Category: Arts

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Arts

Play questions culture: Is it Art?

Art, written by French playwright Yasmina Reza, is an hour and a half of true comic brilliance. Delving into the psychological make up of three very different friends, Reza has captured the essence of theatre entertainment.
After making appearances all over the world, the multi-award winning play has finally made its way to Montreal’s Centaur Theatre. Translated to English by Christopher Hampton, Art is definitely worth the admission price.
“We’ve pursued the performing rights for Art for the past four years and are extremely happy to finally be able to present this outstanding play to Centaur audience,” said Gordon McCall, Artistic Director of the Centaur Theatre Company.
Set in Paris, the play is centred around the taxing relationship of three
long-time friends. Serge, a successful, divorced dermatologist, played by Mo Bock, has purchased an expensive contemporary painting by an acclaimed artist.
It is almost entirely white with the exception of a few shaded areas and a
textured stripe running diagonally across the work.
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Arts

ConU theatre serves platter of laughs

The Celery Stalks at Midnight is like a veggie platter of short stories.
The Concordia theatre department’s second fall production is a collection of five short plays with accompanying songs.
Nine actors brought to life this fabulous production, which included 15
eccentric and immediately engaging characters.
The opening and closing plays “The Role of Della,” a story of two actors and their auditions with a famous director, and “Words, Words, Words,” a look at chimps replicating Shakespeare, were good but not as entertaining as the middle three.
“Mere Mortals” is a story of three construction workers lunching on a high-rise who imagine they are famous in other lives.
Frank is convinced he is the lost Lindbergh baby; Charlie believes he is the dead tzar of Russia following a vision; and Joe, a reluctant believer in the past lives theory, finally admits to being Marie Antoinette.
Thick Jersey accents present in the discussion of what it was like to be Marie Antoinette kept the audience rolling with laughter.
The three sing The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo. Only too perfect for three men who were more likely to break each other’s necks.
You cannot make a waitress, you must be born one, says Kay, a character in “Lives of Great Waitresses.”
For this production, four women talk about life as a great waitress, or, for
some, their futile struggles to become one.
Tammie Sue discusses the men she serves and explains that it’s not the outside that counts, it’s what he’s hiding behind closed doors: “He could do things with his fingers that should be illegal…or fattening!” Each searched for more meaning in her life, a theme similar to “Mere Mortals.”
“Life Support,” is a dark comedy about the AIDS epidemic. In sharp contrast to the humour of the first three, it had half the audience whispering: “Do you have a Kleenex?” by the end.
Although the story poked fun at the many ways of dealing with death and was extremely humourous, it kept a rich taste of realism when Patrick pulled the plug on his boyfriend’s life support.
The director, Professor Gerry Gross, said he chose the roles based on what he felt the students could work with easily. The collection was named after the title of a popular record from the swing era, an orchestra piece from the late 1940s. Gross liked that it was fun and light-hearted. Indeed it was.
Playing November 9-11, and 14-17 at the Cazalet Theatre, everyone should find an opportunity to fit an evening of incredible theatre into their schedule. Be prepared to think twice about who you are, question if monkeys can write Hamlet, and consider that you may not be a truly great waitress. No matter what, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll love this production.
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Arts

Cake: more than just a sweet dessert

Fans braved the cold for a little piece of Cake on Sunday, lining up hours
before the sold-out show began at the Spectrum.
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Arts

Fun computer-animated monsters

There will be many comparisons when viewing Monsters Inc. to its’ Pixar
siblings. Yet doing so would be a great injustice.
With a witty blend of adventure, warmth, humour and fantasy, this film stands above the rest and dutifully lives up to its’ expectations.
Monsters, Inc. is the fourth in a series of films from Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures. Its last outing was Toy Story 2 and up until then was the best film in the series. Now, Monsters, Inc. will give viewers a hard time debating which one of the films is the best yet.
Starring the voices of John Goodman as Sully and Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski, this film follows our two lovable (and toy-friendly/marketable) heroes as they unleash the worst of their horrors – a human child.
With another inventive and flexible plot, the creators of this film have
assembled a fresh and fast paced comedic adventure with enough warmth that will even be conveyed to the smallest child in the theatre.
The plot bases itself on a hidden city where monsters such as our two heroes scare children in order to capture their screams. There is only one problem: our monsters are actually afraid of the very children they scare.
After an error occurs, a child finds himself in the monsters’ lair, creating
havoc and frenzy that only Pixar/Disney can create so well.
This computer-animated film is truly a gem and displays the advancements Pixar has developed in their filmmaking.
Monsters, Inc. will leave you astounded by the technological advancements in animation. You’ll find yourselves wanting more.
Notice Sully’s fur and examine how the ripple effect chain reacts with the other fur on his body in a fluid and poetic motion.
Furthermore, look at his scales when he breathes. This is just an example of the tireless effort invested in this film for a great picture that satisfies on many levels. Or if you have seen the film, notice the joyful, exasperated and detailed smile of Sully that ends the film on a touching note.
From the creepy voice of Steve Buscemi as the villainous and slimy Randall Boggs, to the company head Mr. Waternoose voiced by James Coburn, one can analyze and hypothesize all they want, but what it comes down to is that this film will bring families together in thrills and laughs and will ultimately satisfy many.
Furthermore, one must respect an animated film that contains a little twist that can catch many off guard with their gullibility when watching a children’s film.
It seems as if Disney/Pixar are simply getting better as they go along, yet, what can they do next to top this? We will have to wait and see!
The film indeed has many great points and will be pleasing to both children and adults. That said, there really is not much more to say than to sit down and enjoy a real treat.
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Arts

