All eyes were on her. All talk was about her. She, for a dollar, would bare her soul and her backside.
At the Players’ Theatre on McTavish, a student group called the Alternate
Theatre is presenting “Venus”.
This is the first play put on by a group of students from McGill, Concordia and other schools around Montreal. Their aim was to produce theatre that is “daring, original, and controversial.” And they have certainly succeeded in that measure.
Venus is a play about an African girl named Saartjie with an extremely large buttocks who is put on display as the Venus Hottentot in a freak show and flaunted all over the world.
Eventually though, a doctor becomes fascinated with her, and buys her from the show. Shortly thereafter, he falls in love with her, which distracts him from his original plan of dissecting her oddly-shaped corpse for the medical academy.
Throughout the entire production, a “Negro-resurrectionist” provides the
audience with footnotes and titles to each different scene.
Unfortunately, despite his efforts, the ins and outs of the plot confused the audience to an extent where several spectators did not return after the intermission.
There is a difference between “daring” and out of place. The actors may have understood what they were attempting to do but they did a poor job of interpreting it to the audience.
When six actors, for example, snap from reciting normal lines to screaming in imagined ecstasy and back again in a matter of seconds, the audience tends to wonder, “What’s going on?” A question that never got answered.
No one can deny, however, the stunning performances by two of the main cast members.
Yetide Badaki, a 19-year-old McGill student, was indeed the Venus Hottentot.
While being dragged around the globe and gawked at, the Venus’ emotional state
evolves from excited to scared to happy to puzzled.
Yetide’s portrayal was intensely authentic; the changing faces of the audience members were proof enough that they were convinced of what the Venus felt.
Third year McGill psychology student Rachel Horton’s lively spirit exuded from each of her three different roles. “Step in, step in, step in, step in!” she cried to the make-believe gawkers as the Mother-Showman.
The set consisted simply of red, yellow, and green fabric on the walls, and a small square platform in the centre of the floor. Instead of props, the imaginative lighting was used to get points across.
In addition, there was a screen on the back wall which every so often projected computer-enhanced images that described the inner thoughts of the characters.
Using this effective tool was a wise decision on director Kareem Fahmy’s part, who is also the founder of the non-profit organization.
So, if theater whose plot baffles but whose characters enchat sounds appealing, this is a play to take in.
Taking place at the Players’ Theatre, Venus will be running from Sept. 25-29.
There will also be a matinee performance on Sept. 29. Ticket prices are $10 and $6 for students.
For information call (514) 398-6813.
At the Players’ Theatre on McTavish, a student group called the Alternate
Theatre is presenting “Venus”.
This is the first play put on by a group of students from McGill, Concordia and other schools around Montreal. Their aim was to produce theatre that is “daring, original, and controversial.” And they have certainly succeeded in that measure.
Venus is a play about an African girl named Saartjie with an extremely large buttocks who is put on display as the Venus Hottentot in a freak show and flaunted all over the world.
Eventually though, a doctor becomes fascinated with her, and buys her from the show. Shortly thereafter, he falls in love with her, which distracts him from his original plan of dissecting her oddly-shaped corpse for the medical academy.
Throughout the entire production, a “Negro-resurrectionist” provides the
audience with footnotes and titles to each different scene.
Unfortunately, despite his efforts, the ins and outs of the plot confused the audience to an extent where several spectators did not return after the intermission.
There is a difference between “daring” and out of place. The actors may have understood what they were attempting to do but they did a poor job of interpreting it to the audience.
When six actors, for example, snap from reciting normal lines to screaming in imagined ecstasy and back again in a matter of seconds, the audience tends to wonder, “What’s going on?” A question that never got answered.
No one can deny, however, the stunning performances by two of the main cast members.
Yetide Badaki, a 19-year-old McGill student, was indeed the Venus Hottentot.
While being dragged around the globe and gawked at, the Venus’ emotional state
evolves from excited to scared to happy to puzzled.
Yetide’s portrayal was intensely authentic; the changing faces of the audience members were proof enough that they were convinced of what the Venus felt.
Third year McGill psychology student Rachel Horton’s lively spirit exuded from each of her three different roles. “Step in, step in, step in, step in!” she cried to the make-believe gawkers as the Mother-Showman.
The set consisted simply of red, yellow, and green fabric on the walls, and a small square platform in the centre of the floor. Instead of props, the imaginative lighting was used to get points across.
In addition, there was a screen on the back wall which every so often projected computer-enhanced images that described the inner thoughts of the characters.
Using this effective tool was a wise decision on director Kareem Fahmy’s part, who is also the founder of the non-profit organization.
So, if theater whose plot baffles but whose characters enchat sounds appealing, this is a play to take in.
Taking place at the Players’ Theatre, Venus will be running from Sept. 25-29.
There will also be a matinee performance on Sept. 29. Ticket prices are $10 and $6 for students.
For information call (514) 398-6813.
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