Jacqui du Toit, centre, is Maria in The Omnibus Bill by Darrah Teitel. From the left: Tayves Fiddis Neta J. Rose, Michael Swatton and Darcy Gerhart. Photo: Andrew Alexander
Based on the 1994 cult classic film of the same name, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a jukebox extravaganza of colours, feathers, and disco. With stage direction by Shaun Toohey and DJ Eyamie, music direction by Murray Doggett, and choreography by Morgan Coughlan, Orpheus’ production is a fun, if somewhat vapid amalgamation of high-energy dance numbers and quotable one-liners.
Orpheus’ production cannot be faulted for issues found within Priscilla’s script and original source material; simply put, some jokes regarding race and gender have aged poorly, and do not land in a socially-conscious 2019 audience. Additionally, being a jukebox musical, Priscilla’s plot often feels quite thin; Orpheus, for the most part, makes up for this with flashy, energetic dance numbers, which manage to leave audience members smiling and (often literally!) grooving in their seats. …
A British Comedy by Jessica Swale which won the Olivier award for best new Comedy in 2016, is based on individuals who really existed and whose close links with present day official titles of the monarchy, caused a bit of discomfort for some recent British productions where certain references to certain Dukes had to be changed “out of politeness” for the royals who came to see the show in London.
Nell Gwynn, the first woman to appear on the British stage in the 17th Century, highlights the rise of women on the British stage, where Nell Gwynn’s scandalous relationship with Charles II , who loved theatre, and declared he wanted to see women on the stage, caused many tongues to wag but provided excellent material for this tantalizing show,infused with a real love for performance. Director Crowder has caught it all. …
An Omnibus bill is a single bill presented to parliament which includes many issues, often in an attempt to bury the most controversial questions in a whole mass of proposed legislation where everything must be approved at the same time. In Canada, the 1969 the Omnibus Bill passed by Pierre Trudeau’s government was the first time Canadians had faced that challenge when the Liberal Government of Trudeau, attempted to change the face of our country by dealing with important ethical questions as health issues.
The Bill which dealt with a multitude of practices inscribed in the criminal code such as divorce, abortion, homosexuality , opened the way to transform the Canadian criminal code which, according to the Minister John Turner was an outdated 19th Century document. This play therefore has a serious legal basis and followed through Trudeau’s desire to “keep the state out of the bedrooms of the nation” …
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! …
Art Babayants, of Armenian origin, has a doctorate in theatre performance, he taught acting in the theatre department of the University of Regina, is a pianist and the artistic director of the Toronto Laboratory Theatre. But those are only a few of his many talents. He was invited by professor Meerzon to bring in his cast who all speak several languages and who are interested in normalizing a linguistic landscape that presents a special form of diversity in the theatre. His work fits in perfectly with a research symposium entitled ‘Mediating Performance experiences: cultures and technologies in conversation’ which took place at the University of Ottawa organized by Dr Yana Meerzon, specialist in questions of theatre and immigration in Canada, as well as migration and multilingualism in European Theatre. …
. J’ai eu l’occasion de voir cette production au Théâtre de l’île où je n’avais pas mis les pieds depuis des mois et quel choc de me trouver dans cette merveilleuse salle de réception, sous une belle toiture en verre et des fenêtres ouvertes à toute la verdure qui entoure la maison. On pouvait respirer les pelouses exquises, et observer les castors au bord du Ruisseau de la Brasserie en train de grignoter des troncs d‘arbres en préparant la construction de leurs barrages. Une ambiance unique dans toute la région, dont le public devrait profiter.
Mais revenons au spectacle en question après ce premier choc si agréable! Le théâtre musical est sans aucune doute une des formes spectaculaires que les anglophones identifient le plus à la francophonie canadienne. L’incontournable Notre Dame de Paris, Starmania, Les Belles-soeurs et tant d’autres de grande qualité ont marqué les scènes du Centre national des Arts (Ottawa). Pied de poule, une reprise communautaire de la comédie musicale créée en 1982 par le comédien et metteur en scène Mark Drouin, est une parodie du monde artistique peuplé par tous ceux qui cherchent un avenir au cinéma hollywoodien. Il s’agit d’une adaptation de sa propre pièce intitulée François Perdu, Hollywood PQ et le résultat est une forme de mise en abyme, un spectacle dans un spectacle qui nous entraine loin dans ce monde de jaloux et d’ ambitieux. Les neuf comédiens de cette reprise, se livrent avec une frénésie sans limite aux chants, aux numéros de danse à partir de tous les rythmes possibles, et des moments de jeux dramatiques qui exigent un sens d’auto-dérision et de talent comique exceptionnel. Les costumes et le maquillage correspondent à cet esprit de Kitsch qui dominent l’esthétique de la scène. …
Which translation did you use I asked naively because I assumed that none of the team could read Greek. ‘There are so many …they are all so different, so we used a bit from each of them’ was the response.
What was immediately notable was the magnificent orchestration by writer, director, designer Don Fex who kept the 15 talented cast members moving at a ferocious rate, constantly working at a high level of performance plus the general quality of their acting along-side Steph Goodwin’s Athenian heroine Lysistrata, all set to lead the women into an angry attempt to do a away with the absurdity of war. Despite the 1950’s setting, and a lot of colourful contemporary vocabulary, the show never strayed from the essential meaning of Aristophanes work, or at least the way we have come understand it. A feat of near brilliance on the part of this director who has a definite talent for comedy and who obviously did some very serious work adapting the available English language translations to the theatrical space at the Gladstone theatre.
Aristophanes’ erotic, playfully serious anti-war creation, was first produced in 411 BC, but the universal theme of this work has allowed it to easily withstand the test of time and certainly no serious theatre company would dare call itself professional if it did not try to produce this work at least once in its lifetime. The fact it still has such an impact on artists of the stage and their audiences, was very clear last night at the Gladstone. The howls rose as the proud, self-assured bombshell style blond , this 1 950s Lysistrata came slinking in, calling her female troupe to assemble before her while batting her eyelashes, and giving all the men the most powerfully mixed messages of sex, anger and defiance. The poor males went into a state of shock. …