Live and in person at 4^th Line Theatre, Millbrook, Ont. on Winslow Farm until July 23, 2022.

www.4thlinetheatre.on.ca

Written by Alex Poch-Goldin

Directed by Cynthia Ashperger

Musical direction and original composition by Justin Hiscox

Set, props and sound design by Esther Vincent

Costumes by Laura Delchiaro

Choreography by Bill Coleman

Cast: Indigo Chesser

Colin A. Doyle

Sochi Fried

Matt Gilbert

Justin Hiscox

Mark Hiscox

M. John Kennedy

Sarah McNeilly

Emma Meinhardt

Robert Morrison

Julia Scaringi

Salvatore Scozzari

Madison Sheward

Shelley Simester

A fascinating play about the beginning of the silent film industry in Trenton, Ont. in 1919. Well played and staged.

The Story and production. Since this is a 4^th Line Theatre production, that means that The Great Shadow by Alex Poch-Goldin is original, dealing with an actual event that happened in the area. Writer Alex Poch-Goldin has given himself a huge task. First to write about the beginnings of the film industry in Trenton, Ont. in 1919, to incorporate the fear of Communism coming to Canada into the story, as well as noting the importance of the women’s movement at that time, to try and get the vote for women and to be heard regarding equality, is a huge endeavor.

George Brownridge (Colin A. Doyle) was a young Canadian who wanted desperately to make films (silent at the time) that would reflect things that were important to Canada. He wanted to start in Trenton where he planned on building a studio to make them. He first had to convince the local politicians that there was a need for other films besides the ones they were making about the importance of good oral hygiene. These politicians felt that the money from films could build roads. They felt that Brownridge was a young upstart.

Brownridge felt the money from the films should pay for other films and encourage other Canadians to write, direct and act in them.  But when he got the go ahead to make his first film, about the scourge of Communism, he hired a British director named Harley Knoles (Mark Hiscox)  and two American stars  named: Tyrone Power (M. John Kennedy) and Edna Mayo (Sarah McNeilly).  All real people who in fact were making silent movies.

Also making an appearance in The Great Shadow are Hedda Hopper (Shelley Simester), Louella Parsons (Sochi Fried), both rival gossip columnists and Adolph Zukor (Salvatore Scozzari) the head of Paramount Pictures who had a sneaky scheme to prevent Brownridge from distributing any film he ever made.

I think Poch-Goldin’s play does the job well. He’s done a ton of research and of course Poch-Goldin has a wicked sense of humour that one can see in other plays he’s written—certainly Right Road to Pontypool that he wrote a few years ago for 4^th Line Theatre.

He has many wickedly funny lines about the great Canadian insecurity that always seems to try and defeat anyone from thinking big and can compete in the world with our neighbours to the South. There are endless lines from the smart-suited politicians who think films about tooth-decay aimed at schools is big thinking enough.  There are the snide remarks of the visiting Americans—Louella and Hedda—about how quaint, small, provincial, and backwater, Trenton is. Both Sochi Fried as Louella and Shelley Simester as Hedda are wonderfully arch and snide to each other and Canadian in general.

There’s a wonderful scene in which two tourists are desperate for something to eat and of course it’s Sunday in Trenton, Ont. and nothing is open. So they begin to negotiate to buy a local man’s (a wonderful ‘simple’ but wily Robert Morrison) sandwich. There are lots of jokes about ‘eh’…..

The fear of Communism is everywhere and so Brownridge is making a film about that…but it seems there might be an insider there to thwart him, when he least expected it. The issue of women’s rights is introduced by a determined Marguerite Snow and the idea almost seems tangential until Brownridge incorporates the matter into a film and also has a neat way of distributing it even though Adoph Zukor has tied up all the distribution to the cinemas across the country. He didn’t count on the Canadian ingenuity of George Brownridge.

As usual, the cast is huge, using a lot of kids in the area and well as local citizens who just love being a part of this summer festival. And of course there are professional actors that one often sees from Toronto and environs.

It was directed by Cynthia Ashperger, with a great sense of how to use a large cast and efficiently use the vast land scape of Winslow Farm, where the show takes place. She has many surprises for the audience especially when an American actress wants to make a grand entrance. The cast of professionals and ‘amateur’ actors is fine and committed.

As George Brownridge, Colin A. Doyle is youthful, enthusiastic and has a nimble mind to solve any problem, using the tricks of the people trying to dupe him, to his advantage. Brownridge is the essence of Canadian—he won’t be cowed by anyone and he knows how to fight back using the lessons of his opponents. Sarah McNeilly is compelling and beguiling as Edna Mayo. Madison Sherwood is staunch and forceful as Marguerite Snow, but could use more nuance and less yelling when voicing her comments about women’s rights. She has a lot of smart things to say. Saying them with more variation would be helpful.  Salvatore Scozzari is wonderful as the slippery Adolph Zukor. There are so many more in the cast that are notable.

Comment. It’s always a treat to go to 4^th Line Theatre at Winslow Farm to see a play, outdoors in the barn yard.

This needs to be mentioned. After the Front of House Manager welcomed us and noted some housekeeping rules (turn off the cell phones etc.) she gave a land acknowledgement thanking the Indigenous peoples in the area for taking care of the land. But more important was that she also noted some of the 94 Calls to Action established by the Truth And Reconciliation Commission. If memory serves, here are some of them, and to hear them read out is stunning:

10. We call on the federal government to draft new Aboriginal education legislation with the full participation and informed consent of Aboriginal peoples. The new legislation would include a commitment to sufficient funding and would incorporate the following principles …

11. We call upon the federal government to provide adequate funding to end the backlog of First Nations students seeking a post-secondary education.

13. We call upon the federal government to acknowledge that Aboriginal rights include Aboriginal language rights.

16. We call upon post-secondary institutions to create university and college degree and diploma programs in Aboriginal languages.

And if nothing has been done since they were established, then I think we all must make some NOISE! Leave it to 4^th Line Theatre to make a pointed, important statement in the most elegant way.

4^th Line Theatre presents:

Plays until: July 23, 2022.

