Played at VideoCabaret, Deanne Taylor Theatre, 10 Busy Street,  Toronto, Ont. Played from Sept. 19-29, 2024.

www.videocab.com

Written and performed by Alan Williams

The show was divided into three parts. Each part played twice over the run of the show with the following schedule as per the website: 

“Part 1: “Once In A Lifetime Sometimes Never” – Thursdays 

A lightly fictionalised fable based on the story of ALAN’s times in Ontario.

Part 2: “Can’t Get There From Mystery Lake” – Fridays 

A lightly fictionalised fable based on the story of ALAN’s times in Manitoba.

Part 3: “A Quiet Time On Busy Street” – Saturdays 

The story of ALAN’s arrival in the strange country he never thought he’d find himself in known as Old Age.”

I was only able to see the final show of Part III, “A Quiet Time On Busy Street,” because the run was short and this is a full theatre season. Part III made me long to have seen Parts I and II. The place was packed. A couch was brought in from the lobby to provide more seating in the theatre. Chairs from backstage were brought in too. Wonderful.

Background: Alan Williams was born and educated in Manchester, England. He got his theatre training with the Hull Truck Theatre. Besides acting he is also a playwright, having written and performed his Cockroach Trilogy at the Bush Theatre in London, Eng. He performed his trilogy at the International Theatre Festival in Toronto in 1981. He stayed in the Toronto first becoming the playwright in residence at the Tarragon Theatre and then working at other Indie theatres when Toronto theatre was blossoming with homegrown work. He moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba to teach at the University of Winnipeg. He moved back to England in 1996 where he continued his acting career in theatre (War Horse, Jerusalem) and television (The Crown, Coronation Street, Doc Martin etc.). he was invited to bring his autobiographical trilogy to VideoCabaret by Layne Coleman, interim Artistic Director of VideoCabaret.

Alan Williams is a brilliant story-teller: laid-back, irreverent, perceptive, curious and inquisitive. He appears on the bare stage with no props, no need for a microphone, soft-spoken and the audience was rapt with attention. He wore black pants, a shirt, under-which was a t-shirt that had some design on it with the words “dead bod.”  

He talked about being recently hired to do a three-day reading-workshop of As You Like It by Shakespeare at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. It was a trek for him since he lives about two hours away by train in a little town by the sea. He found cheap digs in London thinking it was a ‘hotel’ when in fact he mis-read it and realized it was a hostel. The place was terrible, cramped, tiny, but he didn’t complain.

At the first day of the reading the cast was assembled. There were a few senior people like him but the rest were young actors. They gave their names and pronouns. Alan Williams tried to keep track of everyone’s name and their pronouns and that was challenging. He was not judgmental about this, only commenting and curious.

As the reading continued, he had ideas and questions but urged himself to “keep quiet” and not cause trouble.  He wondered why they were doing As You Like It at all. He did an analysis of the play and observed that Shakespeare ended his play(s) going back to the status quo? Not a disruption. Alan Williams wondered about that. He noted he had read about Cliff Cardinal’s ‘radical retelling’ of As You Like It and his land acknowledgement in Toronto. He finally saw the production in Brighton, England and was hugely impressed with Cardinal and the piece.  Alan Williams wondered if Cliff Cardinal was happy while still being so angry. An interesting observation.

Alan Williams had played some pretty illustrious theatre in England but he was in a revery when he first came to VideoCabaret’s theatre space on Busy Street in Toronto. It’s in what looks like an old garage. It’s not fancy. The seating is composed of padded chairs on bleachers. The floor is black concrete. People are greeted by people who pitch in. Simplicity is the watchword. Williams loves the place. It’s what a theatre should look like. He gives the impression that if he had a free in any city, he’d seek out theatre, either in a reading or a show. And it would likely be in this kind of hole-in-the-wall kind of theatre.

Someone asked recently, “How long has theatre been dying.” In unison, a friend of mine and I replied, “Since it began thousands of years ago.” And we all laughed. In his own way, Alan Williams addressed that too.

He noted that young children who came to visit him and his wife in his house in England, played in their garden. The kids put on a show and repeated some jokes and gave their idea of a performance. Alan Williams thought it was terrific. He loved the joy, commitment of these kids and their glee at the performance. Williams said, theatre is all around us and in front of our faces, if only we can recognize it. Theatre isn’t dying if children keep wanting to put on shows.

Alan Williams has given a heartfelt, smart, polished musing on the theatre and his life in it for more than 50 years in Once in a Lifetime Sometimes Never.  He has been at the beginning of some exciting theatre in this city and in England. Yet he is still full of the wonder at its existence, creation, transformative abilities, the questions it poses to him that he shares. He does not seem cynical even when he wants to speak his mind. He does not seem judgmental at those just starting out, making the same mistakes he did when he was their age. He is watchful, curious, inquisitive, questioning and joyful about theatre.

The audience who came to his final show was a who’s who of those who were at the beginning of Toronto Indie theatre all those years ago. Contemporaries of Alan Williams. They are the people who made a difference in my introduction to Canadian theatre. The sad thing was that young people starting in the theatre now weren’t there to learn from him and to hear his stories. Alan Williams and those in the room are the shoulders on which our next, younger generation of actors are standing. Williams and his colleagues paved the way for the next generation. It’s a pity that next generation weren’t there to appreciate and carry on his message. The beauty is that we can learn from each other in these fractious times.

Presented by VideoCabaret.

