Peter Barnes’ epic play The Bewitched is a show you will not want to miss.  York University’s theatre department is tackling this horrifically absurd play, running publicly from April 19th – April 25th.

Set in 17th century Spain, The Bewitched is the story of the last of the Hapsburg royal line, a family of rulers so inbred that their diseases prevent them from producing an heir to the throne.  This physical manifestation of corruption mirrors the appalling deterioration of the state and church, in an interpretation of the irrational fanaticism that led to the War of the Spanish succession.

While some of Barnes’ plays are too dated to be relevant, the shocking style and ever-poignant themes of The Bewitched is guaranteed to appeal to the contemporary desensitized audience.  Written in 1974, this dark piece was intended as a social commentary on poverty and social distress in the UK- a time when everyone was questioning the legitimacy and capability of their government.  Now in an economic recession, in which we are questioning global leadership, it remains a pertinent play.
And believe it or not, The Bewitched is a comedy.  In what can only be described as a Monty Pyhon-esque style, Barnes takes the idea that, “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” to heart, as he presents a witch hunt, a pair of torture goons, and a complete Auto de Fe.  It is a terrifyingly hysterical journey.

Come check it out, it promises to be a truly a bewitching experience.

For more details or to order your tickets, go to
http://www.yorku.ca/finearts/theatre/Theatre@York/boxoffice.htm

A Note from the Props Shop

“You want what?” I ask, only mildly surprised at the request.
“A phallus, let’s say about 4’ long” is the reply.  This odd item is not at the behest of a male ego, but rather it is the first of many interesting props for Theatre@York’s latest main stage production.  The Bewitched is a… unique play, and as Head of Props for this endeavor, I can have had the experience of studying the play from all of its twisted angles.  From torture instruments to bibles, it’s been an interesting show to build.

One morning I found myself on the phone with a local religious centre, attempting to track down an aspergillum (a holy water sprinkler, for all you non-Catholics) and being as efficient as I am I was multitasking and researching online for other items.  I suddenly found myself speaking with a sweet old lady about religious artifacts while simultaneously looking up whips at a sex shop.  Thank you theatre, I am going to hell.

And so is my social life.  Towards the end of the build my best friend called me, wondering why I’d dropped off the face of the earth.  Theatre is one of those truly time consuming projects, wherein if you find the time to shower or only where the same clothes 3 days in a row, you can consider yourself having had “free” time.
“Hi, what are you up to?” she greeted me.
“I’m making a dead pigeon.  You?”
Dial tone.

I know, it sounds crazy.  And I find myself asking why I do it.  I am a walking encyclopedia, I can now tell you all about St. Christopher, what kind of leather is softest and safest to use when whipping someone (for a play or otherwise…), how to build a jig for cutting tapers on a table saw, and even what kind of apples they grew in Spain from 1500 AD on.  But what use is that?
Why lose sleep, sanity, and potentially good hygiene over a show that tons of people won’t even see?  Why dedicate my life to creating such temporary art?  The Bewitched won’t change the world- in fact, most theatre won’t implement much change.  It won’t feed Africa, stop war or patch the ozone.  But it does make people think- really think, even if it’s just for a moment.  Besides, it’s damn entertaining.

The best theatre that you weren’t watching last week was Banquo’s Banquet and Back Burner Productions’ portrayal of Irwin Shaw’s surrealist drama, Bury the Dead. With stellar performances by the entire cast, great costumes, a decent set, and a delightfully absurd script, the only thing this show lacked was an audience. Still Bury the Dead played out its full week, often to only a very intimate few.

The story is a poignant one in this day and age, as director Glyn Bowerman points out, “War [is] a global commonality [and even] Canada is at war.” But Bury the Dead isn’t your typical war story, the soldiers who die in Irwin’s fields refuse to lie down and thus begins a comedic and occasionally heart-wrenching allegory of freedom and the horrors of war.
The play starts off slow, through no fault of the actors, but is quick to capture the audience’s attention with the sight of the first zombie. While this eccentric piece takes on quite a serious tone dealing with issues of death, extreme patriotism and the meaning of life, it is nothing if not entertaining; the somber mood was frequently broken with quirky musical interludes, often led by the honey-tongued Liam Morris.

Each player took on multiple roles, and all did it effectively. In total, twenty seven characters are realized from a cast of ten, with the most notable performances belonging to the versatile Sean Bruno, who tackled roles from Bob Hope, to a captain with a penchant for the philosophical, and Tamara Salpeter, who seems right at home in the 1930s whether she’s playing a hardball editor or a seductress.

