Montreal in May/June: Pushing Boundaries
By Eliza Bent
“Canada is like your attic,” an American comedian reportedly once said. “You forget that it’s up there, but when you go, it’s like, ‘Oh man, look at all this great stuff!’”
For theatre lovers, that is certainly true of Montreal, especially during the summer months. Tourists and locals zip about on Bixi (a bike rental service), wending their way up and down the city’s hill, which overlooks the St. Lawrence River and boasts beautiful architecture, great restaurants and a vibrant artistic scene.
The Festival TransAmériques, founded in 1985 by Marie-Hélène Falcon, has become the city’s best-known theatre festival and an annual draw since 2007. “We now have artists from Montreal but also from around the world,” says Falcon. Since the addition of dance to the festival’s programming in 2007, a lot of the work has a contemporary, interdisciplinary and experimental feel.
This year’s TransAmériques (May 24–June 9) offers a bevy of boundary-pushing work from master artists and emerging talents. Local favorites include Montreal’s Olivier Choinière, who presents Chante avec moi, a 50-person musical comedy, and Emmanuel Schwartz, represented in 2012 with the provocative drama Nathan. “We also have a little jewel from Halifax,” says Falcon, referring to Ann-Marie Kerr and Susan LeBlanc Crawford’s The Debacle, produced by Zuppa Theatre Co.
Joining these Canadian treasures are heavy-hitters from abroad whose work rarely gets seen in North America. Italian director Romeo Castellucci of Socìetas Raffaello Sanzio presents On the Concept of the Face, Regarding the Son of God, and Belgium’s choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker offers up En Atendent and Cesena. Meanwhile, New York City’s Nature Theater of Oklahoma presents Life and Times, which has toured throughout the world but has yet to receive its U.S. debut.
A festival favorite from last year was Le Continental XL. Created by Montreal choreographer Sylvain Émard in 2009 as Le Grand Continental, the piece has grown each year, until last year it featured 200 amateur dancers of all ages cavorting on the Place des Arts. While it won’t come back to Montreal this year (look for it instead at New York City’s River to River festival in June and Philly Live Arts in September), Falcon points to a like-minded dance piece by German artists Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser. X-Fois Gens Chaise is set on the street, with senior citizens perched in chairs 20 feet above onlookers’ heads while they perform their daily tasks. “A woman knits, another reads the paper, an older gentleman smokes,” Falcon describes. “It’s a beautiful reflection of the place of senior citizens in our society.”
Spring and summer visitors to Montreal can choose from a bounty of other theatre fests as well, including the seventh annual International Anarchist Theatre Festival (May 15–16) and the St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival (June 4–24). If you’re theatre-saturated, catch some music and comedy at the Festival International de Jazz de Montreal (June 28–July 7) and Just for Laughs (July 9–29).
“To me the two things that characterize Montreal’s scene are an ocean of new creations (we have an urgency to create new texts—it is linked to our identity issue); and inventiveness (we keep on proposing new ways to tell a story, searching for new forms). The best time to visit is between May and September. I prefer the St-Viateur’s bagel. And for poutine, La Banquise.”
—Philippe Ducros, artistic director, Espace Libre
“The best place to spot theatre artists during TransAmériques is the bar at Coeur des Sciences at the university. It’s where we have all the cast dinners after opening night.”
—Marie-Hélène Falcon, artistic director, Festival TransAmériques
“If you’re looking to hang out with theatre artists, check out La Cabane. They’ve got very late food service and cheap beer. And my favorite theatre space is one of the black box theatres at the Monument-National. It’s one of the oldest theatres in North America. Now renovated, it has stunning architecture and the black box space is amazingly flexible and atmospheric.”
—Michael Mackenzie, playwright
“I find good theatre at La Licorne and Espace Libre. ThéâtrePAP often offers very good shows at Espace Go. For more classical theatre, one also goes to Théâtre du Nouveau Monde, if one is so inclined. Best poutine? Now we’re talking! There are your classics like La Banquise on Rachel Est Street for late-night cravings, and Fameux, at the corner of St-Denis and Mont-Royal. However, my all-time favorite is Chef Guru, on Saint-Laurent. It’s a curry poutine with cilantro. A hell of a treat, but needs to be shared with a friend.”