Running Time: 2 hours 15 minutes, (1 intermission)

www.4thlinetheatre.on.ca

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Live and in person at the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto, Ont. Until August 14, 2022.

www.mirvish.com

Music and lyrics by Max Martin and friends

Book by David West Read

Directed by Luke Sheppard

Choreographed by Jennifer Weber

Music supervisor, orchestrations and arrangements, Bill Sherman

Scenic design by Soutra Gilmour

Costume designer, Paloma Young

Lighting by Howard Hudson

Sound by Gareth Owen

Video Designer, Andrzej Goulding

What if Juliet didn’t die with Romeo. & Juliet is an explosion of creativity that will leave you giddy with joy and breathless.

The Story. & Juliet asks the question: “What would happen if Juliet didn’t commit suicide when she awoke and found Romeo dead beside her? What if she lived to find her own way in the world?” What if she looked at this as an opportunity get away from her hideous parents and go and make a life for herself? This of course would mean that people were messing with Shakespeare’s play and in this case it’s Mrs. Shakespeare, Anne Hathaway.

Mrs. Shakespeare is feeling forgotten living in Stratford-upon-Avon, taking care of the kids,  while her celebrated husband, William Shakespeare, is away in London writing plays and being celebrated. She tells him she can improve on the play Romeo and Juliet by having Juliet live and go on her own adventures.

And so we follow Juliet to Paris (the city, not the guy her parents want her to marry). She goes with her nurse and her best friend May. She meets and kisses a young man name François whose father insists that he get married. Well, this seems like a perfect meeting, Except there are all sorts of complications, characters keep coming in to make trouble. Shakespeare is one of them. Anne Hathaway holds her own.

The Production. & Juliet is a heart-thumping, loud, raucous, brilliant musical. Writer David West Read (who earned an Emmy Award for writing Schitt’s Creek), has come up with the idea. I call it brilliant because David West Read has such a comedic gift, mixing Shakespeare, puns, lines from other Shakespeare plays and ramping up the stakes in each complication.

He also reflects the world we live in: gender fluidity; being true to oneself; loving the person you want to, not the person you are told you have to love, and there is nothing inevitable in relationships, not even if Shakespeare is involved.

The music and lyrics are by Max Martin and friends and while it is generally called a jukebox musical, where existing songs are used to forward the story, it’s done with such cleverness and wit that it will keep you shaking your head at the smartness of it all. Every single song is perfectly placed in this musical and adds a tweak to the moment.

“I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Women by Britney Spears is sung by May (a moving Justin David Sullivan) and gives it such a stunning, revelatory, poignant twist. Juliet (Lorna Courtney) sings “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor that is a battle cry of a woman coming into her own. Lorna Courtney as Juliet is a powerhouse. She a strong singer, a wonderful dancer and an actress with such grace and subtlety.

Stark Sands plays Shakespeare with boyish swagger as one would expect of this character, and sings beautifully. Betsy Wolfe as Anne Hathaway is fearless as a woman also coming into her own. As the Nurse Melanie La Barrie is not only delicious comic relief, she is also wise, wily and magically finds her own happiness when she least expected it. Paulo Szot as Lance is a revelation of humour, irreverence and unexpected macho comedy in leather pants and a codpiece. And of course, this trained opera singer sings like a dream.  

It’s directed with such imagination and wit by Luke Sheppard who keeps the action moving but always in focus. Soutra Gilmour’s set is properly eye-popping for those needing dazzle in their musicals. Jennifer Weber has choreographed this with breathless creativity and explosive energy.

& Juliet will leave you smiling and elated at the end, and you will have new respect for Shakespeare, but especially Anne Hathaway. Alas Juliet’s parents are still hideous.

Comment. & Juliet has played for two years in London’s West End and will open on Broadway in October. It has all the dazzle and pizzazz many need in their Broadway musicals. But it has wit, heart, imagination and thought that will take you deeper into the story and reflects our complex, changing world. Brilliant.

David Mirvish Presents:

Plays until: August 14, 2022

Running Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

www.mirvish.com

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Live and in person at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Distillery District, Toronto, Ont. Co-produced by Native Earth Performing Arts and Soulpepper Theatre Company.  Playing until July 24, 2022.

www.soulpepper.ca

NOTE: I received the following e-mail ( Sunday, July 3) from Native Earth Performing Arts and Soulpepper who are producing Kamloopa, written and directed by Kim Senklip Harvey, which I saw July 2: 

 

 

“THANK YOU FOR COMING TO SEE KAMLOOPA!

Dear Lynn,

Thank you for coming out to the theatre to see Kamloopa by Kim Senklip Harvey, co-produced with Native Earth Performing Arts! We sincerely hope you enjoyed the show – and if so, would appreciate your help in spreading the word in getting people back out to live theatre! Join the conversation on social media using #spKamloopa or simply tell your friends what you thought of the show!

We are especially grateful to you for coming to support live theatre and we hope to see you again soon!

— Everyone at Native Earth & Soulpepper”

Hmmmmmm. Troubling and confusing. Those few of us who still write reviews were in fact asked not to write reviews of Kamloopa by writer/director Kim Senklip Harvey, via the press offices of both Native Earth Performing Arts and Soulpepper Theatre company. Press tickets would not be given, as is the norm, in exchange for a review.

As per this e-mail from both Native Earth Performing Arts and Soulpepper press offices:

“Regarding reviewing the show, we are not inviting critics to review Kamloopa. In this way, we are not giving typical media accreditation for review at the opening but would still love to invite you to come and engage with the work as an audience member on any other performance date. There is no requirement, expectation, or traditional ask for a review with this invitation.

We will be focusing instead on uplifting and highlighting the audience’s experiences and responses – particularly that of the Indigenous audience to the show.”

Hmmmmm. “…focusing on uplifting and highlighting the audience’s experience and responses….” But isn’t that what a review is, at its simplest? And isn’t a theatre critic really an ‘embedded member of an audience’ already? Seems like a lot of mis-information of what a review actually is, who it’s for and who writes it.

And as we gladly embrace a world of inclusion, unity and diversity, I must confess that …”focusing instead on uplifting and highlighting the audience’s experiences and responses—particularly that of the Indigenous audience to the show” seems counter to “inclusion, unity and diversity. It seems like preferring one audience at the expense of the other. Now that can’t be right. Why aren’t both audiences embraced equally? Who speaks for ‘the other audience’?

I think of the elegant program note (for Kamloopa) of Native Earth’s Artistic Director, Keith Barker who wrote: “Indigenous stories are vital to the cultural narrative of this country, and Native Earth remains dedicated to sharing the Indigenous experience through live performance. Like the Two Row Wampum Treaty, we believe the only way to move forward in a good way, is side by side, together. These relationships allow us to better understand each other in meaningful ways….”

