Sunday Feature: Interview - Director Bruce Gladwin; Ganesh Versus the Third Reich

(photo credit: Jeff Busby)

The Elephant and the Swastika; The Journey of Ganesh Versus the Third Reich

How a small-town Australian company created world-acclaimed and mind-bending theatre

by Chad Dembski

CHARPO: How did Back to Back theatre first come together?  How has it grown to its current state?

GLADWIN: The company is based in Geelong, a small regional centre just south of Melbourne in Australia.  It started in 1997, at a point of the institutionalization of Australia.  So the defining feature of the company is that it employs actors with intellectual disabilities.  It started as a series of workshops, with a number of artists; visual artists, theatre makers, and a musician running workshops with people with disabilities in our community.  All three of those artists were drawn to an outsider art aesthetic and started applying that to theatre.  The company has never worked from existing scripts, it’s always a collective writing process, like a devised process.

The very first show that the company produced started touring so this process where the company makes work not just for the community that it’s based in, but also for a touring program became the model of operation.  The scale of work has built over the years, I’m the fourth Artistic Director and I think each director has taken the company in their own specific aesthetic direction.  When I joined the company one of the agendas that the ensemble had was to tour more broadly and to tour internationally.  We set about trying to make work that would have a broader resonance, with our audience.  

Our presentation of “SOFT” for the 2005 Melbourne International Festival was a play about pre-natal screening, emerging genetic technology. It was obviously quite pertinent for the actors in the company because the work positioned the actors as being kind of obsolete in society, and not wanted. We aim to make work that comes from the idiosyncratic voice of the actors but it kind of speaks to all people. A lot of the thematics we’re dealing with are about power, power difference, and the machinations of power. But really each work is trying to answer questions that are raised in a previous work, so it’s like an ongoing investigation in many ways.

Sunday Feature: Interview - James Long and Marcus Youssef on Winners and Losers (FTA)

Long (l) and Youssef (all photos by Simon Hayter)

80% set, 20% Brand New, and Going too Far
What is it to win?  Was is it to lose?  What is it about approaching middle age and going, “do I have my shit together”?
by Chad Dembski

James Long and Marcus Youssef bring their two-person piece “Winners and Losers” to Festival Trans Amèriques (FTA). The piece premièred last year in Richmond, B.C. and then showed at the 2013 PuSh festival in Vancouver.  I have been to a few of Theatre Replacement’s pieces before (“The greatest Cities in the World”, Magnetic North Festival 2010, “Weetube” at the 2011 SuperNova Festival in Halifax) and always been intrigued by the variety in their work.  Marcus Youssef runs New World Theatre, a company I am less familiar with (as I do not get to Vancouver as much as I would like) but has a strong history of independent, political and risky work.  James Long and Marcus Youssef  are friends and collaborators. In this interview they share their unique and exciting new project and its beginnings.

CHARPO: When did you first meet?

LONG: My first memory was in 2005 at a shared office where Marcus was an associate artist at New World Theatre.  Marcus had just come back from Concordia with a distinct sense on his return of who would fit where at New World Theatre.  

YOUSSEF: We ended up getting to know each other as office mates.  I went to Concordia in 2004/05 as a replacement, as “Ted’s little friend”, I called myself.  Had a great time, considered staying in Montreal but decided to return to Vancouver. One of the reasons was being asked to take over the company for a while. Also the scene in Vancouver gave me the sense that for the first time in my life, I saw a chance to be part of something bigger, rather than just the individual thing each of us happen to be doing.

Review: (Montreal) Nella Tempesta (FTA)

(photo credit: Andrea Gallo)

Heart, yes! Substance...

by Chad Dembski

I did not see Too Late! (antigone) or Alexis. Una tregedia greca during the Festival TransAmériques in 2012 but heard plenty of positive and rave reviews of both shows after the fact.  The company MOTUS seemed to hit Montreal at the perfect moment of the Maple Spring, the daily orchestra of evening protests in almost every Montreal area of pots and pans and with a massive feeling of change in the air.  At the core of MOTUS seems to be a desire for change, to build a Utopia here and now and for the future of all mankind.  

Nella Tempesta uses Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” as its base to ask questions around power, master and servant and how we can help each other.  Huge piles of blankets are used in various ways to represent a wide variety of objects from a boat, a rock, and a cape. The piece begins promising with a storm scene with strobe lighting that instantly brings us into the space. From there though the piece falls apart more and more as it plods along with seemingly little to no direction. A script is brought on stage and various attempts at Act 1 Scene 1 are approached but often stopped or questioned before they really get going.  The piece plays more like an open rehearsal where none of the performers have made any solid decisions on how they want to play the piece. 