—Maryse Warda, dramatic translator
Vancouver in June: A Breath of Fresh Air
By Jerry Wasserman
Not so long ago, theatre in Vancouver would more or less shut down for the summer. When the rains let up and the sun came out on what we call the Wet Coast, people got into their sailboats or hit the hiking trails. Nowadays—while still embracing the outdoor experience in the province that bills itself “Super, Natural British Columbia”—Vancouverites have more than 100 professional companies on offer, and an abundance of theatrical riches to partake of year-round. Here’s a taste of June 2012.
Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival is one of the city’s most popular attractions, both for the quality of its four summer productions and the beauty of its setting. Bard shows are staged in two tents in a park along False Creek’s south shore. The 742-seat mainstage has no back wall, so the backdrop to June’s The Taming of the Shrew and Macbeth will be the north shore mountains, the lights of downtown, and the boats on the creek, with maybe an eagle floating across the vista. Leads Lois Anderson and John Murphy in Shrew and Bob Frazer and Colleen Wheeler in the Scottish play are among Vancouver’s finest actors, and Shrew’s Meg Roe is the town’s most exciting young director. All have spent multiple seasons with Bard, an ensemble company that really knows its stuff.
The Arts Club, the city’s major company, has taken full advantage of the wealth of singing-and-dancing talent provided by the region’s two specialized musical-theatre training programs. As well as mainstream contemporary fare and new Canadian plays in two smaller venues, the Arts Club mounts large-scale musicals with strong production values at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage, a beautifully renovated old art deco movie house in the upscale South Granville shopping district. June at the Stanley features Cole Porter’s High Society, boasting local favorites Todd Talbot and Jennifer Lines, a terrific supporting cast, and a sharp design team. Look for Phillip Clarkson’s elegant period costumes and Valerie Easton’s bravura choreography.
Want something more adventurous? Shelter from the Storm is a new play by local writer Peter Boychuk, examining the changing nature of Canadian attitudes toward American dissidents. When an American soldier on leave from Iraq deserts to Canada, he’s befriended by a draft resister who has lived here since the Vietnam War. But the deserter doesn’t find the open arms or sympathetic government his predecessor did. Produced by Touchstone Theatre, which specializes in hard-hitting Canadian plays, the show will be staged in the intimate Firehall Arts Centre, a converted firehouse at the crossroads of Gastown, Chinatown and the grotty Downtown Eastside.
If you time your Vancouver visit right, you can get a taste of the exciting cutting-edge work being done by a consortium of small experimental companies calling itself Progress Lab. Its latest project, Obstructions, based on a film by Lars Von Trier, involves giving member troupes a set of limits around which they must create new plays. On June 9, Vancouver’s Felix Culpa premieres its entry, built on the following parameters: The subject must be autobiographical, the script limited to 100 words, the staging site-specific. And at that event, the next company will receive its “obstructions.” Cool, or what?
“The Backstage Lounge (1585 Johnston St.) is a good watering hole for catching artists from one of Granville Island’s six theatres between shows or after rehearsal. And check out the amazing Public Market next door.”
—Anna Cummer, actor
“Mixing yoga, body-mind centering and basic contemporary dance with great tunes and just plain fun, Jane Ellison’s Boing Boing workouts (www.janeellisonclasses.com) are always populated by local actors and artists of all ages and fitness levels. Her class at the artist-run Western Front (303 E. 8th Ave.) is open to drop-ins and gives you kick-ass cardio and stretching. Aerobics for anarchists!”
—Katrina Dunn, artistic director, Touchstone Theatre
“In the summer, Robson Square below the Vancouver Art Gallery is a great place to catch dance rehearsals. Ballroom, breakdance, jazz routines—you name it. And the Gallery Café (750 Hornby St.) is my favorite patio downtown.”
—Adrienne Wong, actor and artistic producer, Neworld Theatre
Jerry Wasserman is an actor, a critic and a professor at the University of British Columbia. Editor of the two-volume anthology Modern Canadian Plays (Talonbooks), he reviews theatre for the Province newspaper and edits www.vancouverplays.com.‘
Calgary in June: A Stampede of New Writing
By Jessica Goldman
When Calgary was chosen as the 2012 Cultural Capital of Canada, it was a wakeup call that this city—most strongly associated with cowboys, oil and the Calgary Stampede—is also a hotbed of diverse artistic creativity. Don your cowboy hat if you must, but be prepared to doff it many times for the myriad of can’t-miss shows you’ll encounter when you visit.
The theatrical momentum continues in June: First up is Lunchbox Theatre’s Stage One Festival of New Work (June 4–23), in which audience input plays an integral role. During the festival, a minimum of six new plays are workshopped, then read for an audience using professional actors. Talkbacks are held following each reading, allowing the writer, director and actors to take audience feedback into consideration when further developing the play. To date, Stage One has helped develop 200 new works by more than 100 playwrights, and many of these productions have subsequently played across Canada and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; two, The Wild Guys (by Andrew Wreggit and Rebecca Shaw) and Life History of the African Elephant (by Clem Martini) have been made into feature films. All this has happened with the initial help of Calgary audiences.
June will also see an important first for the theatre scene in Calgary, as the city has been chosen to host the 10th edition of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival (June 13–23), which presents eight plays drawn from the best work of English-language theatre companies across the country and provides an exciting snapshot of Canada’s contemporary theatre artists from coast to coast. Some highlights of the festival this year include Ignorance, by Calgary’s own avant-garde puppeteers, the Old Trout Puppet Workshop (featured on this issue’s cover). Billed as a puppet documentary, it looks irreverently to our caveman ancestors to ascertain where we went so wrong. On a more dramatic note, Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland’s critically acclaimed play Oil and Water tells the true story of Lanier Phillips, an African-American shipwreck survivor saved by the “people of St. Lawrence,” who alter his life forever.
Hot-button issues of geo-engineering, oceanic health and eco-terrorism get the spotlight in the remounting of the 2010 play In the Wake, by Calgary’s Downstage Creation Ensemble (June 14–22). The play won the 2010 prestigious Betty Mitchell Award for outstanding new play. Darkly funny and highly physical, In the Wake tells the epic story of a sea that has run out of fish. It takes place entirely on a six-by-three-foot illuminated platform with four actors and live musical accompaniment. This highly successful production on a small stage is itself the perfect metaphor for theatre in Calgary. While the city may not boast the largest stage scene in the country, Calgary makes up for it by producing quality shows that champion creative innovation and diversity.
“I wouldn’t be a true Calgarian theatre artist if I didn’t recommend the Auburn Saloon as a must-go for the theatre-minded visitor. Ninety percent of the city’s performing arts spaces are within a half-kilometer of the bar, which means that on any given night (except Mondays), actors, directors, technicians and well-wishers will congregate there after the show.”
—David van Belle, playwright, director and performer
“My favorite place to grab a bite before a show, or a quiet drink and a snack afterwards, is Thomsons in the Hyatt on Eighth Ave. I would be remiss, though, if I didn’t suggest getting off the beaten track and seeing a show at Loose Moose, the best improv company in the world, in my opinion!”
—Rebecca Northan, actor, director and improv teacher
“My favorite place to have a pre-theatre nosh is Divino on Stephen Avenue Mall. I have their moules et frites (shaved manchego in the frites!) while sipping a buttery Chardonnay, watching the people empty onto the street from work…a great prep for the short walk to any of the theatres in the area!”
—Valerie Planche, actor and director
“A trip to the top of the Calgary Tower at the heart of the downtown theatre zone is well worth a visit. Be brave and stand (or even better—lie face down) on the clear section of floor that gives you a scary view down to the street below. Also: Stars like Fred Astaire, the Marx Brothers, George Burns and Sarah Bernhardt all trod the boards at the 100-year-old Grand Theatre. Now it has a funky restaurant and is still a great roadhouse for world-class theatre, music and dance.”
—Christopher Hunt, actor and director
Jessica Goldman is the theatre critic for CBC Radio’s “The Calgary Eyeopener” and the author of www.applause-meter.com.