I felt that the fairest, most equitable way of expressing my opinion, ‘spreading the word’ if you will, was to buy a ticket (not to opening night) and write my review of what I experienced at Kamloopa. Here’s the review:

Written and directed by Kim Senklip Harvey

Set by Daniela Masellis

Costumes by Samantha McCue

Sound and composition by Alaska B

Lighting, video and projection design by potatoCakes_digital

Choreography and movement director, Aria Evans

Cast: Yolanda Bonnell

Samantha Brown

Kaitlyn Yott

A raucous, free-wheeling, wild story of sisterly love, of buying into the clichés held by others and being tweaked by a Trickster to embracing ones’ identity.

The Story. Kilawna and Mikaya are sisters living together in an apartment. They experience the usual sibling frustrations. Kilawna is the older sister, more serious, seems to be the neater of the two and always picks up after Mikaya. She works in an office. Mikaya is irreverent, is a student but often misses class, much to the consternation of Kilawna. Both sisters lament insensitive comments they receive as Indigenous women: Kilawna from her white supervisor and Mikaya from her ‘liberal’ course instructor of Indigenous studies. (While Kamloopa was published in 2018 and won the Governor General’s Award in 2020, I wonder when playwright Kim Senklip Harvey has set the play since the comments from Kilawna’s supervisor would not be tolerated within the last three years, and a white liberal would not be accepted as an instructor for an Indigenous course within the same time period.).

The sisters decide to have an evening out where they meet the mysterious ‘Indian Friend # 1 (also known as ‘the Trickster) who appears in their apartment the next day. The Indian Friend #1 tells the sisters that she is going to instruct them in how to be a proud Indigenous Woman. This involves a road trip (with Kilawna driving) to Kamloopa, the name of the largest powwow in Western Canada just outside Kamloops, B.C.—a celebration of dance, song and Indigenous ceremonies of joy.

The Production. The play opens with Mikaya (Kaitlyn Yott) sleeping on the couch. The kitchen is at the back (set by Daniela Masellis). Stuff is strewn on the floor. Kilawna (Samantha Brown) enters with a laundry basket, sees her sister sleeping on the couch, sighs, and begins to pick up stuff on the floor to tidy. This seems to be a regular routine. Mikaya wakes suddenly from what doesn’t seem to be a restful sleep. Over the course of the play she will also have breathing issues that are more symbolically present than indicate health issues. The breathing issues can be seen as Mikaya being at odds with her Indigeneity until she fully embraces it, and she breathes easier.

As Kilawna, Samantha Brown is serious, resigned at having to pick up after her sister and perhaps burdened by what is happening at work. Kaitlyn Yott plays Mikaya with a lively prickliness as the younger sister. There is a real sense of impatience between the interplay of the sisters as Kilawna tries to rouse her sister to go to class and be more responsible and Mikaya balking at her sister’s nagging.

The sisters seem united in their concern of what white people think of them as Indigenous women. They feel the pressure of what others think of them and all Indigenous people, no matter what the stereotype. Mikaya is the one to suggest a night out. The next morning they discover Indian Friend #1 (The Trickster), a fearless, irreverent Yolanda Bonnell, who takes charge and tells the sisters she is going to teach them how to be true Indians. (Of course, the Trickster is exactly that—a spirit that fools people into believing one thing that might not be true). Most of the robust, raw humour is supplied by an animated Yolanda Bonnell. But this Trickster is a true Indian Friend #1 and also speaks truths to the sisters. She tells them they are going on a road trip (actually about one day’s travel with a camping stop at night) to “Kamloopa, to learn about their Indigenous culture.  Indian Friend # 1 tells the sisters late in Act II they have to stop tearing each other apart and that seems to be the catalyst that sets them on the road to healing, finding their Indigenous roots and embracing the symbolic animals and ancestors on the way. 

Kudos to potatoCakes_digital for the video and projection design. Images of a coyote (Senklip) a grizzly bear and a raven are projected on screens at the back of the set as the three women drive through the beautiful land on the road to Kamloops. Indian Friend # 1 refers to Kilawna as “Grizzly Bear and that image becomes part of Kilawna’s identity as she goes deeper into her cultural discovery.” Mikaya is the coyote with similar melding of images. Yolanda Bonnell as Indian Friend #1 holds out her arms and gracefully turns her body embracing the image of the raven who oversees everything.

Kim Senklip Harvey’s play is rich in Indigenous ancestral images, reference to sacred animals, lines occasionally given in ǹsǝⅼxciǹ are not translated in the play but are translated in the text of the play, which I bought and read before-hand. (The text also has essays about protocols and intention which I didn’t read. The play should make the playwright’s intentions clear to all viewers and their various life experiences.)

The play is dense with irreverent jokes, songs, frequent moments of animosity to settlers and the sisters’ perceived assumption that the settlers are constantly trying to keep them down all the time. Fortunately, Indian Friend # 1 acts as the voice that one hopes takes both sisters away from that constant blaming of others for their insecurity and forward to accept their Indigeneity with pride. Still at 2 hours and 20 minutes with an intermission, Kamloopa could do with cutting to tighten the story.

Comment. The coyote (senklip) is sacred to Indigenous culture (as are all animals) and Kim Senklip Harvey got the idea for the play when she was driving on her traditional Syilx territories and accidentally hit a coyote. The play evolved from there as a celebration of Indigenous women. Kim Senklip Harvey also writes in her programme note: “Crashing into my animal (the coyote) was a calling from the other worlds to help keep Indigenous women alive and that’s what Kamloopa: An Indigenous Matriarch Story is. It is my humble offer to ignite the power that lives within Indigenous women and peoples. This play…is my love letter to Indigenous women who deserve spaces and stories that honour the multidimensional nature of our very existence…”

Mention must also be made of those on whose sturdy shoulders Kim Senklip Harvey and emerging playwrights are standing—the Indigenous playwrights and artists who have been giving space and voice to Indigenous women and people for at least 40 years (through Native Earth, Soulpepper and other companies): Tomson Highway, Marie Clements, Drew Hayden Taylor, Monique Mojica, Jani Lauzon, Yvette Nolan, Cheri Maracle, Columpa C. Bobb, Daniel David Moses, Tracey Nepinak and Tara Beagan, to name only a few.