Is Jet Li “The One?”

In Jet Li’s latest action extravaganza, he plays Yulaw, an ex-interdimensional cop who leaps from dimension to dimension killing different versions of himself, and absorbing their power.
Two other interdimensional lawmakers (played by Delroy Lindo and Jason Stratham) are sent to stop him from killing the last remaining version, a swat team officer named Gabriel.
Basically this film seems at times like an 85 minute excuse to see Jet Li fight Jet Li. The plot line is unoriginal, and the dialogue leaves much to be desired.
However, that is not to say this is a bad film. In fact, as escapist fun it
works quite well. Basically the best way to describe this film is as pure fun.
You just have to sit back and enjoy the action.
It’s obvious that this is the largest budget Li has ever worked with, and the inevitable showdown uses top notch CGI that, while not flawless, manages to give the appearance that Li is indeed fighting himself.
Fans of Li’s Hong Kong imports may react to this film differently then those who have never heard of Jet before “Lethal Weapon 4,” as it pales in comparison to earlier films such as the now classic “Once Upon A Time In China,” “Swordsman 2” and “Fist of Legend.”
However, this is much better than “Romeo Must Die” and “Lethal Weapon 4” (but not quite as good as this summer’s Luc Besson/Jet Li collaboration “Kiss of the Dragon”).
Basically, fans of Li could do a whole lot worse. There are worse ways to spend 85 minutes, and given the current political climate, provides viewers with a much needed refuge.
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Arts

Comedic multitasking actors only part of fun

Have you ever witnessed someone’s suicide attempt? Stood there watching them contemplate their death? Listened to their final thoughts and beefs on life? Stared at them while they looked down at the street below? Laughed at them? Yes… laughed at them.
Suicide is an extremely delicate topic that we must take very seriously, unless you’re watching Morris Panych’s Seven Stories. As you journey with a man in his attempt to kill himself, you will find yourself laughing at topics such as suicide, homicide, old age and more importantly the very delicate human condition. Seven Stories, playing at McGill University’s Tuesday Night Caf
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Arts

TURN UP the volume

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Arts

The Queen of Spades turns up a winning hand

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal debuted this year’s season with a bang, as The Queen of Spades mesmerized the audience transforming them into its subjects in its world premiere last week.
This $750,000 production masterfully dramatizes the human condition, demonstrating the lust for money, prestige and love.
Based on the novella by the Russian author Alexander Pushkin and adapted from Tchaikovsky opera by Gabriel Thibaudeau, The Queen of Spades tells the story of a young Soviet soldier, named Hermann (Olivier Wecxsteen), obsessed with the idea of fame and fortune.
Hermann learns that the secret to winning at cards is held by an old countess, danced by the remarkable Stephana Arnold, who longs for the days when she was revered as a young, successful aristocratic beauty.
In order to get close to the countess, Hermann pursues her niece Lisa (Heidi Rood). Hungry for the ideal romantic love Lisa ignorantly falls for his charm but in the end becomes the victim in a love story edited by greed.
When Hermann finals gets to the countess his quest for the secret to success results in her death and his torment due to guilt. At her funeral, he dreams her ghost visits him and in a gesture of forgiveness she reveals the 3 winning cards, 3, 7 and ace.
The story ends as it begins, in a gambling club with the desperation of a soldier as he loses everything when he draws the queen of spades.
The story line is in constant movement from the two divided worlds it encompasses, that of the set 1938 Stalinist Russia and the fantastical world of the countess’ past.
The incorporated multimedia effects magically help open the time portal for the audience as they dance through these two eras.
The video imagery for the ballet was done by Sylvain Robert, a multimedia teacher at Concordia. These images projected on the screens of fiberglass, used to enhance the flashback sequences, serve as a bridge of the classical world of ballet to modern performance art.
Arnold’s representation of a bitter old woman desperate for her youthful splendor tugged at the hearts’ of the audience. While, Jo
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Piranesi & Goya ~ Exhibit ‘hauntingly familiar’