Review: (Toronto) KAMP

(photo credit: Herman Helle)

Provocative Puppetry
Concentration KAMP on Camera
by Jason Booker

A piece with thousands of puppets sounds accessible, right? 

Imagine though that they are each only eight centimetres tall. For the audience, the best way to view these puppets with smears and holes for faces – expressive but frozen – is actually not to sit next to them or even to look directly at them. 

Instead look up.

This world of miniatures sprawls across one of the deepest stages possible at the Enwave Theatre but is surrounded by white sheets.  Using a series of hand-held webcams and camcorders, the puppeteers project the lives of these anonymous yet adorable puppets onto the back wall so that the audience can watch the minute details of this show.  Really, to watch those same minute details of the characters’ lives as KAMP captures the gruesome details of a day in the life of Auschwitz, the notorious World War II concentration camp.

Theatre For Thought, May 25, 2013

PANYCH, NESTRUCK AND MAUGHAM – OH MY!
joel fishbane
@joelfishbane

Another critic / artist kerfuffle spilled onto the Internet last week after Canadian director / writer Morris Panych attacked the review of the play, Our Betters, which Panych directed for the Shaw fest. The Globe and Mail’s J. Kelly Nestruck did not care for the material, dubbing it, among other things, “mildly misogynistic”. Nestruck’s review argued that Our Betters was a dated play that hadn’t stood the test of time.

Panych, using the forum on the Globe and Mail’s comment page, replied with a response worthy of inclusion in the Canadian tax code – which is to say it used a lot of words to convey a simple point. Panych believes that Nestruck’s displeasure came from viewing Our Betters, written in 1915, through a 21st century lens.  “You talk about the play being written in 1915 during trench warfare, but how we failed to acknowledge this in the play because it's 2013,” wrote Panych. “What an existential mind-bender! You, a mere boy in pants, have sorted through the space-time continuum to discover the central flaw – not only in this production, but in all productions, past, present, and to come - that plays are performed 'after' they are written.”

creating a/broad, May 25, 2013

FILMING
by Cameryn Moore
@camerynmoore

I was going to write this whole column this week about how I’m starting to see the merit and the interest in writing shows that other people would perform in with me, and maybe at some point shows that other people would perform in without me, and wouldn’t that be a mind-blowing thing? I’m still going to write that piece, but that is not this week. This week is the week that filming is happening for the feature-film adaptation of Phone Whore, a five-day shoot in an apartment, and everything normal is out the window. 

I think I’m maybe going to get half the word count in for this week’s column, and I’ll be happy with even that.

I’m writing this in the morning of the second day of filming, one day under my belt, and maybe by the time you read this, by the time Saturday rolls around, I will understand all these things, but right now I’m just sitting here AMAZED by so many things in film work, like, how come I’m so tired even though all I did yesterday is sit on my ass and wait for the director to call me over and do the scene again? Seriously, my whole body feels like it’s been through a pebble polisher. Or a meat grinder. Or just stomped on by 20 football players at once. 

Review: (Montreal) Sketchfest

Vest of Friends

Highs and Lows
but Toronto's Vest of Friends a breath of fresh, funky air
by Caitlin Murphy

Montreal’s Sketchfest, now celebrating its 8th year, is serving up a week-long comedy buffet at Theatre Ste. Catherine.  Though its PR boasts acts from as far afield as Chicago, Vancouver and Calgary, the festival’s specific line up features troupes primarily from Montreal and Toronto, with one each from New York and Philadelphia.

In last night’s early show, the strongest acts book-ended the evening: Toronto’s all-female Lady Business, and all-male Vest of Friends both delivered solid sets.  The evening overall though, clocking in at almost 2.5 hours, certainly wore beyond its potential appeal.  Maxing out at three acts per show, or cutting some of the emcee’s rambling intro would make for a tighter night, with a mightier punch.

Review: (Vancouver) Mump and Smoot in Something

Guffaws from the Heart.

“National treasures!” Scream the posters. Go see why.

by David C. Jones

Mump and Smoot – clowns of horror have been touring the world charming and shocking guffawing audiences since 1986. Go see why.

Most of the audience was older (Mump and Smoot last presented Something in Vancouver 1994) and most were eagerly there for their second time. Go see why.

This is the last show in The Cultch season and their fourth or fifth clown show – don’t be scared – and like two others of them - Blind Date and I, Malvolio - the audience is part of the show – don’t be scared.

Multi-Media, May 24, 2013

My Wagner
Cosmic connections, music/man/myth, nine T&I's, Mahler

We asked friends to write us a small piece on the theme "My Wagner" to celebrate the composer's 200th anniversary this week. Enjoy!

