Theatre tackling the issues of the day is often referred to as ‘timely’, whereas theatre touching on themes as old and persistent as humanity itself is dubbed ‘timeless’. In those instances when the two overlap there is no single term to encapsulate the idea, but suffice to say it is a rich experience and Toronto’s "Soulpepper Theatre":http://www.soulpepper.ca/ has brought just such an experience to the stage with their production of David Mamet’s pointed signature work, *Glengarry Glen Ross*.
Jordan Pettle and Eric Peterson wonder who the fuck they're looking at
Linda Griffiths' *Age of Arousal* took me out for a fine night of theatre in this "Arts Club Theatre":http://artsclub.com/ offering. While there was a lot to like about this production, there was still some lingering doubt that left me hesitant to go all the way with her.
Only able to get to second base with Unger are Susan Hogan, Jennifer Mawhinney and Laara Sadiq. Photo: Emily Cooper.
Is it trite to say that "Hubbard Street Dance Chicago":http://hubbardstreetdance.com/home.asp was a joy to watch? Even if it is, I’ll risk the cliché by saying that the four choreographies presented by "Dance House":http://www.dancehouse.ca/ at the Vancouver Playhouse on April 24 and 25 were spectacularly energetic, beautifully graceful and cleverly choreographed. While I can’t say that the program was edgy or challenging in its theme or aesthetics, it was, quite simply, excellent dance. Each of the four pieces was quite different from the other, making for an enjoyably varied program that breathed fresh air into the Vancouver scene....
The sheer joy of Hubbard Street Dance; photo Todd Rosenberg
A young cast gives new life to Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme. This production by The Canadian Opera Company charmed audiences if not critics at the opening April 17 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.
Frédérique Vézina as Mimì and David Pomeroy as Rodolfo La Bohème; photo: Michael Cooper
David Mamet is often considered the godfather of machismo, his works populated by the manliest men to ever grace stage and screen. The ‘Mamet Man’ is a chest-thumping, fast-talking, swaggering force of nature, and this is never more evident than in his masterpiece *Glengarry Glen Ross*, currently being staged by Toronto’s "Soulpepper Theatre Company":http://www.soulpepper.ca/. In Mamet’s world you’re either predator or prey, and it’s thrilling to watch his characters battle it out to decide which category they fall into.
In the 1997 film "Sick":http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/index.html?curid=1713997, performance artist Bob Flanagan nailed his penis to a board, cracked jokes and urinated on the lens of the camera that was filming him. I saw this excerpt of the film and it made me cringe. But here’s the thing, Bob Flanagan was a sado-masochist who had cystic fibrosis and spent much of his life making art about how he used pain to live with the pain of his disease. Does this make for good art? I’m still not entirely sure, but at least it was purposeful....
Pierre-Paul Savoie and Marc Boivin in Mi-un ni d’eux.
This "Ruby Slippers":http://www.rubyslippers.ca/ production of Serge Boucher’s *Life Savers* (translated by Shelley Tepperman) is like a puzzle where the pieces don’t quite fit together. Although the production is super slick, the script itself has the rare distinction of hitting not one but two of my pet peeves. First peeve: shows that purport to be exposés of suburban life that are really just extended, mean-spirited sneers.
Life Savers, families can be murder: Colleen Wheeler, Wendy Morrow Donaldson, Deborah Williams, Maria Oldeen, Mike Wasco, Naomi Wright, Kevin McNulty, Patti Allan
Occasionally, a live theatre piece is so physically and visually stunning that I cannot imagine a better medium for presenting beauty. *Studies in Motion* by the "Electric Company":http://www.electriccompanytheatre.com/ is one of those pieces. The play is an explosive collision of theatre, dance and multimedia centered on historical figure Eadweard Muybridge, a late 19th century photographer who captured the beauty of animals and humans frozen in time.
“Is this how artists think of science?” remarked my scientist roommate as we exited the mixed-media show *Dedicated to the Revolutions* by "Small Wooden Shoe":http://www.smallwoodenshoe.org/index.html, “as a series of convenient metaphors to explain life?" The production was founded upon the ambitious manifesto of understanding the effect of scientific progress on our world, and I'd asked my roommate along to contribute his expertise in the field.
Dedicated to the Revolutions, science as understood by artists
At the outset of *News of the World*, a clip from "Flight of the Conchords":http://www.conchords.co.nz/ plays. It is their song _Issues (Think About It)_. It sets the tone for what presumably will be a funny irreverent take on the issues of the world and the news that delivers it to us.
David Bloom and Tricia Collins have news of the world