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Live and in person at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Toronto, Ont. David and Hannah Mirvish and the National Arts Centre, English Theatre, present. Running until March 2, 2025.

www.mirvish.com

Book, music and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein

Directed by Christopher Ashley

Choreographed by Kelly Devine

Musical director, Bob Foster

Musical supervisor, Ian Eisendrath

Scenic design by Beowulf Boritt

Costumes by Toni-Leslie James

Lighting by Howell Binkley

Sound by Gareth Owen

Cast: Kyle Brown

Saccha Dennis

Steffi Didomenicantonio

Barbara Fulton

Lisa Horner

James Kall

Jeff Madden

Ali Momen

Cory O’Brien

Kristen Peace

David Silvestri

Cailin Stadnyk

The band:

Bob Foster: Music director, keyboard

Richard Evans, keyboard

Bob McAlpine, guitar 1

Kim Ratcliffe, guitar 2

Valerie Li, fiddle

Spencer Murray, whistles, Irish flute, Uileann pipe

Jonathan Maharaj, bass

Sean Kilbride, drums

Greg Hawco, percussion

Come From Away is back with all the power, poignancy and uplifting energy one comes to expect of this exuberant musical that celebrates kindness and resilience.

Background. After playing all over the world and being awarded, applauded and celebrated wherever it played, Come From Away was set to play the Royal Alexandra Theatre for a second extended stay a two and a half years ago. Then COVID hit and shut it down. Tenacity is everything and you can’t keep a dandy show down when resourceful people want to put it on. So Mirvish Productions is presenting the show, again at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. As of this writing it’s been extended to March 2, 2024.

The Story. The show began in 2015 in La Jolla, San Diego and went on to play in Toronto,  Broadway, the West End in London, England, in Australia, South America, and toured across Canada and the United States etc. The reviews have been ecstatic. Audiences get their exercise in by applauding energetically after various songs and leaping to their feet at the end of each performance. Is there anyone who doesn’t know the story? Ok, for the person who has been hermetically sealed for years in Antarctica with no internet, phone, or means of communication, here’s the background.

On September 11, 2001 the United States was in lockdown when there were terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C, and Pennsylvania. Many planes destined for the States were in the air but were unable to land there for days afterword. Two hundred planes were diverted to various cities across Canada. Thirty-eight of them, carrying 7,000 people were diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. Gander had a huge airport that used to be a hub for refueling of transatlantic planes. But that stopped when planes were able to make the crossing and go further on a tank of fuel. Air traffic to Gander was sparce at the best of times. The population of Gander and towns around there was 9,000. What to do with these 38 planes carrying 7,000 anxious and confused people?  The people of Gander and environs went into action: opening up every community center to house them; cooking to feed them; opened their homes to billet them and opened their hearts and arms to comfort them over the five days they were there.

The Production. The people of Newfoundland are different than most people, as exemplified by the ‘islanders’ of Gander and environs. One can understand it if you live on an island called ‘The Rock’ and it’s not unusual to have deep snow in May or even July. You need a sense of humour to cope and odd ways of welcoming people: drinking a potion called “screech” and kissing a cod.  All that and more comes through in Irene Sankoff and David Hein’s book, music and lyrics.

In 2011, on the 10^th anniversary celebration of the landing in Gander of the 7,000 people “from away,” writers Irene Sankoff and David Hein went to Gander to interview those people who were ‘islanders’ and those ‘from away.’ The idea came from Michael Rubinoff, producer-extraordinaire. They culled the interviews and wrote the book, music and lyrics of the experiences of these people. The result is Come From Away.

Twelve gifted actors play many and various characters from the townsfolk of Gander to the cross-section of the plane people. The story chronicles how the ‘islanders’ went from being hosts who had to tear around arranging, cooking, and providing for these folks ‘from away’, to becoming friends invested in caring for then. The ‘plane people’ went from being suspicious and anxious about being in this desolate place where the people talked funny so that ‘they understood about half of what they said, ‘ to relaxing and appreciating how special and different this place was.

Many of the actors in the cast are returning to play the same parts, others are new to the show. All of them create a cohesive ensemble. As Beulah, a teacher and organizer of the endeavor, Lisa Horner is irreverent generally and always caring. She bonds with Hannah played with concern and worry by Saccha Dennis. Hannah’s son is a firefighter in New York and she can’t reach him by phone. Beulah is also a mother of a fireman and gives Hannah much needed kind comfort. Both Lisa Horner and Saccha Dennis are wonderful singers. Bonnie represents the SPCA and is concerned with the animals on the plane—Kristen Peace plays her with determination and resolve to tend to all her furry charges. Ali Momen plays Kevin, an arrogant plane person who wants out of this backwater, and with a quick addition of a skullcap becomes Ali, an Egyptian Muslim, anxious and fearful of the other plane people who look at him with suspicion. The quick change is done with finesse and is unobtrusive. Love blossoms with Diane (a jolly Barbara Fulton) and Nick (a fastidious James Kall)—they meet on the plane. Jeff Madden as the other Jeff in a relationship, is curious and anxious to embrace this place even though his partner is not. Every single actor is worthy of being singled out, but you can see for yourself, when you see the show, and you should.

Director Christopher Ashley and Kelly Devine, his choreographer/musical stager, give a master class in how to seamlessly meld the direction with the movement/dance of the piece to create a piece of theatre that throbs with life. From the snap and stomp of the first song, “Welcome to the Rock,” to the rousing Finale the show explodes with energy. But care is also established in the quieter moments: the stunned concern of “38 Planes” as the islanders watch plane after plane arrive; “Prayer” a beautiful melding of Christian, Hebrew and Arabic languages to express penance of different beliefs; “Something’s Missing” the poignant song expressing a sadness even after the ordeal is over and many are going home.

I was struck at how the show is structured not to get applause after many songs, but to continue the scene without disruption. I thought that was classy.

After seeing the show often and in various productions I looked at moments closely and wondered why was it so moving? How was it possible that when one least expected it, tears? When the ‘plane people’ had access to two televisions they were shown what happened. They watched the tv screens, mouths agape, standing absolutely still, then at the same moment they all reacted in horror at what they were seeing. And we understood and with them, relived the unimaginable. This is only one moment. The production if full of them that take simple moments and leave us breathless and tearful.  The wonder and power of theatre.

