontheatre.com/.

photo credit: Seanna Kennedy

[thetheatrereader]

This One really hits home

Jonathan Zagrodnik

Staff Writer

Fraser Studios has been around for the past seven years, helping to build the arts community in Toronto by offering a variety of classes and workshops, as well as providing a space for artists to showcase their work. From now until Dec. 14, Fraser Studios will be the home for First Root founder Denise Mader’s new one-woman show This One. This One features York University alum Denise Mader, recounting the experiences she had with her mother, up until her untimely passing; all the while she is attempting to prepare and bake a pecan pie. The original piece ran approximately twenty minutes, and was presented during the summer of 2012 at York University as a part of Mader’s Master of Fine Arts program. “I started to work on the show by going through my notebooks from the past year,” writes Mader. “Highlighting all of the phrases peppered throughout that were marked with ‘solo show idea,’ and I realized that upwards of eighty percent of them were about my mom.”

The show has since been expanded with the help of piece director Melee Hutton. The piece is now just shy of an hour and contains an intimate look into the highlights of the time that Denise and her mother had spent together. Mader presents these stories in a very natural way, as more of a conversation between herself and the audience, speaking directly from the heart. She connects with the audience in a very deep and intimate way, and we can’t help but be brought along for the entire ride. Mader is very open with the audience, even going so far as to offer us up tea, coffee or water when we enter the theatre. Her enthusiastic friendliness helps prepare us for the intimate story that will follow within the next hour. Without giving away any spoilers, I would recommend you bring some tissue to this performance.

The highlight of the piece is definitely Mader’s honest and heartfelt performance, but it is certainly complimented by the Andrea Mittler’s set design. The set is designed as a very realistic kitchen, with a fully stocked fridge, an oven, bowls, a full sink and an island for Mader to prepare us our pie. The set works well with the themes of Mader’s story, particularly when she recounts that most of the important moments she had with her mother took place in the kitchen. She also goes on to explain how much her mother loves cooking and baking and how her specialty was pecan pie (which the audience actually gets to taste after the show). The music also plays a very important part of this piece. With her iPhone connected to the speaker system, Mader plays for us a medley of the country hits that she loved listening to with her mother. It’s the fine details like this that really help add to the realism and honesty of this piece.

Tickets are 25$ ($20 for students), and runs from now until December 14th. For ticket information visit www.denisemader.com.

[thetheatrereader]

David Laing Lawson hopes for Assisted Living to become popular among community theatre groups

  Justin Borrow

Staff Writer

  David Laing Lawson is a Hamilton-based playwright and director. His one act show Assisted Living is being performed at Gallery on the Bay in Hamilton, beginning Dec. 5.

  Besides playwriting, Lawson is also a psychiatrist, which he says has its advantages and disadvantages in regards to his creative work. Lawson says, “… it’s very interesting that watching a play is a matter of watching people talk on stage and do things. (It is interesting) for the audience to infer from their behaviour what’s going on. (In regards to) the subtext (and) the psychology of the whole thing, nobody actually comes forward and tells you what he’s thinking.” He says the disadvantage is that “there is a structure to plays, a certain logical sequence. (There is) a beginning, a middle and an end, whereas real human behaviour is seldom like that. You have to stick to some kind of form in theatre that doesn’t necessarily exist in real life.” 

  As both the playwright and director of Assisted Living, Lawson discusses the difficulties in playing both roles and the challenges he faces. He says, “A writer’s words feel very precious to him or her; there are many times when actors ad lib a bit and I have to be careful not to be too insistent on the words being spoken exactly as I’ve written them.” He goes on to note that “it’s probably easier if you’re directing someone else’s modern play to take a few liberties with the dialogue.” 

  Lawson says that it was Arthur Miller who inspired him to start thinking about writing plays and what plays are all about, after having read Miller's autobiography. Lawson laughed that he is inspired by “anything that’s done well.”

  When asked what he sees for the future of Assisted Living, he chuckled that he doesn’t know. He then said that he hopes Assisted Living grows into becoming a popular show among small community theatres. He explains, “It’s a small cast, a limited set and therefore relatively inexpensive to perform … it could be a popular show to be put on by community theatre groups.”

