Posts tagged as:

THEATRE

THEATRE

Unorthodox Puppetry

Thumbnail image for Unorthodox Puppetry

Heretics of Bohemia, Segal Centre, to May 19th

by Alex Woolcott
03.05.2012

Style triumphs over substance in The Heretics of Bohemia, the newest play from Scapegoat Carnivale Productions. A zany extravaganza involving a cast of thousands (many of them are puppets), Heretics overflows with shtick, witty banter and delightful theatricality. But its narrative is far too weak to support even its brief seventy-five minute running time. One can easily sit back and enjoy the ride – just don’t expect to understand what any of it was about when you’re done.

[...]

THEATRE

« Everything under the sun is in tune… »

Thumbnail image for « Everything under the sun is in tune… »

L'éclipse, Groupe de la Veillée

by Mélanie Grondin
27.04.2012

De manière on ne peut plus opportune, le Groupe de la Veillée présente une pièce de celle que l’on nomme « la grande dame de la littérature américaine », c’est-à-dire Joyce Carol Oates, quelques petits jours après que celle-ci eut remporté le Grand Prix littéraire international Metropolis bleu.

[...]

THEATRE

Not a Gilded Cage

Thumbnail image for Not a Gilded Cage

Blackbird, Shadowbox Productions, at Les Ateliers Jean-Brillant until April 22

by Alex Woolcott
15.04.2012

Don’t make the mistake of going to see the latest incarnation of David Harrower’s play Blackbird expecting a raucous night at the theatre. Harrower’s play, most recently seen in French at Theatre Prospero, is a dark and demanding tragedy with a reputation for leaving audiences fighting for breath. In this new production the harsh subject matter is well served by its cast, but the power of the script is mitigated by a lack of sharp direction that keeps us squarely in acting school territory.

[...]

THEATRE

Strings Attached

Thumbnail image for Strings Attached

Penny Plain, by Ronnie Burkett, Place des Arts to April 21

by Kallee Lins
14.04.2012

Stock markets closing down, world-wide meat contamination, and the absence of life in No. 10 Downing Street set the stage for the end of the world. Penny Plain, blind but with unwavering commitment to the small joys of cultured living, decides to wait out in her armchair.

[...]

THEATRE

Not the Tickle Trunk

Thumbnail image for Not the Tickle Trunk

Traffik Femme, Segal Centre, to March 24

by Leila Marshy
17.03.2012

About half way through, I noticed a bruise on the actress’ thigh. I wondered if she had forgotten to cover it with theatrical make-up. Then I realized it had erupted during the course of the play. Traffik Femme may be a one woman show, but the brutality actress Nico Lagarde channels is very real.

[...]

THEATRE

Errors of Comedy

Thumbnail image for Errors of Comedy

Game of Love and Chance, Centaur Theatre, to April 1st

by Alex Woolcott
13.03.2012

There’s an old theatrical aphorism that says one should always leave the audience wanting more. This is exactly what happens in Centaur’s production of Pierre Marivaux’s The Game of Love and Chance (translated by Nicholas Billon). Watching the show, one is constantly wanting – if not hoping and praying – that the talented cast and crew are going to give us more. More jokes, more wit, more of Marivaux’s own blithe spirit.

[...]

THEATRE

Beautiful Cruelty

Thumbnail image for Beautiful Cruelty

The Leisure Society, Bain St. Michel, March 6-25th

by Alex Woolcott
12.03.2012

Two years ago, actress-turned-director Ellen David was asked if she would direct a play for Infinitheatre. David leapt at the chance and within moments had suggested The Leisure Society (La Société des loisirs) François Archambault’s scathing attack on the cost of consumerism. David clearly has infallible instincts: her Quebec English-language première of The Leisure Society is Infintiheatre’s sharpest production in years and a standout of Anglo-Montreal’s 2012 season.

[...]

THEATRE

There Was and There Was Not

Thumbnail image for There Was and There Was Not

Our Story, Palestinian Theatre Group, UQAM, March 10

by Adam Bemma
06.03.2012

In a city where French, English and Yiddish language theatre draws huge crowds year-round, Montreal’s cultural scene is now home to a burgeoning, young, Arab theatre troupe paving the way for performances in their own language.

[...]

THEATRE

Devil in the Details

Thumbnail image for Devil in the Details

History of the Devil, Title 66 Productions, Théâtre Rouge, until March 4

by Alex Woolcott
01.03.2012

Enthusiasm will only get you so far and if you need proof, visit Title 66’s current production of Clive Barker’s The History of the Devil. The young cast and crew contain more than a few stars of tomorrow; unfortunately, they’re saddled with Barker’s meandering script, a fairly unseaworthy vessel that the talented crew have to fight to bring to into harbour.

[...]

THEATRE

Agog about Gollywog

Thumbnail image for Agog about Gollywog

Gollywog, by Bonnie Farmer, Black Theatre Workshop

by Beverly Akerman
20.02.2012

Though decades separate Bonnie Farmer’s two plays, her new Gollywog has the makings of a hit. Born in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Farmer came to Montreal at the age of two when her mother took a job as a cook in a convent. The family only lived there a year or so, Farmer explains. “They weren’t expecting a cook with a baby in tow. Our room was right off the kitchen and I kept getting into things. It was dangerous. I remember these beautiful marble floors. I remember seeing the nuns in their pyjamas.”

[...]

THEATRE

Chekhov for Beginners

Thumbnail image for Chekhov for Beginners

Dawson College production of Chekhov's Three Sisters shows panache in spite of the challenges

by Natalie G.
01.02.2012

The Three Sisters, Chekov’s simmering drama about an army general’s family trapped in a provincial Russian town at the end of the nineteenth century, is brought to the stage by Dawsons College’s professional theatre program.

[...]

THEATRE

Les bourgeois, c’est comme les cochons

Thumbnail image for Les bourgeois, c’est comme les cochons

Le Dindon, Théâtre du Nouveau Monde

by Mélanie Grondin
25.01.2012

Certains diront peut-être que le Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, en tant que « théâtre national », se doit d’être un théâtre sérieux où le drame a plus sa place que la comédie. Même les grands dramaturges de ce monde — de Shakespeare à Molière en passant par Corneille — ont écrit des comédies, et il est vrai [...]

[...]

THEATRE

Never Say Die

Thumbnail image for Never Say Die

Ars Poetica at Infinitheatre, through February 12

by Alex Woolcott
20.01.2012

It’s a swing and a miss for Ars Poetica, the second play by Arthur Holden and the latest offering from Montreal’s Infinitheatre. Infinite can always be commended for exclusively producing new work by local writers. But this time around they’ve emerged with a weak and meandering comedy in desperate need of another draft.

[...]

THEATRE

Letter from Chicago

Thumbnail image for Letter from Chicago

Visiting the Chicago Shakespeare Theater

by Marianne Ackerman
16.01.2012

The age of national culture is over. Forget about tired nation-states, their ineffective governments and surly citizens. Great art is to be found in cities with strong flavours. At the top of my list is Chicago, just over an hour from Toronto by air, where a vibrant theatre scene is offering the best play I’ve seen in years.

[...]

THEATRE

Brilliant Stage Noir

Thumbnail image for Brilliant Stage Noir

Requiem pour un trompettiste, at Espace Libre

by Alex Woolcott
11.01.2012

A criminally clever coup de théâtre, Claude Guilmain’s Requiem pour un trompettiste manages the amazing feat of being both an homage to film noir and a timely expose on corruption in politics. And all of it is couched in an intricate technical dance of music, dialogue and deft timing.

[...]

Page 1 of 212