Comment. Come from Away is a musical that shows humanity at its best and its worst. In our angry, fractious world it has lessons of kindness from which we can all learn. It doesn’t sugar coat the ‘uglier’ moments. For example, Ali was always looked at with suspicion by those on the plane because he was Egyptian and a Muslim. Because of that he reacted with fear and trepidation. That didn’t change when they all returned home. He was still shunned.   But when he was shown kindness by Beulah and the other ‘islanders’ he blossomed, warmed to it and offered his help when they needed it. One might offer that in the darkest moments, kindness is possible and needed. Like now. Come From Away is special. See it.  

David and Hannah Mirvish, and the National Arts Centre, English Theatre present:

Plays until March 2, 2025

Running time: 100 minutes (no intermission)

www.mirvish.com

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Live and in person at the Theatre Centre, Toronto, Ont. Presented by CORPUS and the KIO Company. Playing until Sept. 29, 2024.

boxoffice@theatrecentre.org

Conceived and directed by David Danzon
Created with the Ensemble: Kohey Nakadachi, Sakura Korin, Takako Segawa, Kaitlin Torrance
Lighting and Set Design by Yann Becker
Costume Design by Atsuko Kiyokawa
Music Composition and Sound Design by Anika Johnson
Additional Choreography by Matt O’Connor

Performed in Japanese and English with English and French Surtitles.

From the Programme information: “Conceived and directed by CORPUS’ artistic director David Danzon, Mukashi, Mukashiexplores two iconic characters of Western and Japanese folklore: The Wolf and the Crane. Both carry deep roots in the collective consciousness of each culture. Their unlikely meeting sets the stage for a conflictual then harmonious relationship that blossoms through a transformative journey. The work uses traditional and contemporary Japanese art forms (Origami, Kyōgen, Bunraku, Manga), mixed with old and newer Western practices such as pantomime and the comedy traditions of Looney Tunes and TV talk shows.

Like all of CORPUS’ work, Mukashi, Mukashi will speak to children and adults alike. It introduces the poetic and intriguing world of Japanese folk tales and blends it with the dark and comedic undertones of western fairytales, all with a CORPUS twist and cross-cultural sensibility.”

Mukashi, Mukashi in Japanese translates as “Once upon a time” in English. The show starts with the Wolf from the Brothers Grimm. We have come to consider the Wolf a sinister character, dangerous and deceptive Four actors dressed in stylish black (Kudos to costume designer, Atsuko Kiyokawa) stand still growling like a wolf. They kneel on the floor side by side and begin folding a square piece of paper in front of them, in the Japanese tradition of paper folding. Occasionally one would look to his/her neighbour to see what they were doing. The neighbour then turned around and faced up stage revealing that each was ‘wearing’ a bushy wolf’s tail.  When they turned back to face us, they had finished their creations, a bird (a crane?) that was then affixed to each performer’s hair.

The presentation of the Wolf was goofy, overplayed and like a silly situation comedy. Kohey Nakadachi is the performer most associated with the Wolf. The Wolf came to a feisty grandmother’s house wanting to come in from the cold. The grandmother knew to mistrust the Wolf. She knew that he wanted to eat her. They banter. There is talk of Little Red Riding Hood.

There are twists and turns with the story, but for our purposes, the playing was loud, boisterous and quirky. The Wolf did not have it easy. That grandmother gave it a run for its money.

The story of the Crane from Japanese folklore is more poignant, elegantly presented and spare in its presentation. The Crane is representative of loyalty, longevity and good fortune. A young man saves a Crane from a trap and lets it go. He is rewarded for his kindness in an artful, balletic, symbolic way, which I won’t say so as not to spoil the meaning. Kaitlin Torrance plays the Crane and is grace personified.

I found the collaboration between the Canadian and Japanese companies an interesting mix. The realization of the Wolf story seemed over long, overplayed and laboured in its intent to be funny.  Although at the beginning of the scene, the banter between the Wolf and the grandmother is hilarious.

Surtitles in English were somewhat helpful but hard to read because the light made the font fuzzy. When more light shone on the surtitle, it was clearer. I can’t comment on the French surtitles because I wasn’t reading them.

The Japanese story of the Crane is more successful in its intent because the presentation is spare, economical and achingly beautiful. We get to see the full origami creation of the Crane folded in front of us, which is then put into the hair of the character—seeing how it’s done is always fascinating.

During the show several Japanese songs are sung but not translated in surtitles so the audience has context. I thought that lapse odd and an opportunity missed.

The cast of four is agile, funny, nuanced and nimble.

The program says that the show is for both children and adults. Hmmmm. The Wolf story overplays to children and the Crane story seems too esoteric for them. I was grateful to see this collaboration but I could do with less of the boisterous, over-long Wolf story and more of the elegant Crane story.

A CORPUS and KIO co-production.

Plays to Sept. 29, 2024.

Running time: 1 hour (no intermission)

boxoffice@theatrecentre.org

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Alas closed: Sept. 22. Played at Lighthouse Festival, Port Colborne, Ont. but worth a comment.

Written by Norm Foster

Directed by Jeffrey Wetsch

Set by Eric Bunnell

Costumes by Alex Amini

Lighting by Kevin Fraser

Starring: Terry Barna (who jumped in for Ralph Small who injured his knee)

Melodee Finlay

Derek Ritschel

Imagine it, a comedy about senior citizens? Whoda thought it? Well, playwright Norm Foster of course. And artistic director, Derek Ritschel who was wise enough to programme it for the Lighthouse Festival.