  Lawson hopes that his audience members will both laugh and cry while watching Assisted Living, but overall, his biggest goal is to entertain the audience. He wants his audience to “experience it as a piece of reality and real life.” He wants the themes of aging and independence and the transition into needing assisted living to resonate with his audience. 

  Assisted Living is running at Gallery on the Bay (231 Bay ST N Hamilton) from Dec. 5-13.

[thetheatrereader]

Cinderella: A positively frivolous, yet festive ROMP

Nicholas Catania

Publicist

Ross Petty does it again. This year’s holiday tradition brings about yet another satirical classic just in time for the holidays. Cinderella, The Gags to Riches Family Musical! presented by Ross Petty Productions adapts the traditional French folk-tale with an ever-engaging, predominant twist. The production features Canada’s darling, Danielle Wade in the title role of Cinderella attempting to earn her keep after Revolta’s (Ross Petty) takeover of Toronto. The show is utterly entertaining with ongoing comedic relief – a perfect holiday production that will warm and amuse your hearts.

Using popular and known musical hits, writer Reid Janisse parodies a wide selection of recognizable numbers that families and adults will shuffle along with. A great deal of the production’s success stems from its ability to reach a family audience while making consistent quips that adults will chuckle at. Although some of the humour may have pushed boundaries in terms of being child-appropriate, the parody completely distinguishes the show as an ever-comedic farce. The characters are clever, nasty and fun – a perfect collaboration of everything you would expect from seeing a show of such satirical caliber.

All performers from title roles, supporting characters and the ensemble deliver throughout. The production’s main perk, of course, revolves around Ross Petty’s portrayal of the predominately evil antagonist who sets out to wreak havoc – all while having a good time, nonetheless. Equally as engaging as Petty's performance is that of Dan Chameroy, playing the spin-off fairy godmother Plumbum. Danielle Wade continues to win over our hearts, just as Jeff Lillico takes over our eyes in the princely role of Max Charming. Everything from the vocals to the choreography and orchestra were spot on; you can’t go wrong.

The scenic design is glamourous. Costume and Set Designer, Michael Gianfrancesco brings together a variety of multifunctional pieces that float, travel, and fly amidst the stage. The costumes are entirely amusing. The colours and wide array of prints place accurate mockery on many of the characters. Projection Designers Beth Kates and Ben Chaisson bring Cinderella into the twenty-first century with their whimsical videography and quirky, imaginative images. The scenery and projections work perfectly to complement the other, creating this fanciful, yet modern Toronto –  a parallelism like none other. Everything about this production is magical; it is a pure spectacle that only the enchanting nature of theatre can create.

Cinderella, The Gags to Riches Family Musical! plays at the Elgin Theatre until Jan. 4. For tickets and more information, visit  http://www.rosspetty.com.

[thetheatrereader]

James and the Giant Peach Musical is an instant classic

Thomas Volpe

Staff Writer

The beloved children’s classic James and the Giant Peach, written by Roald Dahl, comes to the stage at Young People’s Theatre over the holiday season. The story is one of adventure and friendship, with themes of loss, bravery, and family playing huge roles in the journey young James Henry Trotter (Alessandro Costantini) takes inside a gigantic peach.

After a rogue rhinoceros kills his parents, James is forced to live with his wicked aunts, Spiker (Nicole Robert) and Sponge (Karen Wood), a pair of unpleasant ladies whose only goal in life is to make money, regardless of how. However, James is soon whisked away on an adventure inside a giant, runaway peach with a cast of memorable characters.

James is joined by Ladybug (Lana Carillo), Spider (Saccha Dennis), Earthworm (Jacob MacInnis), Centipede (Dale Miller) and Grasshopper (Stewart Adam McKensy). This colourful and unique collection of insects becomes a new family for James, forming the central theme of the show. From the wicked aunts to the motherly Ladybug, everyone in the cast is superb. Led by Alessandro Costantini as a wide-eyed, brave James, the characters from Dahl’s book truly come alive through each actor’s performance. An array of strong singing voices is showcased throughout, with a collection of clever and memorable songs from songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

It is interesting to see a standard musical format work well in a children’s production. The relatively young audience is, for the most part, completely engaged in the musical numbers and the ongoing story. The clever set design from Yannik Larivée, featuring a giant peach-shaped border and the use of lights and shadows on the back curtain, also helps bring the story to life. As the peach, depicted through the curtain at the back of the stage, grows to its mammoth size in the first half of the show, audible whispers of wonder from the young audience pinpoint the magic of the moment. While the show is intended for a young audience, fans of Roald Dahl and musical theatre in general will certainly enjoy James and the Giant Peach.