The clear focus of this production of Kamloopa is that it is intended for Indigenous women without explanation to other audiences. The group of Indigenous women at my performance were given a shout-out and considered “Honoured Guests” by the cast.  But as with all theatre that is very specific, universal aspects are evident as we reflect our own cultures and life experiences by watching the play. I note there are other cultures that seem to perceive themselves as constant victims of oppression by others as Kilawna and Mikaya lament their lot in life to the oppression of settlers, until Indian Friend # 1 tells them to embrace their Indigeneity.  

Considering that the play is meant for an Indigenous audience I wonder why the play is performed in the rigid confines of a theatre, looking only forward in ‘rigid’ seats, instead of in an inclusive, embracing, fluid circle where, according to my readings and teachings by elders, Indigenous storytelling is told.  

Co-produced by Native Earth Performing Arts and Soulpepper Theatre Company:

Playing until: July 24, 2022.

Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes, (including 1 intermission)

www.soulpepper.ca

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MT SPACE in Kitchener, Ontario sent this heartbreaking message on Facebook regarding the unexpected passing of Majdi Bou-Matar, a visionary theatre creator, maker, director, leader and theatre ‘wunderkind’.

“It saddens us deeply to share that our beloved friend, colleague, and founder of MT Space, Majdi Bou-Matar, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday (June 18, 2022) evening. We are devastated by this news and will be taking time and space to move through this grieving process together at MT Space.

Majdi touched a lot of lives and was truly a trailblazer in our industry—nationally and internationally…We will do everything we can to continue his legacy as he gave us a glimpse into what an inclusive future could look like.

There is much more to say about Majdi, his enormous contribution to our communities, and what we have all lost. We will issue a formal tribute when the shock of his passing allows.”

I was introduced to Majdi Bou-Matar’s wonderful work in April 2011, when Andy McKim, then the Artistic Director of Theatre Passe Muraille, programmed a production of The Last 15 Seconds from MT Space in Kitchener, in the Backspace of TPM. Andy has a keen sense of seeing talent in people. He recognized in so many people a strong, compelling voice to tell a different story, that needed to be told. Because of Andy those of us hungry to hear all sorts of different theatre stories were introduced to Anusree Roy with her stories of life in India and Majdi Bou-Matar with stories from his beloved Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East, just to name two of many.

Seeing The Last 15 Seconds was like an explosion of creativity.  At the centre of that creativity was Madji Bou-Matar. Here is part of my Slotkinletter review of that production from April 8, 2011

“THE LAST 15 SECONDS

by LYNN on APRIL 8, 2011

Trevor Copp, Pam Patel, Anne-Marie Donovan

At Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. Co-created by Majdi Bou-Matar, Trevor Copp, Anne-Marie Donovan, Nada Homsi, Gary Kirkham, Pam Patel and Alan K. Sapp. Directed by Majdi Bou-Matar. Set by Sheree Tams and William Chesney. Costumes by Sheree Tams. Lighting by Jennifer Jimenez. Music by Nick Storring. Starring: Trevor Copp, Anne-Marie Donovan, Nada Homsi, Pam Patel and Alan K. Sapp.

Produced by The MT Space (Kitchener-Waterloo) in association with Theatre Passe Muraille.

On November 9, 2005 Rawad Jassem Mohammed Abed walked into a wedding celebration in a hotel in Amman, Jordan and detonated the explosives around his waist. Among the people he killed besides himself, were the celebrated Syrian film director Mustapha Akkad and his daughter Rima, the bride at this celebration.

The Last 15 Seconds details who these people were; their histories; their hopes, dreams and frustrations. It also creates an imagined conversation after the fact, between Mustapha Akkad and Rawad Abed.

Mustapha always wanted to be a film director when growing up in Syria. His father wanted him to be a doctor. But he supported his son’s wish and gave him $200 when Mustapha left for America to study film and begin his career. To fund his passion for making films celebrating his people and their history, Mustapha produced the Halloween series of horror-slasher movies.

Rawad Abed grew up in a family of women in Iraq. On the day he was born Rawad’s father was killed in one of the four wars the boy would experience by the time he was 15. His childhood friends died in various killings, his family’s neighbours perished too. Hate for occupying forces and frustration at the situation festered in Rawad, until he decided to do what he could to lash out; he and his bride would be suicide bombers and die together in that Jordanian hotel. Only his wife couldn’t bring herself to do it at the last minute.

The Last 15 Seconds is a harrowing, gut-wrenching story to be sure, but it is told with such artful elegance and vivid imagination by MT Space Theatre, that it is both compelling and incredibly moving. Using movement, dance, video projections, vocals, acting, and text, it shows us so many aspects of these stories and none of them is a black and white condemnation.

In one conversation between Mustapha and Rawad, Mustapha directs Rawad as if in a film, to explain his position as a martyr. Time and time again, Mustapha urges Rawad to be truthful, passionate and clear.

In another scene, Rawad explains his actions because he wanted to be a hero like Salahadeen, one of the most celebrated figures in Muslim history. Mustapha challenges him by saying that his suicide bombing proved nothing and helped nobody. And that Mustapha’s next film, had he lived, would be a celebration of Salahadeen’s life.

Trevor Copp as Rawad and Alan K. Sapp as Mustafa are very fine. The cast of five as a whole is terrific.

The images created by director Majdi Bou-Matar and his company are breathtaking. Rawad, first starring at Mustapha sitting at a table, and then ripping at his clothes to detonate the explosives, segues into a projection on the back wall of the wedding banquet with many tables of celebrants, that then dissolves into chaos, noise and falling bodies.

Piles of clothes that are dropped on the floor represent either bodies of the dead or their clothes. Women frantically pick through the piles looking for their loved ones often results in the terrible discovery. Very moving.

Mustapha’s mother, stroking his face and chest, as she says good-by to him as he goes to American, wishing him to make a difference by thinking with his head and heart, is delicate and so effective. Image after image takes a terrible thing, creates art, and makes us look and understand.

The women play members of both Rawad’s and Mustapha’s family’s with a simple change of costume. In the end both family’s are shattered by the suicide bombing and we grieve for all of them without hesitation.

This is theatre at its heart-squeezing, compelling best and guiding the vivid creation is Majdi Bou-Matar. Theatre Passe Muraille under Andy McKim, in its quiet, tenacious way is producing this important kind of theatre as a matter of course.”