Christine (Melodee Finlay) and Robert (Terry Barna) are strangers who meet at a wedding. Both are single and lonely. They seem to hit it off, although we are told that there was ‘some’ liquid refreshment that made them brave. They decided so see if they were still sexy and attractive to the other and planned to take off two days and spend it together in a rustic cabin by a Lakefront. Sex was the object. One doubted they were there to discuss Schopenhauer.

We meet them as they arrive at the cabin and are shown around by Duane, the buoyant but awkward son of the owners who are away. Duane seems to burst into the place at inopportune times. That’s part of his charm and the humour of the piece. We learn that Robert is 70 and divorced and Christine is 68. The place is called Lakefront although one can’t see the lake from the cabin. Duane says that the lake receded eons ago, but the name stuck.

While Robert and Christine are a bit awkward, they are also intelligent, funny characters who have life experience on their side. They know why they are there. They have easy and believable banter and both have a keen sense of humour. It does help that their creator is Norm Foster, who knows his way around a quip and a funny laugh-line.

The production is directed with a wonderful sense of wit by Jeffrey Wetsch. The humour of Robert and Christine is never forced thanks to the wonderful performances of Terry Barna as Robert and Melodee Finlay as Christine. A note: Robert was originally to be played by Ralph Small but a few days before he injured his knee and had to leave the show. Terry Barna saved the day and with two days notice began doing the show, with the script in his hand. For my performance (two days after jumping in) Terry Barna hardly consulted the script at all. His manner is easy, funny, laid-back and full of nuance. As Christine, Melodee Finlay matches him with finesse and understatement and that makes her all the funnier. Rounding out the cast is Derek Ritschel as Duane, who pops into the cabin without knocking, without a clue and full of awkward humour. Lovely.

The set by Eric Bunnell is quirky and appropriate for a play that is quirky too. Alex Amini’s costumes are casual for Robert and Christine. Duane always wears over-warm hat and clothes and is so wide-eyed odd, he’s hilarious.

There is a sweet gentleness to Lakefront. It’s full of the wisdom and humour of people looking to get on with life as joyfully as possible, ideally with someone as searching and as funny as Robert and Christine.

The play Sept. 22,  but it deserved comment

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Hi Folks,

I’m doing a four-part lecture-series for the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre, called: SETTING THE SCENE: The Roots of Toronto Theatre.

They will be given both in person and on Zoom.

The dates are:

Monday: November 25, 2024 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm

Monday: December 2, 2024   1:00 pm to 2:30 pm

Monday: December 9, 2024   1:00 pm to 2:30 pm

Monday: December 16, 2024  1:00 pm to 2:30 pm

I will be covering the beginnings of the theatre scene in Toronto starting with touring companies to the Royal Alexandra Theatre and the O’Keefe Centre etc.; the creation of home-grown Toronto theatre companies such as Tarragon, Factory and Theatre Passe Muraille; companies with a specific focus such as: Toronto Workshop Productions, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Obsidian Theatre Company and Nightwood for example; I’ll note some Canadian plays that changed the face of Canadian Theatre, and a look at what happened to some of the original companies.

For registration and other information please check out: https://app.amilia.com/store/en/miles-nadal-jcc/shop/programs/103384?subCategoryIds=5317945

I am really looking forward to talking about our theatre beginnings!

Lynn Slotkin

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Live and in person at various venues in Barrie, Ont. Playing until September 29, 2024.

www.tift.ca

I Do, I Don’t I Dare! It’s a festival. This festival is a celebration and subversion of marriage, weddings and commitment. There are instillations of wedding dresses around the city, in unexpected places. There are short pieces of theatre, regular productions, immersive productions that are revelatory about ourselves and others. There are also many surprises. It’s produced by Talk Is Free Theatre in Barrie, Ont. It’s curated by Nathanial Hanula-James.

Here are some of the ‘events’ I saw.

Flash Performance!

In front of Samson’s Salon and Spa, on the balcony, 50 Dunlop Street East, Barrie.

Written by Eden Middleton and Michael Raphael.

Starring: Ryan Cunningham.

In sequins, a black costume and lots of attitude, our performer appears on the balcony of Samson’s Salon and Spa, in a rage. They are railing against straight women taking over gay bars for their wedding showers in which drag queens are the entertainment. Our performer feels it’s a misappropriation of space, identity and safe-haven. And it’s thought that the drag queens don’t work as hard at their craft if performing for a group of giddy, straight women on the town for a wedding shower. The raging was expressive and focused. The message became even more pointed and poignant against the sounds and sights of Dunlop Street in Barrie, namely: a black truck cruising the neighbourhood with two large flags on either side of the vehicle that said, “Fuck Trudeau;” the wizened homeless person pushing his wheelchair ladened with stuff topped by two skulls, up and down the street, taking a peek at the person raging on the balcony across the street; a man on his massive motorcycle with the music cranked up full, drowning out the microphoned performer on the balcony. Life and performance art in the burgeoning metropolis of Barrie, Ont.

An Ojibway Outlander in Glasgow

At Donaleigh’s Iris Public House, 28 Dunlop St. E, Barrie.

Created and performed by Dillan Meighan-Chiblow

Dillan Meighan-Chiblow was a young man in his twenties who felt lost. So, he went to find himself and decided to look in Glasgow, Scotland. He’s not Scots. He’s never been to Glasgow.  He’s Canadian. An Ojibwe. He found love instead, and some bumpy times, but love. Meighan Chiblow has a lovely way with humour, a self-deprecating way with a story, a quirky perception of the world and a wonderful story to tell. And he sings like a dream.

Everyone Is Interesting: The Committed Edition

Beginning at Meridian Place at the Barrie Cenotaph.

Created by Mammalian Diving Reflex.