James and the Giant Peach, directed by Sue Miner, runs at Young People’s Theatre until January 4th 2015. Tickets range from $25 - $37 depending on the seat. The show is intended for children aged six and up. Visit www.youngpeople’stheatre.ca for more details.

[thetheatrereader]

The Stronger Variations: A variation of the usual holiday classics

Emilia Di Luca

Staff Writer

When a wife encounters her husband’s mistress on Christmas Eve, a yelling match between the two ensues, right? Wrong. Instead, only one woman does the yelling.

Buddies in Bad Times presents Theatre Rusticle’s The Stronger Variations directed by Allyson McMackon, a play based on August Strindberg’s sketch The Stronger.  In his sketch, Mme. X meets her husband’s mistress, Mme. Y. Mme. Y does not utter a word. First performed at Fringe in 2005, The Stronger Variations explores the wife’s emotions as she spirals into frustration thanks to the silent mistress.

The all-female cast (Liza Balkan, Andrya Duff, Viv Moore, Chala Hunter and Lucy Rupert) collectively portrays the wife in her many subconscious forms. The actors also transform from the wife to the mistress when they place berets on their heads. Together, they reenact a variation of encounters between the wife and the mistress. While many actors take turns portraying the wife, the play recycles the same lines and the actors repeat the same story, but in different contexts.

Sometimes, the wife faces her inner demons, which Moore literally embodies on stage.  Other times, the wife calmly worships Rupert “like a goddess receiving sacrifice,” in the lingerie once hidden under her ‘50s dress.  One time, Hunter and Duff even scrap it out in a hair-pulling, sucker-punching fight.

The actors’ physical stamina makes for stunning spectacles.  Drawing on the housewife of the 1950s, the cast embodies wind-up dolls, because of their matching black and white dresses that echo the toy dolls’ dresses on stage (Dylan Bobier, costume designer). 

The actors come and go from behind a wall as though they are moving on a conveyor belt in a factory.  In one scene, Duff even yells furiously at her cast members who portray wide-eyed, unresponsive dolls. Meanwhile, the audience laughs furiously at Balkan as a doll who falls over and tries moving every way she can think of before she finally makes it back on her two feet.

Lindsay Anne Black’s simple set decorated with cartoonish Christmas trees, gives the actors lots of room to move.  The intense choreography and blocking moves the actors to the swaying and stomping of Paul Humphrey’s holiday score. 

Among the best moments of the show is the finale that Theatre Rusticle calls “Nutcracker/Slipper Dance.” With the husband’s dainty slippers in their hands, the actors stomp on all fours along with the beat of the music until they stand before the audience — out of breath.  They end the play as it began with the actors saying the familiar lines directly to the audience.

The holiday music that opened the show follows the audience to the end, but it’s the brilliant concept by McMackson and outstanding acting that carries the audience's attention for ninety minutes.  The Stronger Variations isn’t a traditional holiday show, but it’s a brilliant alternative.

The Stronger Variations runs until December 7th at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.  For tickets and more information, visit http://buddiesinbadtimes.com.

photo credit: Jeremy Mimnagh

[thetheatrereader]

Progressive performance at the right price

SummerWorks Festival's artistic director Michael Rubenfeld announces the lineup of shows coming to Toronto in February 2015 for Progress: an International Festival of Performance and Ideas.

Progress, hosted by The Theatre Centre, is a melange of performances, all revolving around the theme of what progress means to Toronto's performing arts community and all at affordable prices.

Progress showcases six international shows, six languages and five free artist workshops and talks.

Rubenfeld says that the festival is bringing together a series of essential conversations being had by some of our city’s vital thought-leaders in performance.