I looked out for Majdi’s work after that. Here are some of the reviews of the productions I was lucky to see:

“Adrenaline

(SummerWorks, Aug. 2018 at the Theatre Centre).

Written and performed by Ahmad Meree—(another brilliant discovery, all because of Majdi Bou-Matar)

Directed by Majdi Bou-Matar

Set by Majdi Bou-Matar

Sound by Colin Labadie

Original music by Colin Labadie.

Done in Arabic with English surtitles.

Jaber is a young Syrian man spending his first New Year’s Eve in Canada. He’s cold.  He thinks back to the previous year’s New Year’s in Syria where he was with his family, mindful of the possibility of bombs dropping or soldiers invading their home at any moment.

In the safety of Canada he sits down to a meal of pizza and coke and talks to his parents and his young brother. They are cleverly depicted: his mother is a stand-up fan with a large scarf around the curve of the fan and wrapped around the neck of the fan. His father is a jacket neatly hanging on a coat tree and his brother is a round gas tank with a red hockey sweater over it.

Jaber talks to his parents and brother in turn with tenderness, humour and a loving wistfulness. The firecrackers that go off to bring in the New Year here have a chilling resonance for Jaber as they also sound like bombs in his native Syria.

We see a family that loves each other and how Jaber tries to maintain that love and connection. Then the reality of the situation sinks in. We cannot hear these stories  enough of survival, determination and the horrors that refugees and immigrants have endured.

This piece of work is stunning in every single way—from the gripping writing to the inventive direction of Majdi Bou-Matar to the arresting acting of Ahmed Meree (who also wrote it). I would travel anywhere to see theatre this good. Fortunately the Theatre Centre is closer.”

“Besbouss

(Nov. 19, 2019, at Streetcar Crowsnest.)

“The production is directed by the hugely gifted Majdi Bou-Matar. While Bou-Matar came to Canada (he lives in Kitchener) from his native Lebanon his heart and mind are certainly focused on the revolution that is happening across Lebanon now. It certainly informs this production.  Bou-Matar brings a vivid sense of imagery to his productions and there is that as well as a muscularity and sensitivity in every aspect of Besbouss-Autopsy of a Revolt.

I’m grateful that Majdi Bou-Matar is back in Toronto directing—we see too little of his work here. I first saw his breathtaking production of The Last 15 Seconds at the Backspace of Theatre Passe Muraille. Then at Summerworks a year ago he directed Adrenaline by Ahmed Maree.  Both are harrowing stories of immigrants and people dealing with horrific events in their home countries. Bou-Matar will be returning to Toronto with two shows: Suitcase and Adrenaline in the new year. Don’t miss them.

Comment. Majdi Bou-Matar creates theatre in Kitchener. For about 10 years he curated the IMPACT Festival of international productions in Kitchener. I saw several stunning productions of this past festival from Tunisia, Ecuador, Iran, Six Nations from Toronto (a devastating piece called The Mush Hole about residential schools) and Montreal. The breadth and quality of the productions programmed are astonishing. Majdi Bou-Matar’s determination, artistry and vision are impressive and much needed. Why isn’t Majdi Bou-Matar in Toronto at Harbourfront, resurrecting the moribund World Stage Festival?”

For my annual TOOTSIE AWARDS for excellence, I awarded Madji Bou-Matar:

”A Man of Many Talents Award (Dec. 2019—Tootsie Award)

Majdi Bou-Matar

Majdi Bou-Matar is a director-artistic director, curator, creator of art, originally from Lebanon but now relocated to Kitchener, Ont. where he ran MT Space. His productions are arresting in their vision with a deep sense of story-telling. I first saw his production of The Last 15 Seconds in the Backspace of Theatre Passe Muraille (thank you Andy McKim). Jaw-dropping. I looked out for his work ever since. For the past 10 years he was the Founder and Artistic Director of the IMPACT Festival that brought a diverse roster of plays and productions from the Middle East, across Canada and South America to Kitchener. I finally was able to see many of those productions. Again, jaw-dropping in their impact. He is slowly doing more work in Toronto.”

The loss to the theatre of this gifted man is incalculable. Majdi Bou-Matar told stories we needed to hear and experience. He took us into another world to understand the harrowing world of the immigrant, the refugee, people who were displaced and aching at leaving their homeland. He did it in a graceful, gripping, muscular way that was also embracing. His vivid images will never leave my memory.

Is loss is devastating.

Lynn Slotkin

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Live and in person at the Harvest Stage, Blyth, Ont. until July 16, 2022.

www.blythfestival.com

Written by Michael Healey

Directed by Gil Garratt

Set and Lighting by Steve Lucas

Sound by Lyon Smith

Costumes by Jennifer Triemstra-Johnston

Musicians: Graham Hargrove

Anne Lederman

Cast: Jonathan Goad

Randy Hughson

Cameron Laurie

A play about friendship and kindness.

The Story. The more productions I see of Michael Healey’s beautiful classic play, The Drawer Boy, the more the definition of what the play is really about changes. Sure it’s about a strong friendship and about guilt at hiding a secret, and kindness, and opening one’s house to a stranger who wants to learn about farming, and really about all of this. But for this production of the Blyth Festival, it’s kindness that wins out.

Morgan and Angus have been friends since childhood. They grew up together. Angus was a talented artist and beautiful drawer, hence the name “The Drawer Boy”. Morgan was destined to be a farmer. They both signed up to fight in WWII and stuck close together to keep out of harm’s way.  But one night in London, England when they were on leave, Angus was hurt in a freak accident, needed a steel plate put in his head as a result and lost his memory. Both men came back to Canada to farm together on a farm—Morgan took care of Angus and Angus did whatever chores he could. It was a very compatible situation.

But then Miles shows up. Miles was an actor from Toronto who had come to the country with a company of actors to learn about farming from the local farmers and would then put on a play about what they had learned. Miles just knocked on the door one day asking to follow Morgan and Angus around to learn about farming. Morgan and Angus got to know Miles, and Miles was eager to learn what they had to tell him, even if Morgan took full advantage of Miles being gullible.

The Production. The Harvest Stage continues to be beautiful, with a comfortable covering above our heads, giving some relief from the sun. The sun is setting over there, behind those trees and the pinks and oranges of the sky makes one want to just get up and go over there and see how glorious the sky is. But first we have this glorious play and Gil Garratt’s glorious production.

