Author: Alvina Ruprecht

Alvina Ruprecht is professor emerita from Carleton University. She is currently adjunct professor in the Theatre Department of the University of Ottawa.She has published extensively on francophone theatres in the Caribbean and elsewhere. She was the regular theatre critic for CBC Ottawa for 30 years. She contributes regularly to www.capitalcriticscircle.com, www.scenechanges.com, www.criticalstages.org, theatredublog.unblog.fr and www.madinin-art.net.
Congre et Homard. Avignon OFF .

Congre et Homard. Avignon OFF .

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La pièce a vu le jour après un processus intéressant que nous avons pu suivre de la Guadeloupe  jusqu’en Avignon.  Congre et Homard, a d’abord été présenté dans une mise en lecture en Guadeloupe il y a deux ans, et a pu se réaliser grâce à l’appui de   Textes en paroles, association guadeloupéenne qui œuvre à la promotion des écritures dramatiques de la Caraïbe soumises à la sélection d’ un jury international.

L’auteur Gael Octavia est martiniquaise; et les deux protagonistes sont joués par des Guadeloupéens Joel Jernider, et Dominik  Bernard. Sans entrer dans des commentaires historiques, il faut souligner  cette collaboration  qui  signifie un renouveau important du regard théâtral et une  ouverture importante du milieu vers toute la région de la Caraibe et des Amériques.

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Congre et Homard de Gael Octavia. Un grand moment du “off”.

Congre et Homard de Gael Octavia. Un grand moment du “off”.

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Une œuvre qui a suivi un processes de création intéressant que j’ai pu suivre de la Guadeloupe  jusqu’en Avignon.  Congre et Homard, présenté d’abord comme une mise en lecture en Guadeloupe il y a 2 ans, a été réalisé grâce à l’appui de ‘Textes en paroles’. Cette association guadeloupéenne œuvre à la promotion des écritures dramatiques de la Caraïbe soumises à un processus de sélection par un jury international. L’auteur Gael Octavia est martiniquaise; les deux protagonistes sont joués par des Guadeloupéens Joel Jernider, (comédien)  et Dominik  Bernard  (comédien et metteur en scène).

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dirty rotten Scoundrels laughs mostly at itself.

dirty rotten Scoundrels laughs mostly at itself.

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Relying heavily on equal parts of chutzpah and polish, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is funny, irreverent, ironic, occasionally coarse and frequently politically incorrect. It mocks stereotypes, borrows style and content from other musicals as required, periodically breaks through the fourth wall and, most of all, laughs at itself.

In other words, this cheeky, lighthearted entertainment — adapted from the 1988 movie starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin — is a great deal of fun. …

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F*****G Stephen Harper!

F*****G Stephen Harper!

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Everyone should see this one man event because whether one agrees with the ideas expressed here or not,  it shows  how a fearless political activist turned performer goes straight for the theatrical jugular  – a rare occurrence in Canadian Theatre.

One could say that he has taken as  his model  Ric Mercer’s  style of political exposé, drowning his enemies in gales of laughter, although it is clear that Salerno is much more radical than our man from Newfoundland.  Rob Salerno tells all about the Conservatives, and their leader, at least we get Salerno’s perspective and it makes for an evening of surprises.  Gasps, gurgles, guffaws and muted giggles great the whole series of revelations that pop up on the screen at the back of the stage. . Ottawan’s are so polite but then it is also the kind of show that works especially well in  Ottawa where the main characters are the local MP.s

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Ottawa Fringe 2011. Five Lies a pleasant little encounter..

Ottawa Fringe 2011. Five Lies a pleasant little encounter..

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The venue is not the most comfortable but this play is a well constructed and  pleasant little encounter which  feels like a  modern fairy tale bolstered up by arguments that suggest  strong moral fibre. Not that one looks for moral lessons at the theatre, even less so at the Fringe. Thus the subject matter of Five Lies is rather  a surprise.

Mark is standing on the edge of a roof, looking down at the city below. At first it’s  not obvious what he has in mind but as soon as a slightly motherly “guardian” angel, known as Phyllis, appears , asking him, in a very matter of fact way..what are you thinking!!  It becomes obvious.

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Ottawa Fringe 2011. Momma’s boy

Ottawa Fringe 2011. Momma’s boy

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This appears to be a performance that takes the form of a folktale of the North, with audience directed monologues, replacing the story teller and of course music.

Ginny has come home to the North (Sioux Look Out) where her mother Daphne lives alone. Ginny has just ended a relationship and is seeking a nice quiet place to finish her thesis. She is enrolled in a programme at the U of Toronto.  Her mother is happy to see her daughter home and spends her time obsessively shifting coffee cups, like checkers, on a table in the middle of the stage.

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Ottawa Fringe 2011. Complex Numbers is Titillation for the Gullible

Ottawa Fringe 2011. Complex Numbers is Titillation for the Gullible

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A bit of Fringe fluff written only with the audience in mind. But isn’t all Fringe theatre written to please an audience you might ask?  Of course it is, but in this case  the desire to please  is masked by a pretext of investigating the idea of non-monogomous marriage, whereas the real play is aimed at titillating a rather gullible audience. And the guffaws around me at the strategic moments in the conversation proved my point.

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Ottawa Fringe, 2011. Every Story Ever Told is One of the Great Fringe moments

Ottawa Fringe, 2011. Every Story Ever Told is One of the Great Fringe moments

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Ryan Gladstone is quite  amazing because he doesn’t seem to fit into any accepted categories.   Part  stand up comic, part mime, part professor of comparative literature, popular culture and   theories of Narratologie,  and he is also a very  smooth actor. You cant beat that.

On stage, he saunters out with his hands in his pockets, like some cocky lecturer in front of a whole auditorium of young adults who aren’t sure what they have signed up for. Then, he  begins telling stories. In fact he tells  all the stories that exist (according to him)  by condensing them down into their  basic plot  structures and then inserting the characters  from many many novels just to show us how many of these writings have similar origins. He did hilarious capsules of War and Peace, of  Great Expectations – the fatter the novel the juicier the performance – , of  Cinderella, of  Carmen, of Greek classics, of the Tales of the Arabian nights,  of the Bronte sisters, and the Walkürie, as well as  the really horrible authentic versions of Grimm¹s fairy tales which  you don’t what your children to read!  He had us all in stitches.

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Ottawa Fringe 2011: Compulsive Characters run amuk in Glitch.

Ottawa Fringe 2011: Compulsive Characters run amuk in Glitch.

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A highly entertaining  study on the very process of  theatre itself,  that shows how a single script can be given multiple interpretations and come to mean something totally different, as long as the director remains in control! .

We see a small bar centre stage with a few tables and chairs on either side. We hear a machine like grating sound as a male character pushes the door and enters. There is a barmaid waiting to greet him. He gets a whiskey, makes conversation about the dark stormy sky, as he lapses into an apparent depression.  A couple arrives. The conversation is tense, the girlfriend arrives and their conversation is also focussed on the depressing weather and she suddenly leaves, exasperated by the darkness of their conversation.  Lights out.

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