  Lineup:  

Marathon (Israel)

Curated by SummerWorks

Performed in English

Choreographer/director: Aharona Israel Actors/dancers/vocals: Ilya Domanov, Merav Dagan, Gal Shamai

February 4-6, 2015

Running time: 60 mins  

Three figures run in a circle, struggling to continue as they spiral into the depths of Israeli consciousness. As their journey becomes harder and more painful, their stories break down, revealing the wounds of contemporary Israeli society. Combining dance, text, theatre and grueling physicality, Marathon uses the autobiographical stories of the performers to reflect a state of constant emergency. Who will survive? And how?   Marathon premiered at the 2012 Acco Fringe Festival. This is its North American English-language premiere. Following Progress it tours Canada, visiting Public Energy (Peterborough), the undercurrents Festival (Ottawa) and the Chutzpah! Festival (Vancouver).  

Marathon is co-presented with The Koffler Centre for the Arts, and generously supported by Spotlight on Israeli Culture, the Embassy of Israel and the Israeli Consulate (Toronto).  

  The Messiah Complex 5.0 (Canada)

Curated by Videofag

Performed in English

Created and performed by: Michael Dudeck

February 5, 2015

Running time: 60 mins, contains nudity  

Performance-lecture The Messiah Complex 5.0 uses the Harlow experiments as a springboard to explore the concept of religious evolution. The Harlow experiments were used to study infant relationships by replacing newborn monkeys’ mothers with surrogates made of cloth and wire. Separated into segments, acclaimed artist Michael Dudeck first explores the evolution of faith, religious practice and iconography from a queer perspective. The multidisciplinary work culminates in the creation of hybrid images, videos, diagrams and texts from pop culture, ancient religion, Freudian psychoanalysis, archaeology, queer theory and anthropology. The work creates a hypnotic stylized ritual that’s immersive and disturbing.  

  D-Sisyphe (décisif)  (Tunisia)

Curated by Volcano Theatre

Performed in Arabic with English subtitles

Created and performed by: Meher Awachri Directed by: Meher Awachri and Imed May

February 6 & 7, 2015

Running time: 60 mins  

Khmais, a construction worker, spends a night at the construction site meditating about his life. Despised by his wife and son, rejected by society and abandoned by God, he sees nothing but wreckage: his life is in ruins. Faced with the apparent meaninglessness of existence, Khmais looks forward to a new day…  

Tunisian actor, dancer and playwright Meher Awachri performs his acclaimed interpretation of the ancient myth of Sisyphus, offering insights into contemporary Arab society and the idea of what revolution entails - all through spoken word and choreography.   Progress presents the North American premiere of D-Sisyphe, with generous support from Why Not Theatre and The Goethe Institute.  

  Margarete (Poland)

Curated by SummerWorks

Performed in English or Polish

Created and performed by: Janek Turkowski Video: Margarete Ruhbe, Martyna Glowacka, Adam Ptaszyński, Marcin Piatkowski, Najek Turkowski

February 11, 2015 special preview at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre’s Rhubarb Festival February 12-15, 2015

Running time: 55 mins  

In this intimate theatre performance, 16 audience members sit down to have a coffee or tea with creator and performer Janek Turkowski. With humour and irony, Turkowski recounts his experience uncovering and constructing stories based on a set of private 8mm films he discovered at an outdoor market in Berlin. The performance is a reflection on the lost and found, through memory and the legacy of silent film. Margarete is generously supported by the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Toronto.  

  Cine Monstro (Brazil)

Curated and presented by Why Not Theatre

Performed in Portuguese with English subtitles

Directed and performed by: Enrique Diaz Written by: Daniel MacIvor Translation: Barbara Duvivier and Enrique Diaz

February 12-14, 2014

Running time: 75 mins  

Brazilian actor and director Enrique Diaz performs in a critically acclaimed adaptation of Daniel MacIvor’s Monster. Presenting this classic Canadian play in Portuguese introduces it to a new community in Toronto.   Diaz transforms himself into a series of MacIvor’s characters, from a young boy who tells the story of the neighbour who hacked up his father in the basement to quarrelling lovers or a filmmaker who never completed his epic film, these characters are separate yet eerily related.  