The trio of fatigue-clad zombies, Chris Rouse, Miquelon Rodriguez, and Brendan Gilhuly, stole my heart when they each met up with their still living partners. Each intimate exchange gave a new perspective on war and despite being rather desensitized to the topic, they actually made me give a damn. Their thirst for life aroused both inspiration and admiration from everyone who heard their tales.

Holly Lloyd’s costumes were believable and fashionable, allowing for seemingly effortless transformations between the characters that each actor handles. The make up was just gory enough to give an air of decomposition, without making any of us in the first row want to vomit. All in all, rather impressive for the tight budget they were obviously working with.
Perhaps the rest of the production elements weren’t as impressive, but let’s face it, you don’t go to indie theatre for the production quality; you go for the rawness of the art, and to hear what someone new has to say, you go because unlike so many oblivious people, you realize there is a whole world of new ideas that merit your attention.

Bury the Dead was a surprisingly appropriate show for these tenacious theatre companies to tackle.  The message ironically played into their world outside of the context of the play: they will not lie down. Despite a less than optimal turnout, the increasing cutbacks to Canadian arts (the CBC is receiving minimal funding this year, the Stratford festival is seeing red for the first time in fifteen years!), and personal financial difficulties, these young artists are not giving up.  No one can tell them that theatre is dead.

Comments

• March 19, 2009, Cassandra Sivic writes: This sounds really cool. Are they putting on any other productions soon?

(Photo credit: Maxime Côté)

There’s something to be said about watching a play in a foreign language. Of course, had I been a good and fully literate Canadian citizen, French probably wouldn’t have been a “foreign” language (apparently it is useful after grade 9, who knew?), but I digress: there’s something to be said about watching a play in a foreign language, but that something isn’t always good.
Regardless of language, seeing the current studio show at the National Theatre School was an interesting experience. As one of Canada’s most “prestigious” theatre schools, I went in expecting greatness and found myself somewhat disappointed in the end. Je Suis un Chat by up-and-coming NTS grad Martin Bellemore proved to be a comprehensible and entertaining show, but the production itself lacked panache.

The play tells the story of a young woman who has been haunted by her great uncle’s ghost for fifteen years and on her twentieth birthday, the truth behind this phenomenon is finally revealed. This heartwarming comedic tale, sprinkled with a dash of romance (and a couple servings of cantaloupe), was a good tonic for the despairingly chill Montreal evening. Quaint, yes, but not necessarily the cutting edge drama one would expect from a school that labels itself as one of the best in North America.
The acting was strong, and the traditional style helped me to cross the language barrier, as each actor’s body language spoke volumes about both their character and the story. Kseniya Chernyshova as Ania was charming and believably naïve and if her character was devoid of an emotional swing, it was surely no fault of the actor. Meanwhile, Stéphanie Massicotte-Germain as her mother did well playing an older woman, capturing the frustration of motherhood she has not likely yet experienced herself, however, it was truly Gabriel Paré who stole the show. Cast as the eccentric psychic, Paré was the star of the show, despite his late entrance into the story. As though his ridiculous hair weren't enough to make you love his goofy character, his physical style of humor coupled with an impeccable sense of comedic timing made him constantly the centre of attention- and admirably so as he is someone to look out for when he graduates and finally graces the indie theatre scene (NTS students are not allowed to peform outside of school while completing their program).  By contrast, Francis-William Rhéaume and Julie Lafrenière both left something to be desired - evidently poor acting is apparent in any language.

The stage was littered in footlights (and cantaloupes), an interesting choice that gave an oddly shadowed and stormy feel to the play (the lights did, not the fruit). The rest of the lighting wasn’t particularly noticeable, which is often the sign of a solid lighting designer, kudos Victor Lamontagne.

Unsurprisingly, NTS used the increasingly popular (and typically Canadian) choice of creating a set with undefined/intangible walls. The apartment was created with a backdrop of three panels, rectilinear and simple,  however, it was a relief to see that such a traditional school is jumping on board with the latest evolving trend of integrating multimedia projections into theatre. The projections painted the set with close ups of characters’ eyes, old photographs, various other images that beautifully told the story- creating an almost dramatic undertone, and almost rescuing the production.

Je Suis un Chat was an uninspiring, albeit entertaining piece of theatre. Though Montreal has a lot to offer the artists and art-connoisseurs, this just wasn’t one of those things.

Check out: http://ent-nts.ca/en/events/performances/ for upcoming NTS performances

For those of you looking to enliven this nasty winter by indulging in a little more culture, Steel Bananas presents a quick and easy guide to notable upcoming theatre in Toronto.  From indie to queer to classical, the city's theatre scene has it all.