Steve Lucas has created a neat, efficient kitchen of a counterspace up stage with a fridge and stove incorporated. A table and chairs are down from that. Angus (Randy Hughson) appears from the door stage left. He wears a baseball cap, work clothes and sturdy boots. He looks a bit confused as if he’s not sure where he is. He goes to the bread box and pulls out a full loaf of sliced bread and gets some mustard and some sliced meat from the fridge and makes a sandwich, that he puts on a plate on the table. Morgan (Jonathan Goad) comes in from outside. Angus says, “Morgan, hello.” With barely a nod Morgan goes to the table, takes a bite out of the sandwich and leaves with the sandwich. Angus pauses slightly without emotion, then goes and makes another sandwich again, putting the sandwich on the plate to eat.

Miles (Cameron Laurie) appears by another outside door and knocks. Angus goes to the door to see who that is. Miles goes into a rush of introduction that says that he’s an actor with a visiting company of actors and is there to learn about how farmers to their work so that they can do a play about the experience. Angus listens without emotion. “Miles, hello.” Angus says that he has to ask Morgan about this to give permission. Then he closes the door on Miles, goes back to his sandwich, as Miles waits and waits and waits.

In this introductory scene we get the sense of Angus and his mental issues, as Randy Hughson as Angus, delicately, gently creates a portrait of a man who is perhaps simple-minded, methodical, efficient, neat but obviously has issues with connection and subtleties. And the way Hughson plays him, he is endearing as well. Jonathan Goad as Morgan takes charge and takes sandwiches without wondering if it’s for him or Angus. He’s initially gruff but that’s a veneer. As Miles, Cameron Laurie portrays a man out of his depth and awkward about it. He’s polite, accommodating, anxious to please, respectful and eager to make this work. He’s an actor who wants his contribution, other than the impression of a cow, to be used in the final show.

Miles is allowed to stay with Morgan and Angus and we see Morgan’s impish sense of humour—asking Miles to wash the stones in the pathway only to throw them in the culvert. Talking about rotating crops that afternoon—and Miles thinking this is reasonable. Miles has a trick or two himself.

There is a mystery about what happened to Angus and Miles inadvertently finds out about it by overhearing Morgan tell Angus ‘the story.’ And Miles uses that story in the finished play, One could question if the results were disastrous or fitting, but that’s part of the many layers of discovery in Michael Healey’s gentle play of friendship.

With Jonathan Goad as Morgan we see a man who is consumed with guilt at something that happened to Angus and his efforts to keep Angus safe, happy and cared for. Goad warns Miles in a quiet, pointed voice not to push too hard for the truth. We also see in Randy Hughson as Angus, a man who ‘remembers’ something in his murky memory and the emotion of the man gradually reveals itself. There is so much depth in these performances and in the production as directed by Gil Garratt. Garratt directs with such nuance and care. What I got from this production was not just a play of a profound friendship, but one of heart-squeezing kindness.

I do have a quibble. Musicians, Graham Hargrove on various percussive instruments and Anne Lederman on violin provide music as the audience fills in. Terrific. But they also provide musical and sound effects during the production and I found that intrusive and unnecessary. It ads a fussiness to the production that’s not necessary.

A quibble…..at its heart this is such a wonderful play and this production does it proud.  

Comment. Fifty years ago this June, a group of actors, led by director Paul Thompson, came to Clinton, Ontario, to create a new kind of theatre. They wanted to create a play about farming in that area. The farmers were inviting, trusting and accommodating to these actors and the resulting show was The Farm Show.

In 1995, actor Michael Healey was a member of the Blyth Festival Company and heard about the creation of The Farm Show and decided to write his own play about that creation and the idea of The Drawer Boy was born. The play was developed at the Blyth Festival in 1995, 1996 and 1997. It has become a Canadian classic and has played all over the country and internationally.  

Presented by the Blyth Festival:

Runs until July 16, 2022.

Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes, (1 intermission)

www.blythfestival.com

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Live and in person at the Shaw Festival until Oct. 8, 2022.

www.shawfest.com

Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Directed by László Bérczes

Movement director, Alexis Milligan

Set by Balázs Cziegler

Costumes designed by Sim Suzer

Lighting by Kevin Lamotte

Music direction, original music and sound design by Claudio Vena

Cast: Andrew Broderick

Sharry Flett

Patrick Galligan

Deborah Hay

Julie Lumsden

Michael Man

Alana Randall

Kiera Sangster

Travis Seetoo

Donna Soares

Terrific Play. Hard-working cast, odd production, set that needs to chop down a tree, beautiful though it is.

The Story. That secretive playwright, Anonymous, wrote Everyman, a medieval morality play, in the 15^th century. It was a play about Death and living one’s life well and wisely. Then in 2018 the wonderful American playwright, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins adapted the play to a modern sensibility and called it Everybody. 

Here is the description of the play as per the back flap of the text of Everybody: “This modern riff on the fifteenth century morality play Everyman follows “Everybody” as they journey through life’s greatest mystery—the meaning of life.”

Actually, it’s a little murkier than that. “Everybody” has to prepare for a voyage of no return—to death—and in the process of course, it’s hoped learns the meaning of life and how to live it well.

But before “Everybody” takes that one-way death trip, “Everybody” has to prepare a presentation for God about what they have learned. And the play is funny too!

The Production. (NOTE: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has added a bit of spice to the proceedings.  The part of “Everybody” is chosen from a group of six actors by lottery. Six actors are ‘slotted’ to play “Everybody” which means all six have to memorize 14 different parts that indicates what part they will play for that performance: Love, Evil, Understanding etc. So one person is picked at “Everybody” and the other five take on other parts, such as Love, Evil, Understanding, etc. )

Set designer, Balázs Cziegler, has covered the whole surface of the playing area with artificial grass that also goes up the stairs to each section of the theatre. The audience sits on all four sides of the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre. In the central playing area there are a few mounds of grass on a flat mat of grass. There are several boulders around the space on which characters will sit and in the middle of the playing area is the most beautiful, willowy tree that looks like the outline of a curvy woman, with branches that go up and out with dark reddish leaves on the ends. I smile. This is an equal opportunity obstructing tree. At every second of this sometimes funny, generally maddening production, is that bloody tree, guaranteed to obstruct the view of every single person in that theatre. This tree is not symbolic of the Tree of Knowledge—much too late in history for that. Nope this tree was vital for hanging a necklace on one of its branches which one character would remove, ONCE, in the whole production. For the rest of the production, the tree just got in the way of entrances, exits and speeches by characters. Exhale.   