Cine Monstro is presented by Why Not Theatre in association with Progress. It is made possible through the generous support of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

  Silent Dinner (Ireland/Canada)

Curated and presented by FADO Performance Art Centre Performed in English and ASL

Created and performed by: Amanda Coogan (Ireland) and collaborators (Canada)

February 7, 2015

Running time: 8 hrs  

FADO Performance Art Centre presents Silent Dinner, created with artist Amanda Coogan and in collaboration with local artists, performers and non-performers. Silent Dinner is an eight hour performance in which 10 people prepare, cook and eat a dinner in complete silence. The participants are a combination of Deaf, CODA (children of Deaf adults) and hearing artists, performers and non-performers from Toronto. Post-performance, the audience will be invited for dessert and conversation with Coogan and collaborators. ASL interpretation provided.  

Silent Dinner is presented by FADO Performance Art Centre in association with Progress.  

  Additional programming:  

  Make. Make Public. 

Curated by Dancemakers

February 8, 2014  

Dancemakers takes over The Theatre Centre with a special Progress edition of its creation workshop Make. Make Public. The workshop is led by Dancemakers curators Emi Forster and Benjamin Kamino. People from any artistic background, with any level of experience are invited to join in collaborative, dance-derived processes. Following the workshop, the public is invited to witness what’s been created as the seeds of initial ideas and share their thoughts with the makers.   Also during the festival, Dancemakers will curate ‘Dance as Metaphor, Language and Lens’, a conversation featuring Progress artists Aharona Israel and Meher Awachri, along with Dancemakers’ resident Zoja Smutny.  

  Dramatic Action – The Republic of Inclusion

Curated by Alex Bulmer and Sarah Garton Stanley

Part of The Collaborations at Canada’s National Arts Centre English Theatre

Sunday, February 15, 2014

[thetheatrereader]

A remarkable look into the religion and science debate

Thomas Volpe

Staff Writer

Upon entering Theatre Passe Muraille’s Mainspace, the first thing you might notice is a large cube with open sides in the centre of the room, with eerie red lights illuminating its raised stage. The second would be the man lying splayed out, face down in the middle of the light. He stays unmoving until the lights dim and The De Chardin Project begins.

This man is revealed as Teilhard de Chardin (Cyrus Lane). Teilhard is on the verge of death, as is revealed early on by the Guide (Maev Beaty). She takes him on a journey into the past to explore the strange and wonderful story that is his life. This voyage through time reveals the exploits of an incredible man, one that actually did exist, in Teilhard. A Jesuit priest, scientist and geologist, Teilhard sought to bridge the gap between evolution and faith, using the information from our ancestral past in an attempt to explain God’s work. It is a remarkable look into the debate between religion and science, told from the point of view of a man who believed in both.

A cleverly designed set, incorporating trapdoors that reveal chairs, tables, and other props, allows for the relatively small space to become a number of unique locations in a manner of seconds. Lighting and sound also plays an integral role in establishing the different scenes and coupled with great chemistry between Lane and Beaty, the rather simplistic set is forgotten amongst the many snapshots of Teilhard’s life.

With only two actors onstage, the incursions into Teilhard’s past pit Lane against Beaty as several different characters, each an uncommon and remarkable individual. From an American soldier to a Canadian miner, Beaty’s ensemble of characters present an interesting counterpart to the singular Teilhard. Lane’s Teilhard is single-minded and absolute, and his interactions with such a diverse selection of personas, all played by Beaty, is fascinating to watch.

Whatever your opinion, or whichever side of the debate you might take, Teilhard’s journey into the heart of the clash between science and religion is altogether unique. His upbringing as a man of faith with a mind of science gives him an intriguing perspective of the conflict, and the opportunity to look back at his life while on the brink of death only seems to raise more unanswerable questions about the meaning of not only his life, but of all life, for all time.

The De Chardin Project runs until December 14th. Tickets are $38 and $17 for the under 30 crowd. Visit www.passemuraille.ca for details.

[thetheatrereader]

Filler is less fame and more friend

Veronica Appia

Editor-in-Chief

People tell Deb Filler she's famous. She may disagree, but she definitely has her fans. This was the first adult audience I sat in where patrons were so incredibly comfortable and engaged that they were answering questions, making comments and singing aloud. Filler's I Lost it in Kiev feels less like sitting in a theatre and more like sitting around a campfire. After sold out runs in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, it was time for Filler to bring this gem to her other home: Canada.  Whip out the acoustic guitar and let the fun begin.

