thoughts. my new Everest

Every director has plays that sit on their bucket list, and for a lot of them, that's all that will ever come of them. Your bucket list plays are filled with scrapes of ideas and images for what you would do, but they are never fully realized. But then, the times comes where you get an AD to agree to giving you the chance. Then you get the rights. And then your stomach flips....now I have to do it. 

I've had that series of experiences this spring, when one of my long-time bucket list plays, 4.48 Psychosis by the enigmatic and irreconcilable genius, Sarah Kane, came my way. From my very first read of the play, I was captivated. On the surface, the play makes next to no sense; it feels like a long form collage poem of beautifully dark statements that challenge your sense of remaining light in the world, interspersed with scenes. Or are they scenes? There are no indications of the number of performers, the number of voices, the ages or genders. Just words. And thoughts. And somehow, it is hopeful. 

So, I embark upon my new Everest. I have an amazing team lined up. I'm directing for Theatre By The River, with the wonderful support of our company members and AD. I have the honour of working with the shining and adventurous young talent, Liz Whitbred on stage. And I get to return to audio collaboration with my partner in life and art, John Norman, who will help Liz and I transform her singular presence in space and time using sound. 

I'm unbelievably excited to direct what I hope will be my most radical experiment yet. Part play production, part sound installation, part poem. You can trust it will be something different, and I hope you'll come on the journey with us, both here on my blog (where you can expect updates, rants, and of course shameless self-promotion) and when we perform it in The Toronto Fringe Festival and Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival this July. 

Until then...

review. Complete Works -- Richard II @ TheaterFestival Basel, Forced Entertainment (live stream)

UK company Forced Entertainment have, in recent years, leveraged technology far more creatively than many companies, and with a populist twist. Rather than the flashy (and pricey!) live stream performances to Cineplexes around the world a la West End and NT Productions, Forced have been providing their performances via free of charge live stream. This, of course, works fittingly with the durational nature of their work -- I can't imagine a Cineplex giving up 24 hours in one of their cinemas. But the result is that this highly unique work can make its way to North American audiences. The feed of their Complete Works -- a Table Top storytelling performance of the Complete Works of Shakespeare -- is available until September 9th streaming from TheaterFestival Basel in Switzerland at this link. 

So...what is it? Well, lets delve in to their Richard II for a sampling. Told with a single performer in a storytelling format, Richard II employs the use of every day objects one might find at a bar to create the characters of the story of the ineffective English King who gave up his throne to Henry Bollingbroke. It sounds, in premise, silly -- how can a bottle of Ballantyne's represent an English King? How can tiny salt shakers represent his ill advised friends, Bushy, Baggot, and Greene? Well in the hands of a truly captivating storyteller, able to whittle down the story to the key plot points and perspectives while imbuing these seemingly arbitrary objects with the emotions of the story, it is truly successful. 

The objects begin feeling ordinary, but quickly enjoy significance. It is a demonstration of the power of semiotics in storytelling -- that objects  we present on stage are steeped with meaning because we GIVE them meaning simply by touching them in this lit space. And the objects take on the power of the story so beautifully that by time the play ends, and Bollingbroke stands over Richard's body -- one alcohol bottle standing up, the other tipped over -- we feel the tragedy of this fallen King with such force, almost more so than we would seeing actors on a stage. 

I STRONGLY recommend trying one out over the next few days. 

review. The Encounter @ Barbican London (via Live Stream) - Complicité

I often rant on about how theatre can be magical. This is a difficult rant, because for most people, the experience of truly magical theatrical experiences is just a myth. They've heard tell of it, but never truly been encompassed and transformed in the way that theatre has the capacity to do for us. 

This can change. 

Complicité are known for their genre-defying, technically stupendous work, so it is not surprising that when they set out to create an immersive play out of sounds, for which you sit with others but wear headphones, they succeeded in creating something truly magical. Written and performed by the company's leader, the astounding Simon McBurney, The Encounter is an audio experience -- but that doesn't do it justice. It is an overwhelming sensory experience, a new way of feeling a story, not just hearing or seeing it. It is a man and sound; nothing more. I won't say a ton, other than to let you know that you will not soon encounter anything quite like this. 

Lucky for us, The Encounter isn't limited in space and time; thanks to technology, you can stream the recorded live stream from The Barbican in London for a week via Complicité's Youtube channel. 

Do yourself a favour. Put on the headphones, turn everything else off, and immerse yourself for the 2 hours of The Encounter. I assure you, you will not regret it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghc-DM1TVWU