A community walking project that aims to explore, play with, and unite the individuals who call Barrie and environs, home. Yes audience participation—don’t be afraid, the guides are sweet, kind, curious and caring. The group plays games to get to know each other and bond, to become comfortable in asking and answering questions, and to make the group curious about others. It was a wonderful, eye-opening experience, ending in a picnic of sorts with treats.

White Taffeta Silk (or, Don’t Do It Bestie!)

At the Hampton Inn Guest Laundry Room, 74 Bryne Dr. Barrie.

Written by Nathaniel Hanula-James

Directed by Sadie Berlin

From the program: “In the nowhere town of Peplum, Ont., three days before prom, two teenagers steal a wedding dress and unleash a frightful force. Billed as a ‘claustrophobic horror-comedy about the meaning of marriage, and the desire to keep your loved ones close.”

It’s about spirits and how they poses a person, wedding dress or not.

Charlotte (Helen Belay) and Eunice (Emerjade Simms) are the two friends. Charlotte is the more daring of the two. Eunice does go along with her friend’s plans but she’s wary. Both Helen Belay and Emerjade Simms give lively, bold performances. Nathaniel Hanula-James has a wild imagination and a good sense of story and character. Sadie Berlin directs so that it begins with a bang and never lets the audience relax. Terrific.

Telephone of the Wind

In a solitary corner of Memorial Square in a white structure, is a Wind Phone.

From the programme: “The first Telephone of the Wind was created by the Japanese artist Itaru Sasaki, in 2010, in response to the death of his cousin from cancer. Sasaki purchased a derelict phone booth, installed a disconnected rotary phone, and set it up in his garden.

In 2011, after a tsunami in Japan left over 15,000 dead and over 2,500 missing, Sasaki relocated the phone booth to a hill near the town of Otsuchi: the place with the highest number of recorded missing persons. It has become a place where people from Otsuchi, Japan, and all over the world can come to ‘call’ people they have lost. “

What a heart-squeezing thought. And yes, I made several calls on the phone.

Confess to the Dress

Talk is Free Theatre asked four designers to create wedding dress installations around a theme of their choice. They are placed around the downtown core of Barrie. I found one in a ‘bustling place’. Very art d’eco and stylish; beads, beautiful. You will be asked to write a note expressing whatever, including your first love.

There will also be readings of two new plays in development, next week: Something Old  by Keara Voo and Baby by Iris Rhian. I have heard a reading of Something Old. It’s terrific. Keara Voo is one to watch.

Talk is Free Theatre.

Runs until Sept. 29, 2024.

For further information: www.TIFT.ca

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Live and in person at the Berkeley Street Theatre, a Canadian Stage and Belfry Theatre joint production in association with the Stratford Festival. Playing until Oct. 12, 2024

www.canadianstage.com

Written by Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan

Directed by Jani Lauzon

Set by Joanna Yu

Costumes by Asa Benally

Lighting by Louise Guinand

Composer and sound designer, Wayne Kelso

Cast: Brefny Caribou

Merewyn Comeau

Richard Comeau

Catherine Fitch

Nathan Howe

Grace Lamarche

Amanda Lisman

John Wamsley

A gently pointed play in which Indigenous voices give Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well an Indigenous interpretation.

NOTE: The play was performed last year at the Stratford Festival with the same director (Jani Lauzon), the same creatives (Joanna Yu, Asa Benally, Louise Guinand, Wayne Kelso)  and two of the same actors (Richard Comeau and John Walmsley). Of the eight actors, six are new to the production: Brefny Caribou, Merewyn Comeau, Catherine Fitch, Nathan Howe and Amanda Lisman).

The Story. It’s 1939 in an Anglican residential school in northern Ontario. A royal visit from George VI and his wife Queen Elizabeth is anticipated and the students are being primed to present a production of Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well. Their fussy, formidable teacher Miss Sian Ap Dafyyd will direct them. Father Callum Williams will play the King of France.

As the students prepare and struggle with the British accent (of course they have to do the British accent according to Miss Ap Dafyyd, that is the only way to do Shakespeare), they realize that, for them, the story is really an Indigenous story and is about them and their own trials and tribulations. Helena in All’s Well That Ends Well is an orphan and has inherited her late father’s knowledge of medicine and is carrying on his traditions and knowledge. The student playing Helena is certain Helena is Mohawk. The student playing Parolles is certain that this character (Spanish in Shakespeare) is actually Métis. The student playing Bertram is also Indigenous and applies that to Bertram. The students are committed to their interpretation even though there is opposition to the idea from Miss Ap Dafyyd.

Then the press gets wind of the production and that it will be presented as ‘authentically Canadian,’ and matters go from there.

The Production. When we realize the play takes place in a residential school in northern Ontario in 1939, it’s hard not to think of the recent horrifying discovery of the unmarked graves at various residential schools across the country and the heart wrenching stories of what traumatized survivors endured at the hands of the teachers and clergy at those schools.

In 1939 co-writers Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan have taken a subtler way of dealing with what these Indigenous students and their parents etc. endured without sacrificing the power of the story.  The message is clear and resounding without being hard-hitting.     

Joanna Yu has created a set of three blackboards positioned across the small space. The center blackboard has “1939” on it written in chalk. We are in a class room with chairs on their sides on the floor at the top of the play. The chairs will be positioned properly by the arriving students.

During 1939, students write in chalk on those blackboard, sometimes pleading letters (“Mamma, did you get my letter?”), sometimes just a word like “home”. As soon as the message is written and the student leaves the space, either Miss Ap Dafyyd (Catherine Fitch) or Father Callum Williams (Nathan Howe) comes along and rubs out the message with a brush. It’s not done with anger or frustration. It’s just a calmly matter of fact cleaning of a blackboard. The messages are of longing, yearning and homesickness. Some of the students have been there for several years and have not been home.