Filler is a New Zealand-born woman teeter-tottering between Canada and New Zealand in search of a place to call home. Though she travels to many countries and meets a slew of people, it's not until she gets to Kiev, Ukraine, that she can really put things into perspective.

Filler is an international performer and this is an international piece. She takes us all around the world from school in Israel, to French restaurants to German bars and everything in between. Every story is so visceral and painted so intricately that you can hear the music, smell the sweat and taste the food, even though all we get in this performance is a chair, a guitar and Filler.

Filler is an ace impersonator. She recreates every character on her journey with such spunk that you cannot help but fall in love with the characters and with Filler herself. From voices, to movement to facial expressions, Filler builds her world down to every last detail and invites us to go on vacation with her for the entire 90 minutes. We picture these amazing snapshots of the world from Filler's eyes.

Then there's the projections. Filler has an array of photos she shows us throughout the story – some are mere jokes and some show us the actual locations that she has visited. This is a helpful addition, but when the remote doesn't work and we are constantly looking at the wrong image, or Filler is flipping through the pictures with the remote and they are not changing on the screen, it is just as frustrating for us as it is for her. Spare us the technical difficulties. This equipment needs to work and needs to work fast.

All in all, I Lost it in Kiev is a ton of fun. Though the play was inspired by Filler's less-than-comfortable experience in Kiev, this is a play about the world and a person's place in the world. And that is a timeless struggle that anyone can identify with, no matter what country they're from.

I Lost it in Kiev, presented by Smouldering Masterpiece Productions, is playing at Factory Studio Theatre until Nov. 30. 

[thetheatrereader]

Matthew Gorman on Cart/Horse Theatre’s Fishskin Trousers 

Lucy Powis 

Staff Writer

Cart/Horse Theatre has been working since 2006 with the formula “Actor, Audience, Story.” The emphasis in their productions is on simplicity and storytelling, although artistic director Matthew Gorman emphasized that this does not mean that their shows are ordinary. “We’re not particularly interested in your day-to-day bedroom comedy stuff, or your kitchen sink family dramas.… We’re looking for something that requires a little more imagination for the audience,” Gorman noted.  

Cart/Horse’s latest storytelling venture is a production of Fishskin Trousers directed by Gorman, now playing at the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace. In Fishskin Trousers, playwright Elizabeth Kuti weaves together three stories from different eras, all united by the common setting of a fishing village called Orford. “It’s not just that (Kuti) has written three different monologues, she’s written in three very different styles,” says Gorman of the piece. “I mean, even they way they’re laid out on the page is very different. The character who’s coming from the mid 12th century speaks in a very different way and it’s written and structured very differently than the character who is in 2003.” 

When these three different stories are brought together, what is created is a haunting tale spanning the ages. “I hope people leave feeling like they witnessed something strange,” says Gorman. “It’s not a scary story, but it’s the fun thrill of being in a haunted house.… It’s the idea of stepping out of the everyday, and there’s something in this old place that carries a lot of baggage with it.” 

Fishskin Trousers invites audiences to find the truth and honesty in a world of magic and intrigue. How these three contrasting narratives weave together to form the story of Orford will certainly be exciting to see. 

 Fishskin Trousers is playing at the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace until December 7. Tickets $20, or PWYC on Sundays. For more information, visit www.carthorsetheatre.com  

[thetheatrereader]

The cast of Fishskin Trousers delivers a moving performance without actually moving

James Ryan Gobuty

Staff Writer

It is extremely common to have the opportunity to see a lot of movement based theatre in Toronto right now, so it’s definitely refreshing to see a show like Fishskin Trousers where the actors are all stationary on the stage throughout the production. Although it may seem dull to sit and watch three actors sit still for seventy-five minutes (an assumption I was definitely guilty of making while walking into the theatre), Fishskin Trousers, written by Elizabeth Kuti, is actually very compelling and shows that a strong script and strong actors goes a very long way.