On Sept. 11, tragedy scattered shadows over humanity. The public began to rent more movies about hijackings. Postcards of the World Trade Center became items of nostalgia. And we became a culture hungry to understand why? and how? Such questions without answers indeed are frustrating. And so, when an artist is able to express these abstract anxieties in a concrete sense, people are comforted.
Enter: A collection boasting some 300 images masterminded by two of the 18th and 19th century’s printing-making greats: Giovanni Battista Piranesi and Francisco Goya. (Currently exhibiting at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts). While present day war continues to raid our televisions and our minds, Piranesi and Goya’s grave concepts of lost grandeur and the ugliness of humanity have found a solid place in this millennium.
Formally trained as an architect, Piranesi’s technical skill is obvious in his attention to perspective and detail, as well as in his artistic workmanship contrasting light and dark. His most celebrated collection Vedute di Roma (Views of Rome) features 135 perspectives on the ruins of this famed Eternal City in its final chapter of faded glory.
Apparently, these works proved to be profitable with tourists also keen on nostalgia. To see Paranesi’s interpretation of the Coliseum in decay or the faltering walls of the Pantheon today, is to relive the recent demise of New York’s Twin Towers.
Even Goya’s series Los Desastres de la Guerra (Disasters of War) rings hauntingly familiar. Originally a response to what Goya labeled, “the fatal consequences of the bloody war in Spain against Bonaparte”, his 80 or so prints eerily mirror the current events surrounding America’s Most Wanted: Oussama Ben Laden.
Certain images depicting dead bodies strewn about in defeated piles or victims of famine could double as commentaries of Afghanistan. Providing his own headlines, Goya’s titles included, “This is the Truth” or “Ravages of War.” Unfortunately for Goya–once Appointed Painter to the King, Charles IV–this series was never published in his lifetime.
As an interesting finale to the Goya works, a parallel collection by British contemporary artists, brothers Jake & Dino Chapman is displayed. It is aptly titled Disasters of War II. Their colourful, sometimes garish, sexually graphic images of war are mounted on three separate walls, arranged in domino fashion in the center of the room. Enclosed by perimeter with Goya’s prints, their influence and connection of past to present is duly noted.
Judging by the title, it is doubtful that the Piranesi~Goya exhibition was ever intended to serve as a backdrop to modern issues. Nevertheless, the implications remain. Other parts of the collection, such as Piranesi’s works Carceri d’invenzione (Imaginary Prisons) and Goya’s Los Caprichos (Caprices) and Los Disparates (Follies) similarily deal with the darker faces of man.
Despite the celebrity of Piranesi and Goya, one tends to leave this exhibition more focused on the grim messages it evoked, rather than on the famous messengers themselves. In this way of restating the perils of humanity from the past into the present, Piranesi and Goya prove once again to be masters of their trade.
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Gravy bath plays delve into the unusual

You are sitting on the floor at the feet of some stranger in a jammed theatre, which could normally sit 20 comfortably but there are about 50 in attendance. The play seems pointless and it is Saturday night.
Fantastic.
Actually it was the toxic, lemony scent of Vim that permeated the air, after being used a prop.
Currently playing at the Monument National’s La Balustrade theatre until Oct. 27, Gravy Bath’s UnfoundedFearOf and The Party offers a few laughs between the pains of boredom and aggravation.
Gravy Bath Productions is an up and coming Montreal based theatre company, which, in the words of Artist Director, Madd Harold, is dedicated to exploration of “bold, cutting-edge, visceral works which explode the truth of our lives now, in the immediate world.”
The current Gravy Bath production at the Monument National on St Laurent, is setup in two parts. The first is Anthony Kokx’s UnfoundedFearOf, which aims to “probe the cycles of patterned behavior, which lead to suffering.” However, due to the nonsensical rambling of the characters, the suffering was, unfortunately, at the expense of the audience.
The cast of six include a half naked man with dred locks and huge blue alien glasses with apples on the lenses, and two women wearing aprons— one of whom, spent several minutes sucking oranges and bruised apples from her crotch with a toilet plunger, while the other babbled on about a “dirty German man”.
The other characters were equally as… um… amusing: several men wondered aimlessly around the stage and another, whose face was bandaged up with bandanas, spent the duration of the performance tying strings to together in a web-like formation.
Just as I sensed the entire audience on the brink of mutiny, a player walks on stage holding a sign that read “Is this play making you mad? Don’t try to hard to understand it. It will make sense after the break, but if it doesn’t, it’s not supposed to.” Unfortunately, this offered little consolation to the audience who continued to cross their arms and peruse their lips, with a look of exasperation in their eyes.
In an attempt to make sense of it all, I will say this: If Kokx’s purpose was to provoke the audience by creating an environment of uncontrollable irrationally, then the script was brilliantly successful. In fact, I am somewhat reminded of the early Dada movement, who also shocked their audiences with their unconventionally.
The acting, unfortunately, left something to be desired. The players should have considered the close proximity of the Balustrade theatre. While monstrous facial contortions may be less evident in a large auditorium, they only made the audience shudder as we were reminded of our high school drama productions.
The second play, The Party, written by Polish dramatist and short story author, Slawomir Mrozek, revived the poor, tortured audience. The talents of Mike Hughes, Tony Palermo and Nicolas Wright shine in this satirical comedy about three men desperately searching for a party.
The play opens. The theatre is dark, with the exception of a soft glimmer emanating from behind the curtain. The characters back stage discuss how to break into the building they believe is the venue of a rocking party. Their animated voices spark the interest of the audience.
Finally, the three players burst on stage as the lights come on revealing an empty room. The play proceeds as the characters attempt to answer the following: is there a party? If so, where is the music? Are the guests hiding? Perhaps it’s a wedding reception? No, maybe a funeral? and so on.
To sum up, I believe that The Party would have been more successful had it stood alone and UnfoundedFearOf should have commenced with the warning that was announced at the end of the performance: “This play is not absurd. Planes smashing into buildings, that’s absurd.”
UnfoundedFearOf and The Party can be seen at the Monument National’s La Balustrade Theatre. Admission is $12.00 for adults and $10.00 for students and seniors. Performances run until October 27th. For more information call (514) 871-2224.
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Arts