As the audience files in they are prepared that the show is about to begin when an Usher (Deborah Hay) enters the Jackie Maxwell Studio Theatre, wearing a bone fide Shaw Festival usher’s uniform. and gets our attention quickly.  She stands very close to one of the entrances, unobtrusive.  “Clap once if you hear me.” We clap once. As more people are aware things are happening, she says, perhaps a bit louder, “Clap twice if you hear me.” We clap twice, louder. And then when we are silent, she says, “Clap three times if you hear me.” And we do and she has our undivided attention.  Deborah Hay as the Usher has that wonderful sense of awkwardness that a person, such as an Usher, would display if they had to do public speaking. The Usher talks about some philosophical stuff and reacts to the self-deprecation. Hay is wonderful here. She waits while we turn off our cell phones. She explains what ‘silence’ and ‘Do Not Disturb’ mean and how they don’t mean what we hope they should mean with a cell phone.

The cast quietly enters the space with the audience and takes seats among us. They are casually dressed and fit in quite nicely, except for that gentleman over there in pants, a jacket and a Shaw Festival t-shirt. He’s quietly snoring. He is Patrick Galligan. And when it’s time for the lottery to take place to pick who will play “Everybody” and the other characters, Galligan is ‘awoken’ so he can enter the playing space to pick a random ball from a rotating case that indicates his/the characters.

Director László Bérczes has left this a bit messy. Actors pick a ball and open it to reveal a wide swath of material which holds the clue to the character they will play. The problem is that when the actor unfurls the material one can’t decipher what it says to know what character they are playing. Frustrating. For my performance Donna Soares is chosen as “Everybody.” Soares illuminates the angst, gut-squeeze one would get when you know you have to make a journey to which you will not return. It’s a thoughtful, committed performance.

Other characters quietly reveal themselves. Across the aisle from me is a stylish woman in a short, white wig, a yellow outfit and yellow sandals, one of which she has taken off. This is “Death” played by a buoyant Sharry Flett, who gathers her stuff and the one sandal and goes down to the playing area. Over the course of the play, Sharry Flett will appear in a track-suit with a kind of skull emblem, using walking sticks and the most cheerful disposition as she leads her ‘followers’ around the stage.  

While “Everybody” has to prepare a presentation for God about how she lived her life,  many of the other characters are surprised that God even exists. This is a gentle joke on the part of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins rendered meaningless by director László Bérczes’ direction of Deborah Hay who plays God. This time Hay is dressed in a weird silver jumpsuit costume (Sim Suzer is the designer) goggles and holding a microphone through which Hay is directed to bellow, producing a wobbly sound that distorts everything she says. Are we to believe that people would doubt the existence of God if this bellowing, ostentatious rendition was out there? I don’t think so. I don’t criticize the gifted actress playing God—I question the lack of thought of the director.

László Bérczes has several scenes played in totally darkness with only the faces of cast members illuminated by the screens of cell phones. Disconcerting. This takes the audience out of the action and the argument and alienates them.

Comment.  Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins has rethought Everybody to speak to our modern world. He asks us to ponder our world, how we live our lives, to live better, recycle, eat healthy, cherish life and live it well. The cast are committed to realizing the play. But for the most part László Bérczes’ direction and that damned tree thwarts them at almost every turn.

Produced by the Shaw Festival

Plays until: Oct. 8, 2022.

Running Time: 1 hour, 40 minutes, (no intermission).

www.shawfest.com

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Some final words on the Talk is Free Theatre (TIFT) Production of Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

My original review of this production is here:

Review: SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

We have a lot of wonderful theatre in Toronto at the moment, vibrant, creative, bracing. But the TIFT production of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street (on until July 3) has everybody buzzing who has seen it. It’s sold out with good reason. This small production is the theatre event of the moment. Bravo to Talk is Free CEO Arkady Spivak for working his magic to bring this production to Toronto.

I intended to see the opening, June 10, but was stuck on the tarmac at Pearson Airport by customs who were overwhelmed by travelers, when I returned from England, so I saw the June 11 performance.

I love this musical and that production I saw on June 11 was brilliant.  I knew I would want to see it again, looking for loopholes, so I bought a ticket a month ago (I knew tickets would be scarce) and saw the Friday, June 24 production. Loopholes? There were none, just a stunning production directed by Mitchell Cushman who thought out every single second that realized Stephen Sondheim’s gripping, heartbreaking musical.

It’s playing in a Church on Gerrard Street East and every section that is used illuminates moments, scenes, ideas and Sondheim’s beautiful score. You look in the eyes of every single character, including a mysterious addition, who are as close as the person sitting next to you. Their stares are urgent and gripping. As Sweeney Todd, Michael Torontow is haunted again, possessed with a blazing hot need for revenge. Glynis Ranney as Mrs. Lovett is both adorable, charming and scary. As the Beggar Woman, Gabi Epstein is unhinged, watchful, knowing but so overwhelmed with despair that it’s hidden. Cyrus Lane as Judge Turpin is frightening because he is seductively charming and yet evil. Every performance seemed richer to me, deeper and so committed when I saw it Friday.

The musicians work like crazy shifting locations from floor to floor. But the unsung heroes are the front of house staff: Matthew McQuarrie-Cottle, Claire Allen and Joshua Kilimnik. Not only do they check us in, give us water, see that we wear masks and maneuver the space safely and efficiently, they also tend to those people who need extra help with accessibility. They personally help each person, who has alerted them, to the next site in the production, chairs are saved for these folks in various scenes and every effort is made to ensure that people who need a bit of extra time are at the next scene in time. They are cheerful, efficient, helpful, respectful and one of the many reasons that Talk Is Free Theatre is one of the best theatre companies in this province.

What a gift Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is and what a glorious company Talk Is Free Theatre is.  

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At the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Distillery Distillery District, Toronto, Ont. Playing until June 26, 2022.

www.soulpepper.ca

Written by Kevin Loring

Directed by Jani Lauzon

Set by Ken MacKenzie

Costumes by Samantha McCue

Lighting by Arun Srinivasan

Sound by James Dallas Smith

Video and projection design by Samay Arcentales Cajas

Cast: Oliver Dennis

Sheldon Elter

Craig Lauzon

Valerie Planche

Tara Sky

James Dallas Smith

Very moving play. Beautifully done.