Fishskin Trousers consists of three characters, from different time periods, telling tales of their experiences on the island called Orford Ness in England. The first character to speak is Mab (Arlin Dixon), a twelfth century servant who tells the tale of a mysterious creature –seemingly part man, and part fish –  that was caught off the coast and held in the dungeon of Orford Castle. The next character is Ben (Craig Pike), who is an Australian radar scientist working in England to detect soviet submarines in the early seventies. Ben’s experience in England is quite dull until he starts to find an anomaly on his radar that his colleagues find dubious. Finally there is Mog (Julia Course) who is a teacher in the early part of the twenty-first century about to celebrate her thirtieth birthday when she finds out she’s pregnant, and that something might be wrong with the child. The characters’ stories start to weave into each other and we come to find that there are more connections between them than simple geography.

The acting in the show was particularly excellent, especially considering the limitations on movement that the cast had to follow. The success of the production really hinges on these actors being captivating storytellers, and all three of them step up to the job. I suspect a lot of the actors’ success lies on the shoulders of director Matthew Gorman whose task was to make sure the subtleties of the show were honed to perfection.

One of the most interesting aspects of the show is the set, designed by Jenna McCutchen, which consists of an island on stage upon which all the actors are seated. The island is roped to the stage as if it were a boat, creating a powerful symbol of the intertwined experiences of these disparate characters. Matthew Gorman called the island the “fourth character of the show,” and the beautifully simple set reflects that wonderfully.

Cart/Horse Theatre’s production of Fishskin Trousers is a great example of how simple aspects of theatre, executed extremely well, can be even more compelling than a show with a lot of bells and whistles.

Fishskin Trousers is playing at Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, 16 Ryerson Avenue, Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2pm until December 7. Tickets are $20 or pay-what-you-can on Sundays. Tickets can be purchased online at artsboxoffice.ca or by phone at 416-504-7529.

[thetheatrereader]

  Paulo and Daphne: A uniquely mapped out literary dram-com

Veronica Appia

Editor-in-Chief

Paulo and Daphne, directed by Adrian Proszowski, seems like your run-of-the-mill doomed love story. Male and female have known each other for years. Male and female not-so-secretly love each other. Female friend-zones male. Male is known to have a record of promiscuity. Sounds like your typical recipe for disaster-type show. But the characters and their lives are anything but typical.

Paulo (W. Joseph Matheson) is an immigration lawyer and Daphne (Karen Glave) is his assistant. Though he loves her he can't seem to keep his eyes (or any other part of him for that matter) off of his female clients, who come to him seeking Canadian citizenship. Though he wants to turn over a new leaf, his risque reputation makes it more difficult than he thought possible to achieve his goal. And when the beautiful Illyria (Daniella Forget) comes into his office, it is going to take some serious self-control to prove himself.

Playwright Ned Dickens cleverly mixes this story with mythology, creating a spin-off of the traditional Apollo and Daphne story. Dickens takes the plot for an unpredictable turn and shows the audience that each and every one of us has a story to tell. No matter how far back in history we go, well all share stories, we all share love and we all share pain.

It's an interesting concept, though a bit slow to get to the point. Dickens' characters flirt with the details of the mythology for quite some time before they come to that moment of realization.

The physical comedy is a riot. The actors master their timing, their energy is spot-on and they have the audience in fits at all the right moments.

Some of the serious moments however, require some work. I feel that Daphne has a deep, painful past that jumps out of the script, but seems to be sugar-coated in terms of the acting. At times, Glave's larger-than-life style of acting worked, but at other times, I feel that I lost the human connection. Daphne is a beautifully complex character. I need to be reeled back in. My heartstrings need to be tugged at a little harder.

All in all, Paulo and Daphne is an experiment gone right. Dickens takes the most typical love story and approaches it from a rare, intelligent angle, mashing it with mythology and three quirky, mix-matched characters with riveting stories to tell.

Paulo and Daphne, presented by Theatreworks Productions, is playing at Pia Bouman Theatre until Dec. 7.