Show: East of Berlin
Theatre: Tarragon Theatre
Dates: Jan. 6th – Feb. 8th, 2009
Ticket Price: $19 - $38
Box Office Contact: 416-531-1827 or tickets.tarragontheatre.com

Why YOU Should See THIS show:  it’s a modern spin on a historical drama, and I hear the acting is good.  This is real fodder for those of you starving for a bit of classic, well done theatre.

Show: Them & Us
Theatre: Theatre Pass Muraille
Dates: Jan. 8th – Jan. 31st, 2009
Ticket Price: $15 - $35
Box Office Contact: artsboxoffice.ca

Why YOU Should See THIS Show: It’s the world premier of Tracy Dawson’s dark comedy, an overly truthful look at male-female relationships- and it might be helpful since Valentine’s Day is coming up!
 
 

Show: Zona Pellucida & The Needle Exchange (an evening in two parts)
Theatre: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Dates: Jan 9th - 24th, 2009
Ticket Price: $15 - $29
Box Office Contact: 416-975-8555 or artsexy.ca

Why YOU Should See THIS Show:  It combines theatre with variety shows and drag queens… There’s really no reason not to see it!  The masterminds behind both these pieces will keep you laughing and even give you something to think about while they entertain you.

Show: Jerry Springer: The Opera
Theatre: Hart House Theatre
Dates: Jan.16th – Jan. 31st, 2009
Ticket Price: $15 - $25
Box Office Contact: 416-978-8849 or uofttix.ca

Why YOU Should See THIS Show: Um… *looks at title* This is bound to be awesome, or at the very least profoundly ridiculous.

Show: Ubuntu
Theatre: Tarragon Theatre
Dates: Jan. 21st – Mar. 29th, 2009
Ticket Price: $19-$38
Box Office Contact: 416-531-1827 or tickets.tarragontheatre.com

Why YOU Should See THIS Show:  The term Ubuntu means “the spirit of community” in South African, and this collective creation was inspired and created in Cape Town based on the ensemble’s real life experience.  This is as real as art gets.

Show: You Fancy Yourself
Theatre: Theatre Passe Muraille
Dates: Jan 27th – Feb. 14th, 2009
Ticket Price: $15 - $35
Box Office Contact: artsboxoffice.ca

Why YOU Should See THIS Play:  It’s being presented in association with Contrary Company, a Canadian theatre group focused on being “politically involved and community-connected”- the epitome of Canadian theatre.  

Show: Toronto the Good
Theatre: Factory Theatre
Dates: Jan. 31st – Mar. 1st, 2009
Ticket Price: $15 - $37
Box Office Contact: 416-504-9971

Why YOU Should See THIS Play:  Based on the story of one man’s struggle with personal and political conflicts, this story of racism in Toronto is very much relevant today.

Show: The 30th Annual Rhubarb Festival
Theatre: Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Dates: Feb. 4th – 22nd, 2009
Ticket Price: may vary in accordance to individual shows

Box Office Contact: 416-975-8555 or artsexy.ca

There is no better place to see new works by Toronto’s theatrical artists.  This festival, proudly celebrating its 30th year encouraged inspiring performances from both new and seasoned artists.  This year’s line up includes Lex Vaughn, Erin Shields, Alistair Newton and many more….

And for something completely different a little less mainstream:

Show: “What Are You Doing Down There?”
Theatre: In House Theatre - Back Burner Productions
Dates: Feb. 13th – Mar. 1st, 2009
Ticket Price: all shows by donation
Box Office Contact: www.back-burner-productions.com

Why YOU Should See THIS Show:  Ok I lied, there might be one better place to see new works by Torontonians…
Have you ever seen a theatre and arts show that actually takes place in a house?  If no, what are you waiting for? If yes, then I’m sure you already know how awesome this is…

As a company comprised entirely of young artists (often students and recent grads) this up and coming theatre company is definitely one to watch.  Come support the young artists of Toronto as they showcase their talents ranging from poetry to dance, each night is a different show, and each one is guaranteed to be a memorable and inspiring experience.

There are two types of people in the world, those that like drafting and those that are sane. I certainly don't fall into the former category, so I'm putting away my 4H for a while and taking a break. Mainly because I just spilled coffee all over my assignment (I'm seriously beginning to think all liquid should come in tippy cups). Drafting, derived from the Latin words draftificus ridiculous, literally translates to mean that which gives people headaches and bad eyesight. All right, maybe I'm lying , but it definitely feels that way sometimes. Drafting is a test of patience, and they say that's a virtue, right? So by that train of logic, drafting itself is a virtue.

