Parisian artist Ryoji Ikeda presented Datamatics [ver 2.0] as part of the PuSh Festival on Feb 3, 2011. This audio-visual concert was presented on a large screen the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at SFU Woodwards.
With glittering production values and strong vocal talent, the new production of an old favourite, nevertheless, fails to impress. The Magic Flute, one of Mozart’s most popular and widely performed operas, tells the romantic story of Prince Tamino and his love, Pamina, the daughter of the devious Queen of the Night. Tamino braves tests of his character, while Pamina must face her mother’s order to kill the noble leader, Sarastro, or be disowned forever. Moreover, Pamina faces what seems to be abandonment by Tamino, himself, and verges near suicide in...
The Magic Flute at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts
High Flying Bird doesn't ever really get off the ground. It's educational, inclusive and community oriented like all of Vancouver Moving Theatre's projects, but the story is pedestrian, and shot through with faux-teen pop colloquialisms and broad stereotypes. The Sleazy Talent Agent. The Overprotective Grandfather. The Rebellious Teenager. Big Mama. The Reverend. If it was pantomime it would be right on the money, but here I'm afraid it comes across as ambitious community theatre: all heart and not much substance.
Pathos in a play is like salt: the right amount adds savour, too much just makes everything taste like salt. Almost Maine manages to find a good balance with it's gentle take on the closeness and the distance of love. Written as a series of interwoven two-actor vignettes, it never takes itself too seriously, and at its best pulls on the heartstrings. Gently.
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I have a confession to make: I love Leaky Heaven Circus. Since I moved to Vancouver in 2003 I’ve seen most of their shows, and, luckily for me, I’ve learned to approach their work with an open mind.
My mom told me once that she thought nothing you experience when you're young truly prepares you for how tedious life can actually be. Apparently the mothers of the creators of Avenue Q passed on similar thoughts... Which led them to creating a smash hit musical and me to writing for PLANK Magazine. But I digress.
Gloria’s Cause (which was part of the Club PuSh programming at this year's PuSh Festival) is a knock-down drag-out fight between dance, movement, theatre, and rock, and the winner is We the People. If I had to help you get a grip on the show, I could call it a Rock Opera. Or I could say it’s as if Frank Zappa dosed the Tea Party with mushrooms, and then jammed with them on Jerry Springer.
Hard Core Logo (presented as part of this year's PuSh Festival at the Rickshaw) has a lot going for it. Not least is that it’s the first musical I’ve ever seen that sparked nostalgia for my younger days of drinking myself stupid on cheap draft at the Royal Albert Hotel, watching the hardest-cranking punk bands of the era.
With "Sound Machine," Zurich-based Company Drift blended cabaret acts into the workings of a mad scientist's laboratory. Performers Béatrice Jaccard, Massimo Bertinelli, François Gendre produced uncanny noises and clever imagery from an unlikely collection of oddities, offering the audience a scintellating array of sensory delights.
As part of the PuSh Festival, Sound Machine ran at the Scotiabank Dance Centre from January 27-29
