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Davide Chiazzese in Sala XVIII (photo credit, Sylvie-Ann Paré) By Gaëtan L. Charlebois Andrew Cuk's new play, Sala XVIII is a dense, difficult work which is performed letter-perfectly by a well-rehearsed cast and that, my friends, is the problem. What went drastically missing this evening was the crackle of an opening night, the excitement of the premiere and, finally, the spontaneity of a cast which is still wrapping its mouths and heads around words which flow like rich, red wine. What was missing was spontaneity. Don't get me wrong: the core of this work is a fine thing indeed, and it's presentation has moments of brilliance (the mix of Noh, Kabuki, stylized ancient Greek and modern theatre offers some very beautiful images). But then there are the words which, no doubt, are quite lovely on the page but which, somehow, seem to hover over the actors heads—just out of reach of human expression; when the play relies mostly on its words it has an arch, artificial feeling and one suspects that the actors—the human beings—are secondary to recitation of those words. |
Showing posts with label Theatre Ste-Catherine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Theatre Ste-Catherine. Show all posts
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Review: Sala XVIII
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Review: Match Made in Hell
Ladystache shimmies up to a skewering of the Montreal theatre scene
by Sarah Deshaies
Brushing aside any dramatic pretensions, Theatre Ste-Catherine’s Match Made in Hell crew presents a hilarious send-up of Montreal’s drama scene.
Equity/non-equity opens for Ladystache, a Toronto duo of sketch wonkiness.
Equity was rehearsed and put together within 72 hours. While the show has its frayed, loose edges at times, you don’t really care. Who’s looking for perfection?
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