Despite being horrible at it, drafting is a skill I need to learn to survive in this field. After all, theatre is about communication, and that's what drafting is for. Drafting allows you to communicate even the most abstract designs in the most concrete of ways; it nicely puts everything into context. It tells you what shape things are, what size it is, what details its surface might have. As the drafter it is your job to tell the object or set's immediate story. If you don't convey exactly what you want, you're not going to get anything - and I suppose that holds true for most things in life. It's simple, it all boils down to the fact that if the designer can't communicate with the carpenter, the set won't be built.

You can't build something you don't have plans for. And plans are important in life. According to the professionals the key to success is having a good blueprint. It's the foundation to the building process; the calculated details of how everything is supposed to fit together. Unfortunately, life itself doesn't come with a blueprint, so we have to draft our own. I've never been one for making a five year plan or anything like that, I usually like to fly by the seat of my pants and trust that what I've learned will kick in and save me when the going gets rough. But as I get older, I'm realizing that might not be the best idea. I should at least doodle some semblance of a plan. At this stage of my life I don't need all the details - I don't need to know what all the exact measurements are, the lettering doesn't have to be 3/16 of an inch, hell, I don't even need to what the big picture is. I just need to know what direction is up, and that I have the skills to map out the rest. There's no point in sweating the small stuff. Smudges happen, plans get misplaced, delayed, destroyed. As long as I have the basics down, it'll all get easier eventually. And it's even okay to colour outside of the lines - as long as it's not real drafting homework.

Yes, I want to be an artist (insert sympathetic laughter here). I'm getting my BFA, which to those of you with more "useful" degrees means a "Bachelor of Fuck All". I'm getting the type of degree that means it might be impossible to get into grad school (which is the new undergrad) since places like the University of Toronto won't accept my BFA. They don't believe I go to real school! Trust me; the OSAP debt should be proof enough.

Despite its reputation for being a relatively useless degree (it's not, I swear!), getting a BFA (at least in theatre production) gives you the opportunity to learn important life skills. And I'm not just using the phrase "important life skills: to wax over non-important emotional and interpersonal lessons, I mean actually useful skills. I can re-wire a circuit, I can use a table saw, I can mend my own clothes... hell, I can even manage a not-for-profit organization. I have also learned less useful things like how to operate a scissor lift, how to make a realistic looking dead cat, and how to draft the kitchen of a Victorian mansion. But that's not what I really want to do, I'll leave the management and other well-paying jobs to those more inclined to sit still.

I want to be an artist, because I have the attention span of a flea and big dreams. Creating theatre gives you the chance to explore and celebrate the world around you; creating theatre gives you the chance to change the world.

Someone once told me that if I wanted to change the world I wouldnt be doing performance art in Toronto. I suppose that's true, even in this modern multi-cultured city there is almost no audience for theatre outside of the traditional canon. Most people who want to see theatre are the blue-rinse ladies and white middle aged men. They just want to see Shakespeare, and their wealthy children want to see big American musical spectacles. Neither of these are particularly revolutionary forms of art, and they sure as hell don't interest me. I want my art to open eyes, to raise awareness about realistic issues, to make people question the human condition. Thus, I will never make money doing what I hope to do.

I know what you're thinking, I could simply apply for grants or bursaries, get some sort of financial support for directive theatrical projects... but let's face it, government funding for the arts in Canada is a fucking joke. Of course, I could go to Europe and create theatre there. You'd be amazed at what financial support is available in countries like Ireland or Switzerland, they are more than willing to fund up to 80% of a small theatre company's production.

Unfortunately this cultural support of the arts means that the type of art I want to create will be less effective in these countries because it's already been done. So I'll stay here in southern Ontario, and wallow in debt. If I'm lucky this poor standard of living will give me great inspiration to create provocative art, which in turn will elevate my socio-economic status. However, if I become rich I will lose my street cred and my ability to produce "life-in-the-gutter" art. I will plummet back to poverty, and find myself back at square one.

None of that is very realistic of course, but being an artist is a delightfully selfish career, in which you can allow yourself a plethora of fantasies. You don't contribute to society regularly (since you're flat broke- maybe they should call it a Bachelor of Financial Arrears), but when you do it's meaningful. Of course most artists are dead before they're acknowledged for it...

But I suppose you have to do what you're passionate about- even if it means living in a ghetto shoebox for the rest of your life- and I'm passionate about theatre. I'm not naive, Im just ridiculously optimistic.