A Family Affair:The Uncles is Canadian independent at its best

The Uncles is a simple comedic drama from Jim Allodi, who, in his directorial debut succeeds in bringing us a beautiful Canadian film about family, life and love that captures the struggles of immigrant families.
Set in Toronto, John Toma is the eldest son of an Italian family trying to balance his life with the responsibilities of being both a father and a brother to his siblings. In the midst of an affair with his boss’ daughter-in-law, he is paying his brother Marco’s tuition and trying to keep an eye on his sister Celia, who is more child-like than anything.
Each character seems so genuine that the audience feels an immediate connection to each individual, including Marco’s friends from the park, who make a lone appearance.
The film itself is centered around John, played by Chris Owens, who is familiar to X-Files fans as Special Agent Jeffrey Spender. John has a lot on his plate as he juggles an affair and home life. However, Owens gives the character the necessary sympathy and edge.
Tara Rosling portrays 30 year-old Celia, who hasn’t been the same since her unnamed accident, with ease. The child like manners and na
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Fuhgeddaboutit: “Corky Romano,” an offer you can refuse

Yet another “Saturday Night Live” cast member tries their hand at the big
screen. This time, it’s everyone’s favourite little guy, Chris Kattan in Corky Romano. However, this movie is far from being laugh-out loud funny.
The plot is ridiculous. Kattan plays the title character, a veterinarian’s
assistant who also happens to be the son of an ailing mob boss, who is this close to life behind bars. Corky’s bumbling brothers decide to give him a false identity to infiltrate the FBI to see what evidence they have against their father, Pops. Funnily enough, Corky somehow becomes a great agent and of course, hijinx ensue.
After creating such memorable characters as Mr. Peepers and Mango, this is one I’m sure we will all want to forget.
Playing an assistant to a vet, Corky is oblivious to the fact that his father is a mob boss. He completely blocks out anything negative, which is why he believes he is actually a landscaper.
Rob Pritts, who makes a less than honourable directorial debut, does not have an all-star cast to work with either, unless of course you count the animals.
Vinessa Shaw plays the less than convincing love interest of Kattan. Peter Berg and Chris Penn play his brothers, one illiterate and the other a closet homosexual. And Peter Falk, best known for his role as Columbo, will never get his career back on track after this debacle.
But I must confess, there are two bright spots in the movie. Perhaps the only scene which is remotely funny involves Corky accidentally ingesting a gross amount of cocaine then twitching wildly, all while lecturing a group of young kids. The other is the music, which we get a taste of from the previews when we see Kattan driving his yellow Miata while singing A-Ha’s hit “Take on Me”.
Of course there are the die hard “SNL” fans who believe anything by a cast member will automatically equal box office gold. To them, I say go ahead, keep believing. For the rest of us, maybe we should tell the cast that they just aren’t funny away from the famed New York set.
Bottom line, studios never cease to amaze me. They seem to produce movies just for money, forgetting to give their audiences quality. Earth to Touchstone Pictures and Disney, Corky Romano is worse than a dead fish wrapped in yesterdays paper! How a movie like this was given the green light is beyond me, but maybe this mystery is best left unsolved.