Articles tagged with: Theatre
A Night Not to be Missed: Nuit Blanche 2012 Preview
So that’s why this Saturday FTBers will be out in full force all night long (which honestly isn’t that much of a stretch for most of us) reporting on the annual Nuit Blanche, aka the closing night of the Montreal en Lumiere festival. Beginning in Paris in 1984 the idea of turning a city into an all night art gallery has since spread to 34 cities, Montreal being one of three in Canada…
2011 Year in Review: Arts
From infringing on corporate culture in Montreal and Buffalo, venue hoping in Toronto during Canadian Music Week, catching experimental music in Brooklyn and hanging with bonafide rock stars at Osheaga, 2011 proved to be yet another exciting year for the arts section at Forget the Box…
Four Days of Madness…The Good Kind: A Report from the 2011 Buffalo Infringement Festival
As the bus takes me back to Montreal away from a weekend away from the ordinary at the 2011 Buffalo Infringement Festival, one thought seems to dominate my mind: next year, I’m going to go for longer. I’ve been for longer, in fact last year I spent a little over a week at the BIF, but this year circumstances limited my time there to four days. Four wonderful days jam-packed with underground art and chillin in the park, sometimes both at the same time. A mere ten minutes after arriving in town, I was in The Bend watching Infringement cab driver (yes, the fest has its own cabbie), visual artist and now spoken-word comedy artist Scott “Skitchy” Steele…
The Mysterious Case of the Flying Anarchist: I laughed, I cried (mainly from the laughing) and I laughed again
Settling into my seat in the cramped but pleasantly cozy Theatre Ste-Catherine for The Mysterious Case of the Flying Anarchist, the much hyped play by local production company/political statement the Blacklist Committee for Unsafe Theatre, I really didn’t know what to expect. I have to plead unfamiliarity with the much-acclaimed Accidental Death of an Anarchist by Dario Fo, upon which this play is based. So I had a vague idea that the plot revolved around the murder of an anarchist by the asshole Rob Ford and little else. Walking out of the theatre a little over an hour later weeping from laughing so hard, I have only one word: masterpiece. This is, by far, the best piece of live theatre I have seen in a very long time…
Buffalo Infringement Festival: Just Get There, They’ll Do The Rest
For those readers who live in Western New York State, Toronto or the area surrounding it who are looking for something to do, for my fellow Montrealers and friends in New York City who can travel a bit and for pretty much anyone into original and underground theatre, independent music and bearing a will to be artistic and different, I have one destination to recommend for the next ten days: Buffalo, New York and in particular the seventh annual Buffalo Infringement Festival…
Infringement Part 3: The End is Near
It was announced to me shortly before the Montreal Infringement Festival started that Anal Pudding were coming to stay at our apartment. Images of this large Buffalo band ripping the shit out of my place were haunting to say the least. Luckily when I eventually met this quirky feacaly themed group, they were ambassadorial in their attitude and friendly-ness. We all hung out and I got a chance to speak to lead singer Kurt who is the main dude when it comes to Buffalo Infringement…
An Infringement virgin’s cherry popping
Of all the festivals happening this Spring/Summer, it was the Fringe festival which was top of my hit list. Ireland, being relatively close to Scotland, made word of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival pretty common place. The idea of an anti-establishment and reactionary festival was somewhat enchanting to somebody with no Fringe experience. So it was much to my surprise and disappointment when I learned a little about the commercial aspect of Montréal’s Fringe TM…but I need not have feared…
Art Matters! (And So Does My Soul): Get Artistically Charged at This Year’s Art Matters Festival
I’ve soaked up a lot of things since moving to Montreal in September. Primarily wine and caffeine, both readily available a short three minute trot from my abode, but I’ve also taken in and absorbed Montreal’s rich artistic culture and creative expression. In fact, my romanticized daydreams about moving to this artistic mecca were only a little of the mark…
Montreal Nuit Blanche!