At the beginning of the play a student is asked who he is and he automatically gives his number and just as quickly corrects himself and gives his name. Giving his number so automatically is a subtle ‘gut-punch’ to those who hear it. Every effort was made to remove their Indigenous language, customs and traditions and make them blend in as “Canadian.”

Every effort was made to break up siblings, but somehow Joseph Summers (Richard Comeau) and his sister Beth (Grace Lamarche) were there in that school and they just never told anyone they were siblings and it never came out. Of course, why would it if they are ‘called’ by number and not their name.  It was also forbidden that the boys and girls should mingle except in the class room.

We learn that if an Indigenous woman marries a white man she loses her ‘Indian’ status and is removed from the reserve. We learn from one student named Jean Delorme (John Wamsley) his Indigenous mother married a white man who later deserted her when she was removed from the reserve.  She prevailed on her own and was determined that her children would have an education.

These revelations are revealed carefully over the course of 1939, as the students rehearse and learn about All’s Well That Ends Well. Here is a play that takes place in Europe but these students find resonance to their own lives in northern Ontario.

Miss Ap Dafyyd (Catherine Fitch) feels strongly about Shakespeare and how to do the play correctly. She insists that the students use a British accent.  She is Welsh. When she was a child growing up she was always made to feel inadequate because she was Welsh.  Miss Ap Dafyyd is played by Catherine Fitch with lots of officiousness and conviction but no Welsh or British accent at all. I thought that odd.  Her speech is clipped and enunciated. If anything, she is harried by the task of doing this play. Ap Dafyyd is not a mean, cruel woman. She just seems out of place in that school and as frustrated as the students are as well. 

Co-writers Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan carefully reveal the developing confidence, resilience and quiet resistance of the students through Shakespeare. Evelyne Rice (Merewyn Comeau ) is cast as Helena and is certain she is Mohawk. Helena knows about medicines, as Evelyne does because of her Indigeneity so the connection is appropriate. As Evelyne Rice, Merewyn Comeau brings out all Evelyne’s curiosity, generosity and joy in playing a character so close to herself. Evelyne is easy going, smart and tenacious in all the right ways. She quietly lets the local newspaper know that the production of All’s Well That Ends Well will be done as ‘authentically Canadian.’ Wonderful. The students find their authentic voice through their parts.

Joseph Summer (Richard Comeau) is cast as Bertram. Richard Comeau plays Joseph with gentle grace but a longing to go home that squeezes the heart.  He pines to return home to the reserve and proudly retain his culture. Joseph’s sister Beth Summers (Grace Lamarche) is devoted to the subject. Beth loves Shakespeare and has read many of his plays. She knows All’s Well That Ends Well. She is championed by Miss Ap Dafyyd but that didn’t lead Miss Ap Dafyyd to cast her as Helena. Still, perhaps Beth is being championed by Miss Ap Dafyyd because Beth wants to be a teacher. Enthusiasm and positivity pour out of Grace Lamarche’s performance.

Jean Delorme (John Wamsley) plays Parolles and is certain he’s Métis. Parolles gives Jean validation. Jean’s mother is Indigenous and his father is white. His mother lost her ‘Indian’ status because she married a white man, as well as her place on the reserve. To add insult to injury Jean’s mother was deserted by her husband. John Wamsley as Jean Delorme is wonderful in the part. He is wistful, attentive, curious, sweetly humble, watchful and confident.   Father Callum Williams (Nathan Howe) is an awkward, self-absorbed, nervous man in which his nervousness is manifest in flatulence. Not a good thing when your job necessitates you do a lot of public speaking and playing the King of France in All’s Well That Ends Well doesn’t help matters. Rounding out the cast are Brefny Caribou who plays Susan Blackbird with a watchful sadness, and Amanda Lisman who plays Madge Macbeth, a wily journalist who knows how to get a story and make people want to read it.

1939 only touches on the war looming in Europe. The bigger issue for co-writers Jani Lauzon and Kaitlyn Riordan is looking at the Indigenous students in this residential school and finding a positive way of illuminating their hope, resolve, tenacity and embrace of a Shakespeare play to speak for them and help them find their true voice. Jani Lauzon has directed the play with a quiet vision and a keen way of establishing relationships, a sure hand and with attention to detail and compassion.

The play has a lot to say that is important to hear. The message is quietly resounding and clear.

Comment.  (Bringing a message closer to home). A few years ago, the Shaw Festival programmed a production of Shakespeare’s Henry V (you read that right) interpreted as if it was being performed by a group of soldiers, hunkered down in the trenches during WWI. During the intermission the audience was invited to fill in cards with their memories of war etc. and some would be read during the beginning of the next Act.

At the end of the run there was an instillation of sorts in a field near the theatre. The army boots the cast wore as soldiers during Henry V were positioned around the field and in every boot was a card that had been completed during the run of the show, noting a person’s memory of war, etc. One card stayed with me. The handwriting was perfect and elegant, the message was devastating. The writer said that her father enlisted to fight for Canada during WWII, I believe she said her father thought it was his patriotic duty. When he came back safely from fighting for Canada her father learned that because he enlisted, he was stripped of his ‘Indian’ status. Devastating. The writer was Jani Lauzon.

Canadian Stage and the Belfry Theatre joint production in association with the Stratford Festival present:

Runs until Oct. 12, 2024: 

Running Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes. (1 intermission)

www.canadianstage.com

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Live and in person at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Playing until Oct. 5, 2024.

www.buddiesinbadtimes.com

Written by Bernard-Marie Koltès

Translator, Martin Crimp

Directed by ted witzel

Costume and set designer, Michelle Tracey

Lighting by Logan Raju Cracknell

Composer and sound by Dasha Plett

Cast: Samantha Brown

Jakob Ehman

Fiona Highet

Daniel Macivor

Kwaku Okyere

Oyin Oladejo

Challenging, dazzling, pretentious, compelling, thought-provoking.