Axel Van Chee (former opera critic for The Charlebois Post)
I remember my first Wagner, I was 22 and it was on the first night upon arriving in Sydney, Australia. After checking into the hostel, I went immediately to the iconic opera house to see what was on offer, it was Tannhäuser. The only seats available were the expensive front rows where you can observe the beads of sweat dripping our of the pores of the singers, I told the kind lady that I would just get a standing room ticket. She looked at me and replied in a concerned tone, "you do know that this is a Wagner right? I really don't think you want to stand though it." I told her that I was just a student backpacker with a tight budget and reaffirmed my decision. She took pity on me and gave me a seat in the box at a price slightly above standing room, then wished me a great time in Australia. 

I remember the opera vividly: it was an avant-garde production, and incidentally, my first avant-garde opera ever. Venus came on stage bathed in neon green lights while wearing a skin tight silver lame dress, complete with spiked high heels and a whip. The chorus pranced about her in S&M costumes and tormented each other. There were giant mirrors and lots and lots of lasers. Throughout the opera, men in post-modern, gothic crow/bat costumes were suspended above and about the sets, perched in precarious positions, and observed the going ons on the stage. They occasionally expended their wings to reconfigure into grotesque and unfathomable shapes. 

A Fly On The Wall, May 24, 2013

The Crossroads
by Jim Murchison 
@JimMurchison

Life is very interesting. It is difficult at times and not always fun, but most of us choose to hang on to it. It is so unpredictable. A couple of years ago, I was pretty much a father and a civil servant. When I was asked to do a weekly column, I chose to call it A Fly on the Wall because I felt I was a fly on the wall; someone that had one foot in the theatrical world but with a background of once being a part of it. 

Now I find myself interviewing artistic directors, discussing in informal forums ideas on the direction of theatre nationally and in Ottawa with other actors, directors and writers, and even acting again. This and critiquing theatre I had barely considered 3 years ago. Now I am faced with choices of what I should review and what I should assign to others as I am the Ottawa editor in chief and have exciting writers anxious to go out and see theatre working with me. 

Real Theatre, May 24, 2013

Review: (Montreal) Enemy of the People (FTA)

(photo credit: Arno Declair)

PERFECT TIMING
by Chad Dembski

Yesterday there was announced the largest water boil alert in Montreal history.  It has effected almost every citizen in the entire city and paralyzed some businesses (cafés) and caused chaos around buying simple bottled water. It would almost seem too perfect for the FTA to open on May 22nd with a radical adaptation of Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” that has at its core a dilemma around contaminated water in the local Baths from which most of the city gains its profit. The plot of the play seemed a surprise to many in the audience and helped instantly engage them in this highly visceral and participatory theatrical event.

Review: (Vancouver) Dissolve

A very real depiction of sexual assault

Dissolve succeeds at being entertaining, informative and powerful

by Chris Lane

Playwright Meghan Gardiner hopes to be put out of business by her play’s material becoming irrelevant. Yet that’s unfortunately not the case, as Dissolve’s subject matter, drug-facilitated sexual assault, is just as common as ever.

The play tells the story of a college student, dubbed “Anygirl” in the program, going out for a night on the town that takes a turn for disaster. She wakes up the next day without any recollection of the previous night, to learn that she slept with a man she had repeatedly rejected, despite feeling pretty sure she only had one drink.

News: Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards Winners

Big winner Terminus (in photo: Maev Beatty who also won for Best Actress in Proud; photo by Josie Di Luzio) 

Directly from Press release with some reformatting (links are to CharPo's reviews of the winning shows and artists):

Terminus tops 2013 Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards 

May 23, 2013 - The Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards were announced today - with Outside the March's production of Mark O'Rowe's play Terminus the most celebrated production of the season.

Presented as the inaugural show of Mirvish Productions' Off-Mirvish subscription series after its premiere at the SummerWorks Festival, Terminus picked up four awards, including best production and best director of a play for Mitchell Cushman.

The Book of Mormon, another Mirvish presentation currently playing at the Princess of Wales, was the second most lauded show of the year; it was named best production of a musical, while Casey Nicholaw and Trey Parker were named best director of a musical.

Now in their third year, the Toronto Theatre Critics' Awards are voted upon by critics representing five of the city's newspapers and weeklies: The Globe and Mail (J. Kelly Nestruck); The Grid (Martin Morrow); NOW (Glenn Sumi); The National Post (Robert Cushman); and the Toronto Star (Richard Ouzounian). The critics considered shows that opened between June of 2012 and May of 2013. Awards will be given out at the Spoke Club (600 King St. West) at a date to be determined.

NB: During deliberations, jurors who had a conflict of interest with an eligible production were not allowed to nominate or vote for that production - except in the case of a tie.

Full list of winners below.