The Story. Kevin Loring’s play is an Indigenous story that takes place in Lytton, B.C. Years ago—not recently when the whole town practically burned down last year because of raging forest fires in British Columbia. Floyd and Mooch are best friends. They spend most of their time in George’s bar where Mooch is usually “mooching” drinks from his friend Floyd. Hence the name “Mooch.” To make matters worse, Mooch is unemployed, troubled and usually steals his girlfriend June’s money to buy beer. She’s saving the money either to buy groceries or pay bills. Floyd has a job, but he is troubled too…hence the drinking.

The root of the drinking is that both men went to a Residential School when they were kids and while it’s not detailed what they endured, we can imagine from what we’ve heard and read in the media. Also, Floyd and his late wife Annie had a daughter Christine but because of a tragedy that happened to Annie, Christine was taken away from Floyd because he couldn’t take care of her properly and Christine was adopted by another family. Now Christine has written to her father that she wants to come and see him to learn about her Indigenous culture, heritage etc. She lives in the city, and comes to the wilds of B.C. to meet her father and Floyd is anxious about it. He thinks he’s inadequate and is embarrassed and haunted by the fact that he couldn’t take care of her properly.

The Production.  Musician, James Dallas Smith is a constant presence in this production, wearing a cream-coloured suit with cowboy hat, playing guitar that adds sound and music to the production.

The production is directed by Jani Lauzon and it’s terrific and sensitive. Ken MacKenzie has designed a “mobile” of written letters suspended about the stage. They are symbolic of the letters that Christine wrote to her father Floyd and they are a constant presence in her and his life. Two large walls act as surfaces on which Samay Arcentales Cajas’ projections flow. The walls will depict animated birds and fish, usually the mighty and symbolic sturgeon, flying and swimming by as if referencing symbols of Indigenous culture and aspects that are so important to it. There are also backdrops of the gorgeous wilderness of BC with rivers that Floyd and Mooch fish. Director Jani Lauzon has captured and illuminated the symbolism of Indigenous life and conveyed that so elegantly and clearly in her thoughtful production.

The camaraderie between Mooch (Craig Lauzon) and Floyd (Sheldon Elter) is easy, joshing, teasing, joyful and sometimes prickly. As Mooch, Craig Lauzon wears a toque under which is long hair. His clothes are well worn and he just melts into any chair in the bar as if he lives there, which he does in a way. His laugh is easy because he’s so full of beer. But he is haunted and that’s clear as the production progresses. He is haunted by the memory of the Residential School. He is haunted by what happened to Annie. And for all his being haunted and his drinking to forget, he continues to live and gets on with his life. He apologizes to his girlfriend June. He’s full of remorse but there is charm too. It’s a multi-layered performance.

Sheldon Elter as Floyd is as complex and he carries that with more gravitas than Mooch. Floyd is a more mature, considerate friend and man to Mooch. Floyd has a job and wants to do well by his daughter Christine, a sweet and confident Tara Sky. As June, Valerie Planche presents an angry, disappointed presence. She loves Mooch, but he consistently steals from her, despite his protestations. And she forgives him, but that angry is always there. Finally, Oliver Dennis gives a lovely, kindly performance as George who sees the personal damage Mooch and Floyd have suffered and live with. And for all these characters are haunted by their pasts, there is that resilient hope that things will be better.

Very moving play. Beautifully done.

Comment. I think writer Kevin Loring has written a heart-breaking, play of such vivid language we are taken into another world. It’s a story that recurs in many plays but one never gets used to such an accumulation of tragedy.  And while the past has weighed down these men, left them haunted, there still is that drive to continue, to keep living, to keep hoping that enlivens the resilience.

Co-produced by Soulpepper with Native Earth Performing Arts:

Plays until: June 26, 2022.

Running time: 90 minutes. No intermission

www.soulpepper.ca

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Harbourfront Centre’s Torque Season Closes with Norway’s winter guests and the Visceral Examination of the Human Condition in
– Story, story, die.–

Interdisciplinary performance company returns to Harbourfront Centre stage as part of Nordic Bridges, exploring the relationship between lies and love

Toronto, Ont.  Harbourfront Centre presents the Toronto premiere of winter guests’ evocative work, Story, story, die., as part of the contemporary dance series Torque and the year-long Nordic Bridges initiative. Choreographed by winter guests Artistic Director Alan Lucien Øyen, the full-length work will be on stage June 28 and 29, 2022 at 7:30pm at Fleck Dance Theatre. Through cinematic staging and poignant spoken word, Story, story, die. is a heartrending look at the interdependency between lies and love and the surprising things we do in our everyday lives to present a more likeable narrative of ourselves to the world.  

“We are delighted to close our 2021/22 Torque with the anticipated return of winter guests to the Toronto stage, following their performance of Simulacrum in 2019,” says Nathalie Bonjour, Director, Performing Arts at Harbourfront Centre. “Renowned for his breathtaking performance aesthetic, Øyen’s Story, story, die. is a theatrical experience that both challenges our notions of love and happiness and unites us in our collective search for meaningful connection in an increasingly disconnected world.” 

Admired for its “sexiness and startlingly original highlights” (Fjord Review), Story, story, die. made its world premiere in Oslo, Norway, at Dansens Hus – the country’s prestigious national dance stage – in May 2019. The work is an in-depth exploration of humanity’s relentless search for approval from our peers, exacerbated by the all-consuming role of social media. A commentary on a fast and fading “conditional” love, dependent on success and happiness, the work’s choreography and script was developed in collaboration with its performers. Story, story, die. incorporates their lived experiences as an authentic expression of our current human condition. 

Considered one of Norway’s most pioneering artists, writer, director and choreographer, Øyen, has created more than 40 projects and commissions since 2004. In 2006, Øyen founded winter guests to develop a range of interdisciplinary works, including plays, contemporary dance works and hybrid performances, mixing dance with text and movement with actors. Inspired by interactions with strangers, personal anecdotes and pop culture references, each work is produced in collaboration with its performers.  

Presenting their avant-garde theatre and dance in independent venues and opera houses, winter guests have toured over 20 countries. Performances and residencies include The Watermill Centre, New York Theatre Workshop, Théâtre National de Chaillot, Banff Centre for the Arts, Shizuoka Performing Arts Center, and the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Harbourfront Centre, among others. 

For tickets and further information, visit: harbourfrontcentre.com

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