So much going on, so much to do, what’s a boy to do? Well here are some suggestions. There’s a lot going on in Montreal this evening a lot of big things. It’s Nuit Blanche, as well as the MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE festival, Smoke N’ Mirrors, The 13TH FLOOR with Daniel Bell, the WAWA show… and the list goes on. Every year I try to go out and check out some of the most exciting & interesting…
Joe Louis: An American Romance – worth a ringside view
I’m not a huge sports fan. I traded in my hockey skates for jazz shoes at age five; my track ambitions ended when I slowly but surely came in last place at my high school track meet; and with my serious lack of hand-to-eye coordination, no one will dispute that I put the “bad” in badminton. So when I was offered tickets to see a play about the black American boxer Joe Louis, my heart wasn’t necessarily palpitating with excitement. But then I did a little research, talked to playwright David Sherman, saw the show, and realized this play is rooted in a much richer soil than just sports history. It’s rooted in racism, sexism, and…
Infinithéâtre presents Joe Louis: An American Romance
Sit back—or on the edge of your seat—and witness the Brown Bomber and Max Schmeling face off for the second time, as history is relived this month at Infinithéâtre.
Playwright David Sherman’s Joe Louis: An American Romance opened last night at Bain St-Michel, and runs until February 20. Arriving just in time for Black History Month, the play focuses on the American boxer Joe Louis, one of the most influential figures not only in Black history, not only in sports history, but arguably in the last century.
Hypnogogic Logic is Pure Hilarity: Uncalled For Does Wildside Well
What’s funnier than four guys racing around barefoot in life jackets? Oh wait, let me qualify—with manic energy and crazed expressions on a nearly naked stage at the Centaur Theatre in Old Port? I bore witness and can attest; the answer is nothing. On Tuesday night, Montreal’s most acclaimed improv and sketch comedy troupe, Uncalled For, opened the 14th annual Wildside Festival to a wholly receptive crowd. Well, except for that stodgy couple who left half way through. The only explanation I can reason is that everyone else’s perpetual laughter ricocheted off the walls and knocked the sense out of them. Otherwise, no one’s eyes veered away from the boisterous foursome that is Uncalled For.
2010: The year on Forget The Box – our favourite posts of the year
Is it over already? Twelve months down and we’re (officially) into the second decade of the 21st century. With just four more years to go until we get those flying cars we were promised (holding you to this one, Mr. Zemeckis), it’s probably a good time to sit back and nurse that hangover (if you’ve still got one three days later, that is) and reflect on the year that was. While we can’t tell you how 2010 was for you, we can say that for us here at FTB it was a helluva year. Think about it, a year ago we had just started out with a handful of regular writers, some political and arts coverage and big ambitions. Now, we have over 500 posts and eleven regular columns covering everything from sex to the environment to things Laurence doesn’t like. We’ve also started covering a good portion of the independent music and arts scenes in Montreal and recently Brooklyn, New York, including artists you might not have heard of and festivals you probably have.
We’ve artistically undressed you 2010 Arts & Theatrics year in review
What the fuck is up with our Arts & Theatrics section? We’ve given you reviews of half-naked people dancing around various stages via our Burlesque coverage. We’ve attended art and theatre shows that focus on breaking the glass ceiling by portraying women as silicone objects and transvestite grand-mamas?
2010: The year of confusion – From Rob Ford to Burlesque, the year that made no sense
I must admit, I’m a bit confused. I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to write about here. It’s a year-in-review piece, so at least the time frame is solid, but the subject matter, hmm, that’s another story. You see, I don’t really have a clear beat. I started off 2010 as a theatre writer, but now that’s done by others and occasionally me, at least when it comes to burlesque shows (heh heh, but seriously, check out my reviews of Blood Ballet and Glam Gam). I do write about news and politics, even in this space, but I’m not the only one, so this can’t be a year in the news piece. I could write about the year it was for FTB. (and in fact I will, but that’s coming up New Year’s Eve, not here.) So I guess I’m just going to have to talk about the year in random things that caught my attention.
The Silicone Diaries: An intimate encounter with a silicone goddess
Nina Arsenault enters the intimate theatre in a haze of dry ice, illuminated by gelatinous images of silicone looping on a large screen. She slowly, purposefully slinks to the stage and sits on the edge. With balletic grace she extends her slender arm, like a mermaid reaching towards shore. The room is silent, as if she has sucked the breath out of every single audience member and is using it to restore her own mannequin form to life. Once satiated, she rises and stands before us in perfectly proportioned, cyborg beauty.