Picture of the Week, May 23, 2013

It's not often we feature a full-on face shot as our POTW, but this Dahlia Katz portrait for Making Love With Espresso, featuring Lorenzo Pagnotta, is not only delicious in its own right, it is also a perfect example of Ms Katz's magnificent work. She has a way with faces (as we saw in her previous work for Antony and Cleopatra where she transformed without transforming actor Gillian English and in her picture of the year from last year). The details - beyond the actors' eyes - capture the viewer: the fingers on the cup, the watch, the hat, the few locks of curly hair). In short, Ms Katz helps the subject to draw us into the picture; she lets the actors act. 

(Making Love With Espresso is part of the rock.paper.sistahz Festival)

The Album, May 23, 2013

In a Word... Ed Roy on directing the Doras Gala

The Man Dora Chose
by Gaëtan L. Charlebois

Ed Roy's various activities as a theatre practitioner include directing, writing, dramaturgy, acting, teaching, lecturing and producing. During his 25-year career, he has participated in the creation of over 80 theatre productions. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and nominations including the Pauline McGibbon Award for Directing, Dora Award for Outstanding Direction (Including five Dora nominations for Outstanding Direction), two Dora Awards for Outstanding Production (including four Dora nominations for Outstanding Production), and the Chalmers Play Writing Award (including two nominations).  As an actor, Mr. Roy was nominated for a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in VideoCabaret's The Life and Times of Mackenzie King. His is also the proud recipient of Toronto's Harold Award (independent alternative to the Dora Awards). His productions have toured extensively throughout Canada and internationally; New York City, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Great Britain, Wales, Paris (France), Haarlem, Amsterdam, and Tokyo (Japan national tour). Presently, he is developing several new shows including his one-man performance lecture The History of the World, Bully in the Ballroom (a dance/theatre piece) and Blood and Chicken Wings a Rock-a-Billy Musical. 

CHARPO: When did you first get the call to do the Gala and how fast did you have to be all over it?

ROY: If memory serves me I believe I was contacted by Jacoba Knaapen [the Producer of the Doras and TAPA's Executive Director] in Sept./Oct.2012 and offered the opportunity to direct the Gala. By December 2012 we were discussing how the Gala had worked in the past, what Jacoba's expectations were and what my responsibilities entailed as basically creative and show director.

Video of the Week, May 22, 2013

A clip for the intriguing piece from Australia's Back to Back Theatre's Ganesh Versus the Third Reich, playing this week in Calgary at Theatre Junction and then at the FTA in Montreal next week. 

Review Squared, May 21, 2013

My Mission Statement

Valerie Cardinal

@vscardinal

I’m taking a time out from my regular column this week to address comments I received on my last column. I feel the need to do this because these comments questioned the purpose of Review Squared. They also stated a discomfort with the tone of this column. I feel like I need to establish a mission statement of sorts, because it’s possible that Review Squared has gone off the rails a little.

Let me make it very clear that I am not trying to shame anyone. I respect all of my peers greatly, and many of the theatre critics I discuss were writing long before I was. Some of the Montreal-based writers especially are reviewers whose work I read before I started writing about theatre. 

After Dark, May 21, 2013

The Funny Bunch

...and their strange bedfellows

by Gaëtan L. Charlebois

Lordie, what a strange week it has been for reviewers/critics/theatre journos... choose your moniker (or epithet).

F'rinstance the gang that give out the Toronto Theatre Critics Awards met this week. This is some kind of news but what is also noteworthy is that the group includes no women and no one from new media (despite some excellent blogger/reviewers existing in the city). Yes, yes it's pissy of me to note that but the fact remains that many reviewers exist who are considerably more erudite and informed than at least one of the men in the group.

However, one of the guys in the bunch I do like and admire, Kelly Nestruck of the Globe and Mail, also made a kind of weird news this week when he had his second fairly public run-in with playwright Morris Panych. You may remember last year when Panych took umbrage with a Nestruck review of Wanderlust at Stratford and had some fun with the fact Mr. Nestuck wore shorts to the play. It was funny then. Even Nestruck laughed. This time out, however, Mr. Panych was a little less humourous in his comments beneath Nestruck's review of Our Betters, at the Shaw Festival. Here is a link to review and comments but if you find it behind the paywall, let me just quote Panych: "Kelly, it's amazing; you are really a man of your time; certainly not ahead of your time – arriving, breathlessly, for the opening, just at the curtain, fumbling for your seat, making that entrance you like to make so that everybody knows you're a critic, and that you're here, at last, now we can begin, proof once again of your uncanny sense of your own personal 'now'; two o'clock, whatever – the play starts when you arrive, because for you, time revolves like a spinning paddle on the beanie right above your head." Later, he calls Nestruck a dweeb.