Toronto in August: Adventurous Venues
By Krista Apple
Queen City, T.O., Broadway North: Call it what you will, Toronto is arguably the hub of Canada’s English-speaking theatre scene. This summer is no exception: August alone brings an abundance of daring performances.
Founded in 1991, Canada’s largest juried theatre festival, SummerWorks (Aug. 9–19), counts among its alumni the American playwright Liz Duffy Adams and Canadian scribes Judith Thompson, Michael Healey and Hannah Moscovitch, among many others. (Moscovitch’s Little One, a SummerWorks 2011 hit, will be staged by Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre in spring 2013 and will also tour to Victoria’s Belfry Theatre. Another festival success, the 2010 musical Ride the Cyclone by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, has attracted attention from major producers and may soon be seen in the U.S.)
SummerWorks became national news last year when the Department of Canadian Heritage pulled its funding (which constituted 20 percent of the festival’s budget), arguably due to the controversy surrounding Catherine Frid’s 2010 offering, Homegrown. Inspired by the “Toronto 18” bomb plot, the show earned the festival an inflammatory headline in the Toronto Sun: “Your Tax Dollars Help Stage Play that Portrays Terrorist in a Positive Light.” Individual support for the festival has surged, however, along with SummerWorks’s cult status. This year’s program promises new work by Waawaate Fobister, Daniel MacIvor, Johanna Nutter, Anton Piatigorsky, Mani Soleymanlou and Alice Tuan.
SummerWorks’s best known performance venues are Factory Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille, in the heart of the Queen Street Theatre District. Consider pairing a SummerWorks schedule with a stop at the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre, the only remaining operating double-decker, or stacked, Edwardian theatre in the world. The Elgin was home to countless vaudeville-era performances in its day; the Winter Garden is so named for the simulated garden hanging from its ceiling. Both venues are open to the public, including tours of the hall’s scenery and costume collection.
Later in the month, Volcano Theatre’s A Synonym for Love (Aug. 20–31) will be staged in the Gladstone Hotel, once a favorite stop for vaudevillians heading west by train; its renovated lodgings now boast 37 rooms designed by local artists. Volcano has reimagined George Friedrich Handel’s Cor Fedele (The Faithful Heart), which was never performed publicly in Handel’s lifetime; Synonym marks its Canadian premiere as a staged work, in a co-production with Underground Opera and with a new libretto by Deborah Pearson. The cantata’s startling love triangle will unfold throughout the hotel—from ballrooms to back alleys to upstairs suites.
Any theatregoing jaunt to Toronto should include a stop at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts for a show by Soulpepper, known for vigorous interpretations of the classics. In August, you can see 4 of the 15 shows that make up the company’s 15th-anniversary repertory season: The Crucible (featuring Maria Vacratsis and Joseph Ziegler)—along with Speed-the-Plow, The Sunshine Boys and Mikhail Bulgakov’s look at Molière, The Royal Comedians (Molière). Soulpepper’s return engagement of the 2011 Toronto Fringe hit Kim’s Convenience (May 16–June 9) will no longer be running by August; but north of the theatre, you can wander the streets of Regent Park, the neighborhood where playwright Ins Choi set her story of a Korean family. If you’re visiting in late August, also consider a stroll in the St. Lawrence Market neighborhood, home to the 2012 International Busker Festival.
“There’s always something going on at Cameron House—indie theatre, live music, etc.—and there’s a bar up front, so drinking is encouraged!”
—Erin Shields, playwright
“The bar upstairs at Theatre Passe Muraille is a great place to drink and confront the actors who were in the play you just saw.”
—Michael Healey, playwright
“The Common is one of my favorite places in Toronto. A great place to work and meet people. Only about four or five tables, so everyone just sits together. It also turns into a wine bar at night.”
—Michael Rubenfeld, SummerWorks artistic director
“The Theatrebooks owners are the biggest theatre buffs and the friendliest guys you’ll ever meet. There’s always lots of fabled theatre people in there browsing. Susan Coyne (creator of TV’s “Slings and Arrows”) was buying plays last time I was in.”
—Hannah Moscovitch, playwright
Krista Apple is a Philadelphia-based actor and writer.