The Story. Roberto Zucco is a challenging play by Bernard-Marie Koltès and it’s opening the season at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre.

It was written in 1989 by Bernard-Marie Koltès a celebrated French playwright who was dying of AIDS that would eventually kill him. In the meantime the play was a hit in Europe and elsewhere.

It’s about a cold-blooded serial killer named Roberto Zucco and it was based on a real serial killer in Paris and later Europe named Roberto Succo. Roberto Zucco has murdered his father and is in prison. He escapes right under the noses of the guards and goes home to collect his fatigues. His mother is there and is afraid of him, naturally. But he quietly gets his clothes from the laundry hamper then he strangles his mother because her angst and nagging annoyed him.

We follow him as he interacts with all sorts of people: a young woman he might have raped but who loves him; an old man who gets lost in a deserted section of a subway and they have an esoteric conversation bordering on the frightening, about being lost; a stylish woman and her son that ends badly and involves a stolen car.

Roberto Zucco is charming, forbidding, philosophical and dangerous. We are both horrified and impressed with him.

The Production. Buddies in Bad Times Theatre caters to LGBTQIA2S stories. The theatre company has had a troubling, contentious last few years with internal squabbling, losing their board, their artistic director etc.

And with Roberto Zucco Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is back with a vengeance with a new Artistic Director in ted witzel, a clear mandate and philosophy and a roster of plays beginning with Roberto Zucco, that will attempt to knock your socks off for many reasons.

Bernard-Marie Koltès apparently saw a wanted poster of the real Roberto Succo in a Paris subway and was intrigued by the handsome face and the horror of what he did. The play seems part hero worship and being intrigued by his many and various escapes from the authorities. There are other characters: the young woman he allegedly raped; her dysfunctional family, the too easy slide into prostitution. I think Koltès writes about this murky world without judgement and definitely compassion, as if Zucco was who he was because of society, his family etc. and not a born psychopath.

The production is dazzling.  It’s directed by ted witzel, the artistic director, and he obviously is making a statement. He packs his production with all the bells and whistles one expects of him. He’s a very compelling director. He has a clear vision of the dark world of the play.

So, Logan Raju Cracknell’s lighting is moody and startling with lots of shadows and blazing light. There are smoke effects, walls come down to reveal characters; Dasha Plett’s composition and sound design, underscore action with a subtly throbbing, pulsing sound. Michelle Tracey has designed a complex set in which set pieces of walls and props are moved and revolved to establish new scenes. There are moments of quiet that are heightened with the sense of impending doom that are beautifully established.

A scene in the deserted subway with Roberto Zucco (Jakob Ehman) and a smartly dressed older man (Daniel Macivor) is one scene in particular that is fraught with possible doom. The two men sit close on a short bench. Daniel Macivor as the older man notes the possibility of danger but also mixes that with a seductive impishness, touching Roberto Zucco’s leg often for effect. Jakob Ehman as Roberto for his part, plays along with the impishness, but there is more than a hint of danger because we know Roberto Zucco’s penchant for killing those who get in his way. Jakob as Roberto Zucco is never anything but compelling. He is soft spoken, seemingly almost wounded by an unjust world, but his cold-blooded behaviour suggests that he is without conscience. He disarms people because he appears shy, awkward, inquisitive and he shakes when he holds a gun to someone’s head. But of course we are also terrified of him.

Roberto says he squashes people in his way, because he doesn’t notice them. It’s a fascinating line from Martin Crimp’s fascinating translation.

There are lovely performances from: Fiona Highet who plays his frightened mother and a cool socialite; Samantha Brown plays an almost innocent young woman who loves him, but is calculated in her way; Daniel MacIvor also plays a witty prison guard along with Oyin Oladejo who has her own confidence; and Kwaku Okyere plays the young woman’s protective brother who coldly ‘sells’ her into prostitution when he learns she’s not as pure as he thought.

And while I do say the production is ‘dazzling’ something happened on opening night that also put the production in perspective.

Earlier, there was an accident in which the stage manager was hurt so the apprentice stage manager (ASM) had to step up and learn the whole show in a matter of an hour or so.

There was a delay in starting without explanation (except for those who review being told by a very efficient press agent) and the audience was in a holding pattern in the bar. Finally, after 20 minutes past the start time, there was the announcement and explanation that they needed to keep people safe and take the time to guide the ASM through the show.  At half hour past the start time we were let into the theatre by a circuitous route as a ‘part of the experience.’  

As I’m watching the show, seeing many stage crew scurry in the dark taking props on and off the stage, shifting set pieces, revolving walls, I realize that for all the production’s bells and whistles, the smoke billowing, the fans blowing for effect, the constant pulsing of the accompanying music, that the show is over-produced. Dazzling to be sure, and over-designed and over-produced. A director in the very center of the work, making a statement about his work.

I can appreciate that ted witzel wants to make a statement that Buddies in Bad Times is back with a vengeance, but in context the production is at times self-indulgent and dare I say it, pretentious.

As for Bernard-Marie Koltès’ play it reminded me of the “angry young man” type of work. It’s a fascinating story of a serial killer full of esoteric musings, philosophical comments on loneliness, money, commercialism, society, and class. There are witty literary illusions—to Hamlet for example.

Two guards (Daniel Macivor and Oyin Olaejo)  talk about guarding a prison, and one thinks he heard something and the other is not sure—it is a reworking of the first scene in Hamlet in which a noise terrifies the guard. In Roberto Zucco the playwright is being cute with a literary slant. Fine and dandy. That said, I also found swaths of the play self-indulgent with philosophical musings that slowed down the pace.

I was glad that the apprentice stage manager, Kayla Thomas, was brought out for the company bow at the end, but in truth she should have had her own bow separately from everybody else just so we know who she was. It’s the little things that make the difference.

So, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is back with a vengeance. Buckle up.

Buddies in Bad Times Theatre presents:

Plays until Oct. 5, 2024.

Running time: 2 hours or so (no intermission)

www.buddiesinbadtimes.com

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Live and in person at the Streetcar Crow’s Nest, Toronto, Ont. Plays until Oct. 17, 2024.

www.crowstheatre.com

Written by Henrik Ibsen

A new adaptation by Duncan Macmillan

Directed by Chris Abraham

Set and props by Joshua Quinlan

Costumes by Ming Wong

Lighting by Kimberly Purtell

Sound by Thomas Ryder Payne

Cast: Ben Carlson

Beau Dixon

Virgilia Griffith

Kate Hennig

Diego Matamoros

Jonathan Young

Sturla Alvsvåg

Alicia Richardson

Norman Yeung

Beautifully directed and acted.

The Story. It’s a year after John Rosmer’s wife has died by taking her own life. John Rosmer was a pastor at the local church but he left it because he lost his faith. He felt that his loss of faith led his wife to end her life. He is also the heir to his family’s dynasty. The Rosmer family is one of the leading families in the area. But trouble is brewing. Rebecca West was Rosmer’s wife’s companion when she was dying and Rebecca stayed on in the house after the wife died. She has become very close to John Rosmer and rumours are flying. There is also an impending election about to happen and the divisions in loyalty are forming. Rosmer intends to support the newly elected government following a reformist agenda and not the staid conservatives. But when he announces that to his brother-in-law Andreas Kroll, Kroll is enraged and this defection of the ruling class ideas. Kroll is quite firm in how the classes should behave. Rosmer and Rebecca are haunted by the memory-ghost of Rosmer’s wife; by their love for each other and the guilt they experience because of it; what people will think and the need to move forward but being thwarted.

The Production. Joshua Quinlan’s set takes up the whole room of the theatre. The configuration is similar to Uncle Vanya. The audience sits on four sides of the space. There is little furniture: a large table, a chair etc. On one side are huge glassed doors that look out onto a bridge, a river and scenery. Curtains are on either side of the large glassed doors.

Chris Abraham directs with his customary attention to detail and nuance. There is a heightened emotion to the whole enterprise, indicating the stakes in any instance are high and usually fraught. Governor Andreas Kroll (Ben Carlson) establishes this sense when he arrives in a swirl at Rosmersholm. As Andreas Kroll, Ben Carlson is precise in his clipped speech, commanding and completely confident. Class distinction rules everything he does and with whom he interacts. He holds staunchly to his beliefs and feels that Rosmer has to as well because of his stature in the community. Equally as impassioned is John Rosmer, played with conviction by Jonathan Young. He is also riddled with guilt about the death of his wife and because he loves Rebecca West (Virgilia Griffith). Rebecca West is played by Virgilia Griffith with regal composure, clarity and a steely calmness. She too has strong ideas and holds them close. She also convinces Rosmer to share those ideas. For much of the play there are tugs of war between the ideas and convictions between characters as well as the internal struggles of characters to come to grips with their fears and concerns.

Director Chris Abraham has the confident ability to keep the pace whizzing while subtly ramping up the emotion until the explosive last scene.

That said, I thought that last scene a bit confusing. Something is happening near the bridge and the river and can be seen from the double doors at Rosmersholm. Governor Andreas Kroll bursts into the room looking for Rosmer and can’t find him. He looks around the room and then leaves by another door. I can’t recall him looking out the double doors to see if perhaps Rosmer is there. Without him looking, seeing and being startled by what he is witnessing, the power of that final scene is deflated. I thought that odd-that it didn’t look like Kroll looked out the doors to see what was happening.

Henrik Ibsen wrote Rosmersholm in 1886. It’s interesting how timely the play seems because it talks of an important election coming up and how rancorous it seems, just like our modern times. And there are people in the play who staunchly believe there is only one way to think, just like today. And there is much wisdom too as in Rosmer saying: “Let the people hear all sides” of an argument. There is also this line: “Can’t we disagree without bloodshed?” Wise words ignored because of ignorance.

Comment. I wonder if the people seated in the section beside the wall that has the glassed doors can see anything that happens there. I can see fine. I wonder about the folks in the section to my right—what can they see?

I love the echoes of similar themes in Ibsen, especially the heartfelt belief, trust in people to do the right thing. Rosmer believes that people will see his way of thinking and will support the radically new government. He is emotionally shattered when that doesn’t turn out to be true.

I’m reminded of other trusting Ibsen characters. Nora in A Doll’s House is totally trusting that her husband will take the blame for her forgery when he finds out why she did it. He doesn’t take the blame and she is shattered, is not sure of anything any more and decides to leave him until she finds out who she is first. She closes the door and seeks a new, open life. Note she does not “slam” the door as has been said for the more than 100 years since the play first appeared. The stage direction says “closed the door.” I reckon some disgruntled man, writer, “critic” ranted out that Nora “slammed” the door when she left and that stuck. It’s wrong. She closed the door. She doesn’t need to slam anything to make her point.

Hedda in Hedda Gabler firmly believes she will have all the things and servants that money can buy because she was brought up to expect it. Boy, did she get that wrong. Dr. Stockmann in An Enemy of the People realizes that the town’s water supply is polluted and expects that the people will shut down the new spa because of it, never mind that the town needs tourists. Stockmann believes he will be hailed a hero for it. Boy, did he get that wrong. All these trusting, decent people (for the most part) live in a dream world when it comes down to it. Still Ibsen keeps writing about them. He’s a fascinating playwright and this production of Rosmersholm is a good indication why.

Crow’s Theatre presents:

Plays until Oct. 17, 2024

Running time: 2 hours 30 minutes (1 intermission)

www.crowstheatre.com

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