[thetheatrereader]

Macbeth brings accolades to the Monarch Tavern

Nicholas Catania

Publicist

Continuing with their streak of box office-breaking productions, Shakespeare BASH'd presents William Shakespeare's Macbeth to Little Italy's Monarch Tavern in a relatable and essential fashion. The company is most commonly known for their widening popularity in presenting a "bare bones" approach to engaging with Shakespeare's works. This wildly embracive troupe tours the bard's works within Toronto bars, establishing a comfortable, relaxed, and common environment geared to enjoying Shakespeare as it was meant to be. 

For those unfamiliar with the tragedy of Macbeth, the narrative details Scottish General Macbeth's (David Ross) tragic downfall lead upon by lust, ambition, and greed. Upon listening to the prophecies of three deranged witches, Macbeth purges his fate under the assisted persuasion of Lady Macbeth (Ameila Sargisson). Slaughter occurs, terror is struck and unrest spreads wildly through Scotland. Breaching on themes of evil, revenge and the mystical, Shakespeare BASH'd undresses the challenges of this tragedy to effectively portray their "honest" approach. 

In accordance with their mandate, the troupe gallantly emphasizes the tensely romanticized relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Sargisson delivers a phenomenal performance throughout, predominately standing out amidst the ensemble of dedicated performers. The embracing of controversial decisions conspired by the pair ultimately separates and unifies the relationship – one built on ambition and deceit. Ross and Sargisson's dual engagement is emphatic. Audiences do not only note the relationship, but they become immersed in it. The ensemble's enthusiasm and dedication to the piece not only triumphs, but courageously ascends and transforms the stage.

The production's success stems form Director James Wallis' attempt at removing the Shakespeare stigma and embedding his works within today's contemporary culture. The show does not take place in some far off Elizabethan adventure. Although an elite tragedy, audiences are better able to relate to the production because the production relates to and is reflective of them. Although not an entirely new concept, it is utterly effective. The design is simple yet symbolic, heralding this approach as both entertaining and captivating -- a definite must-see.

Presented by Shakespeare BASH'd, Macbeth runs to November 23rd at the Monarch Tavern (12 Clinton Street). For tickets, please visit the following link: http://www.shakespearebashd.com/tickets.html.

photo credit: Kyle Purcell

[thetheatrereader]

Sextet: An undeniably clever farce

Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs

Contributor

What do you get when you have six quirky musicians with stagnant careers and active libidos penned in a motel during a blizzard? You get one hell of a side-splitting theatre show worth the effort it took for you to drag yourself out of the house and into the November cold. Morris Panych’s Sextet is an undeniably clever farce that is sure to strike a chord with any classical music enthusiast. Employing embedded analogies, the structure of the play parallels the fast-pace complexity of Schoenberg’s chamber music (yes, Sextet somehow engenders humour from Schoenberg).

The 90-minute show explores the correlation between music and sexuality as each cast member swiftly moves from room to room laughing, singing, crying and touching in a whirlwind of motivations. Amidst the chaos, be prepared to follow agile dialogue and tangled plot containing polygamy, pregnancy, failed marriage, sexual tension, charades and brief nudity.

The cookie-cutter motel set grants visual stability for an audience wading through the emotional turmoil of not-so-stable characters such as Mavis, a darker and deceptive delivery by Rebecca Northan. Enlightened by her religious understanding of procreation, Mavis is caught between her not-so-frisky husband Gerard (Bruce Dow) and her neurotic sperm donor and admirer Otto (Jordan Pettle).

Damien Atkins perfectly captures “the oxford comma of sexuality” and steals the show through his performance as Harry, the intellectual, closeted gay member of the group, performing in his last tour -- “but don’t tell anybody.” While Harry is eccentrically infatuated with the oxymoronic, but handsome Dirk (Matthew Edison), Sylvia (Laura Condlln) an off-kilter feminist, anxiously awaits (with a touque over her face) for an opportune moment to disclose her true feelings for Harry.

Although the play did not require actors to play their musical instruments on stage, I would have enjoyed more music during transitions to foreshadow events and enhance the mood.

As the show winds down, the pace slows and attention is directed to Harry’s monologue, which provides the audience with a beautiful take home message of succession and failure in a personal journey of understanding sexuality.

Sexet is playing at Tarragon Theatre until Dec. 14. For more information, visit tarragontheatre.com.

Photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann