Month: November 2010

Le Fusil de chasse: A ceremony where erotic pleasure and sadomasochistic submission echo Mishima’s performance esthetics of self immolation

Le Fusil de chasse: A ceremony where erotic pleasure and sadomasochistic submission echo Mishima’s performance esthetics of self immolation

 

A poet who mentions in a journal article that one day,  he saw a hunter walking in the woods holding a rifle, receives a letter from that same hunter named Josuke Misugi. The missive contains three letters that could be a source of inspiration for the poet.  What was the content of those letters? What was the hunter’s real reason for sending them?   We soon find out as the three letters become the text of the play, Le Fusil de chasse, (The Hunting Rifle).

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CCC Awards 2009-2010

CCC Awards 2009-2010

Capital Critics Circle Announces Eleventh Annual Theatre Awards
John Koensgen wins the Audrey Ashley award
for outstanding contribution to the theatre…

OTTAWA, November 15, 2010 – The Capital Critics Circle today announced the winners of the eleventh annual theatre awards for plays presented in English in the National Capital Region during the 2009-2010 season. The winners are:

Best professional production:

A Christmas Carol, directed and adapted by Peter Hinton from the book by Charles Dickens; a production of the National Arts Centre English Theatre.

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Le Chemin de la Mecque d’Athol Fugard. Traduction de Jean-Michel Ribes; une production du Théâtre de l’Ile, Gatineau

Le Chemin de la Mecque d’Athol Fugard. Traduction de Jean-Michel Ribes; une production du Théâtre de l’Ile, Gatineau

D’abord, il y a la silhouette fragile d’un petit bout de femme appelée Viola Léger (la Sagouine !) dont la voix un peu rauque laisse présager une défaillance éventuelle du corps, ce qui n’arrive pas, mais pas du tout. Bien campée dans sa chaise,  entourée de ses murs  lumineux, de ses bougies magiques, de ses sculptures fantômatiques, de ses petites bouteilles remplies de morceaux de verre étincelants, (il faut saluer le  beau décor de Julie Giroux), Mme Léger, dans la peau de l’artiste Helen Martins, nous livre le portrait d’une femme sud-africaine qui semble fragile, mais qui incarne l’esprit qui a préparé la libération de Nelson Mandela. Elle est pourtant blanche et afrikaner.

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Robert Lepage : Conférence de presse Eonnagata (English et français) au CNA

Robert Lepage : Conférence de presse Eonnagata (English et français) au CNA

Eonnagata Robert Lepage : Conférence de presse  Eonnagata (English et français)

with  Sylvie Guillem, Robert Lepage et Russell Maliphant (au CNA )

Portions of the discussion are inaudible.   The conversation was in both languages, depending on the questions asked. There was no translation. Mon appareil n’a pas capté certaines portions de la conversation. La  rencontre  a eu lieu en deux langues et  je reproduis les réponses dans la langue parlée par l’intervenant, sans traduction.  (A.R)

Rosemary Thompson:   So tell me about this collaboration because this was quite unusual.

Sylvie Guillem : It was my fault. I always admired Robert’s work…. (The rest is barely audible)

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ArtsEmerson, A Boston Version of the Festsival TransAmérique. Interview with Director Rob Orchard.

ArtsEmerson, A Boston Version of the Festsival TransAmérique. Interview with Director Rob Orchard.

            ArtsEmerson, the most exciting and creative theatre project Boston has seen in years, opened in the fall of 2010 under the leadership of executive director Robert Orchard.  Orchard met with me to discuss its development. Years in the making, the venture grew out of a partnership between Emerson College – a school of communication and the arts – and the city.  Emerson needed to expand;

Boston wanted to rehabilitate a decaying downtown area.  That the area included two run-down theatres – candidates for demolition, but architectural landmarks in their day – was a windfall for Emerson.  A deal was struck whereby Emerson would sell off its buildings, scattered through a high end residential section, and buy real estate in or near the infamous Combat Zone, Boston’s “adult entertainment” district. 

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Orpheus Brings in Enjoyable Performances in This Totally Credible Version of the Well Known Show Annie.

Orpheus Brings in Enjoyable Performances in This Totally Credible Version of the Well Known Show Annie.

The story of Annie the orphan who is adopted by billionaire Daddy Warbucks is as familiar as it is sentimental.

Originally a popular comic strip, the fairytale was meant to inject hope into a bad time. Set in 1933 New York City against the backdrop of the aftermath of the Depression and the advent of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, it promises that dreams can come true. The poorest of children may be adopted by the richest of men, who will even be willing to take in a stray dog.

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