Photo Maria Vartanova
It is not very often that real magic happens in the theatre. It is only
possible if all the stars align: an intriguing script, excellent acting,
imaginative set and lighting, and skillful directing. Although it may
happen rarely, it is happening right now at the Ottawa Little Theatre.
Their production of Norm Foster’s Mending Fences creates just that – pure
magic on the stage. …
Mending Fences is a most beautifully constructed play that appears to concern a dysfunctional family relationship dominated by an apparently angry, self centred patriarch who has given rise to a tortured young son and stubborn individuals who will have to learn how to listen to each other to eventually resolve their situation. As events unfold, we realize there are deeply underlying misunderstandings, hurtful encounters, difficult memories and sad events in the past that have given rise to much pain and it is all unravelled magnificently by Norm Foster whose talent for dialogue is astounding! Such quick wit, such razor-sharp responses and searing one-liners. He makes us laugh when we feel we should not be laughing and that is the secret to this admirable play. Plus, there is Bob Lackey as the sullen, apparently indifferent Harry who stifles any emotional connection with a verbal jab and an unexpected reaction that shocks and surprises us. The actor’s impeccable timing, fast repartee, and complete sullen naturalism produces a performance that is almost stunning and suits to perfection Foster’s quick wit, astounding one-liners, slip of the tongue insults and on going jokes about sex that pepper the play, sending it into an encounter of unexpected emotional depth. This is a brilliant performance! …
Traduction de Michelle Allen, mise en scène d’Olivier Normand Photo Stéphane Bourgeois
Imposer une mise en scène dominée par la présence corporelle des acrobates qui font irruption dans un paysage éclairé de couleurs lumineuses, baigné d’une belle musique mais pris en charge par des comédiens qui hurlent comme des forcenés (notez surtout Maude Boutin St-Pierre) , marqué par la vision du cirque. Voilà l’esthétique d’Olivier Normand à laquelle il faut s’ habituer. …
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The Last Spartan, Produced by Jamine Ackert, Written and performed by Pierre Brault
Imagine a state in which one of the most important trials takes place around the role of art in society. Where lawyers and prosecutors debate the value of art to the social order. Got a picture? Probably not. So, think Sparta, renowned as the warrior nation. In point of fact, a city state so bent on birthing the perfect warrior that newborns deemed unlikely to fulfill that future job description are hustled off to the windy side of the mountain and left to die. Ok, so, in Sparta, the right to bear arms with distinction is what gives the collective body politic its tick. …
Play poster courtesy of Plosive Theatre
The Radio Play has been a staple of the Gladstone Theatre now for eight years. It is an interesting hybrid of theatre and radio that harkens us back to a simpler time when people would huddle around a box as a family to laugh and cry and listen to stories together.
There have been many different forms of the radio play, which allows the Gladstone to use the same basic set pieces every year with minor alterations in their placement. s Each year the set is familiar but different. That being said it is always CGLD radio; “Radio that makes you glad”.
This year director Terri Loretto-Valentik chose to recreate Dashiell Hammett’s classic detective story The Maltese Falcon. The detective yarn demands a little more concentration to follow the storyline than more standard holiday fair like Winnie the Pooh or Miracle on 34th Street. The Gladstone Sisters add the nutmeg and cinnamon to create a little seasonal flavour, peppering the interludes with lively period ditties.
Guest reviewer, Jim Murchisson
Photo: Phoenix Players. IEllen Clare O’Gallagher in Welfarewell.
It was a cool, dank Friday evening as I headed into the warmth of the Gladstone Theatre to see the Phoenix Players production of Welfarewell. As I entered into the theatre I was greeted by a cozy, economical little set made up of three primary playing areas: stage left a table and chairs serve as various meeting areas (rehearsal hall, police station, holding room, etcetera) centre stage is used primarily as a jail cell but doubles as a courthouse with minor adjustments and the stage right space works well as a tiny basement apartment or bank teller’s area.
The premise of the play is pretty interesting as it goes. An aging actress can no longer make ends meet and strategizes to commit a crime, anticipating that she might enjoy a better quality of life in prison in her waning years. Playwright, Cat Delaney inserts Shakespeare, liberally ensuring that there are some great lines in this play, but she does not meet the challenge of matching the power of Shakespearean dialogue with her own.
The problem is that Cat Delaney’s characters are sadly stereotypical. You have the feeling that this was written by someone observing poor souls from a suburban window and dropping a loonie in their hat while looking the other way. The result is a play of middle class indulgence rather than social relevance.
First published on: July 22, 2016 in the Ottawa Citizen.
Zach Council and Sean Sullivan from Odyssey Theatre perform for the media at Strathcona Park in Ottawa Friday July 15, 2016. Odyssey Theatre is performing The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, directed by Andy Massingham. at Strathcona Park from July 21 to August 21. Photo: Tony Caldwell
You’d be hard-pressed to find profound insights in it, but Odyssey Theatre’s production of Carlo Goldoni’s 1745 comedy The Servant of Two Masters sure is fun.
Jesse Buck plays the titular servant Truffaldino, a wily and perennially famished fellow who lands himself in the absurd situation of serving two masters at once. One of them is the stylish, self-admiring Florindo (Joshua Wiles). The other is Beatrice (Sarah Finn) who is Florindo’s lover and has come to Venice to be with him. Except Beatrice is disguised as her pompadour-proud brother Federigo. And Federigo is actually dead, killed by Florindo. Beatrice, meanwhile, is owed money by a wealthy miser, whose daughter …
You see where this is going, right? Down the rabbit hole of a plot so deliciously convoluted that to summarize it would leave your head spinning faster than governor Chris Christie trying to defend Melania Trump’s plagiarized convention speech earlier this week.
Photos, Courtesy of the National Arts Centre and the Segal Centre.
Initially, it’s discomfiting. Here are Germaine Lauzon, her family and her pals, richly imagined characters we’ve long associated with a straight-ahead stage play, breaking into song about bingo and being free and no-good boyfriends.
But Belles Soeurs: The Musical, which is based on Michel Tremblay’s evergreen mid-1960s tragicomedy Les Belles-soeurs, soon feels as comfortable as Germaine’s weathered kitchen where all the action takes place. And for the most part those songs work splendidly, showcasing not just some fine voices but the surging loneliness, longing and occasional sisterhood that define the lives of these working class women.
This Phoenix Theatre production called Staff Room (by Joan Burrows) is a mild crowd pleaser, definitely aimed at a niche audience. A cast of ten actors playing 55 roles carried out a non-stop whirlwind evening of skits , monologues, dialogues or exchanges with multiple actors of varying descriptions. Each skit was an individual performance but all were linked by the fact that they all took place in the staff room of a high school where the teachers, administrators, cleaners and related employees were all involved in the business of this institution of learning. Joel Rahn responsible for media relations, stepped out on the stage before the curtain went up and asked us point blank: “How many people were/are school teachers“? A lot of hands went up. I gather that If he asked the question it was important, and we soon realized why.
