September and October in arts
I know, I know... where did September go? smdh
The Crow Theatre’s Uncle Vanya (directed by Chris Abraham, adaptation by Liisa Repo Martell) is rather good, I’m happy to report. I have seen a Cherry Orchard at the same theatre some years ago and it was one of the worst things I have ever had to sit through, so I went in with some trepidation. But no, things on the main work as they should. Vanya has to have an outstanding Vanya and an exceptional Sonya, and this one does, in Tom Rooney and Bahia Watson, whose giggly, girly voice in the final monologue
We shall live, Uncle Vanya. We shall live all through the endless procession of days ahead of us, and through the long evenings. We shall bear patiently the burdens that fate imposes on us. We shall work without rest for others, both now and when we are old. And when our final hour comes, we shall meet it humbly, and there beyond the grave, we shall say that we have known suffering and tears, that our life was bitter. And God will pity us.
…cuts you deep. Not a lot of weak links on cast, except for Sonya’s secret love, the village doctor Astrov who is here a Kabir Bedi-esque hunk who speaks with a Pakistani accent. No one should be a hunk or a beauty in Uncle Vanya except for Yelena; the rest of them are dweebs, eccentrics and a pompous ass (Eric Peterson is hilarious as Alexandre, Vanya’s overhyped academic brother who everyone bows down to). Live music is used every effectively in one scene (one always hopes for a melancholy Russian song somewhere in those evening longueurs). There will be tears. The remaining six performances appear to be sold out, but if you call the day of, there may be returns.
Something got lost in translation from Quebec to the ROC in Canadian Stage’s Public Enemy, however. Couldn’t quite see the point of it: it was like an episode of a long-running TV show, rather than a theatrical experience. The 2015 play, adapted for Ontario by its Quebecois author Olivier Choiniere and by Bobby Theodore, stays in the hyper-realist mode (conversations at the family table involve the decline of grammar, World Economic Forum, Kathleen Wynne, and bananas for snack) except for one moment of dystopia involving cell phones. Some shouty fights erupt between siblings at various points and you couldn’t really care about any of them. Someone brings a girlfriend and the purpose of her long monologue seems to be to caricature Quebec’s secularism bill, except with Toronto content? Nothing coheres.
I wouldn’t have gone to see Marcel the Shell With Shoes On on my own, but I have a 10-yo kid that I mentor (well, mostly hang out with once a week) so we went together. And this isn’t half bad! After a long campaign to get his family and old friends back, Marcel realizes they’re… a bit much and that he didn’t really need them to feel complete. While his family is partying upstairs, he’s in the deserted laundry room downstairs, enjoying the wind and the sun through an open window, thinking that while alone, we’re not entirely lonely because we’re one with the universe etc. It’s all quite zen actually. Isabella Rossellini gives voice to his grandma who’s come from away (ie Italy) in someone’s coat pocket.
OCTOBER
October 1, 2 PM: Kate Beaton’s discussing her new graphic novel Ducks at the AGO. I read this magnum opus over the last two days, and I can’t make up my mind about it. It’s a story – fictionalized or documentary? – of the two years she spent working on the Alberta’s oil fields as a twenty-something Cape Bretoner just out of school. The best bits are about the grind and the banter, the day-to-day of a working life under fairly harsh conditions resembling a military base. The weakest is the overlay of present-day political concerns on to her memories, also specified in great detail in the Acknowledgement, just so you have no doubts where the author stands on “indigenous sovereignty”, fracking and the Canadian cross-provincial migration. I need to talk to someone about this book before I can decide if I can’t stand it or if I think it’s a good thing.
October 1, 7:30 PM – there’s a new professional chamber choir in town, and we have extremely few of those. (Like, two?) Toronto Mendelssohn Singers will be a new entity with its own season, but also remain the core of the typically stonking Toronto Mendelssohn Choir otherwise comprised of capable volunteers. Just did an interview for the next issue of the Wholenote magazine with the TMC’s artistic director and conductor Jean-Sébastien Vallée who has great plans for this new a cappella ensemble, eg. commissioning new works, having composers in residence, and performing in atypical spaces. They’re introducing themselves to the world with a 17-part (!) a cappella piece Path of Miracles and three more works by contemporary composers.
October 2, 10:00 AM – 3 PM. Salmon are migrating upstream and the TRCA has a whole day of activities on the topic along the Highland Creek in Scarborough. You can observe salmon jumping barriers on the Humber River and other Toronto waterways these days for ‘tis the season.
October 6, 8 PM: Against the Grain’s Opera Pub returns! At the Transac, every first Thursday of the month.
Speaking of opera…
October 7, 7:30 PM: Chris Alden’s take on The Flying Dutchman, which was apparently inspired by German expressionist movies like The Cabinet of Dr Caligari returns to the COC. While this production has been revived multiple times since its premiere, I am ashamed to say I have not seen it. Some of the reviews were ecstatic (remember when NOW reviewed opera? Different times). Through October 23.
October 14, 7:30, the COC’s pretty traditional production of Carmen returns. A COC warhorse which like most people in this town I’ve seen already, but who can say no to a Carmen? J’Nai Bridges’ Canadian debut in the title role.
October 28 & 29, the still director-less Tafelmusik performs works by Reicha, Mendelssohn and Louise Farrenc. Farrenc was a popular symphonist in her time but the chamber orchestra will not be performing a symphony, alas, but this nonet. Could be interesting. Aisslin Nosky in the concertmaster chair.
Last but not least. WHAT THE ACTUAL is this film that is catering to all my fantasies and interests. Classical music, (the ethics and the lack thereof of) creative genius, women in love, conducting. Madness, unreliable narrator, multiple possibilities? Gloomy European cities? Get this straight into my veins. Opens October 7.
Cate Blanchett's character's name is Lydia, so it's basically a movie made for you. In order not to watch it, you'd probably have to apply for a special permit ;-)