Review: (Montreal) Blue Box (WildSide)

                                                                    Photo by Andrew Alexander
The Box that is not a "Box"
by Caitlin Murphy

Fitting for the Centaur Theatre's WildSide Festival, Carmen Aguirre opens her one-woman show Blue Box with a confession:  the show is actually called Blue Cunt. She went with the gentler euphemism, she tells us, for obvious promotional reasons. Rather like the experience the title describes though, the show, presented by Nightswimming, in association with Neworld Theatre, and directed by Brian Quirt, is a bit of an exercise in frustration.

Review: (Montreal) Talk, Mackerel (WildSide)

The Most Bizarre Children's Birthday
by Chad Dembski

Talk, Mackerel playing at the Centaur Theatre’s WildSide festival is a completely unique, bizarre and absurd piece created by Sarah Segal-Lazar.  From the first awkward moments entering Centaur’s Studio space an instant decision is needed to be made; to sit at the table on the stage or sit in the centre part of the audience.  I chose to sit close but in the audience due to a recent bout of stomach flu but many audience members joined the table before the start. The invitation on the cover of the program is to Leslie Moira Duncanaine’s birthday party and the design of it all prepared me for something in the genre of childrens theatre possibly.

Review: (Montreal) A Quiet Sip of Coffee (WildSide)

Photo by Lily Jamali

When the water is coffee and the prank is the Play
by Chad Dembski

“Hi everybody, remember this is a play”.  This is one the first sentences from the start of AnimalParts creation A Quiet Sip of Coffee. The two writer/performers present themselves to the audience, introduce the premise of the piece but most of all want to remind everyone of what is real and what is not.

  

The story revolves around a letter written in the summer of 2004 to a fundamentalist 'ex-gay' organization they saw advertised in a weekly newspaper.  As a self-proclaimed 'gay-straight' duo they decided to prank the organization and ask for funds to produce a play.  The letter was answered, a meeting was set up and before they knew it they were not only there to work on their play but also agreed to participate in their camp.  This was a two week intensive Gay conversion therapy camp with boys and men from all over BC, Alberta and Washington State. 

Review: (Montreal) Two Short Women (Wildside)

Lost Footing

by Caitlin Murphy

Two Short Women, written and directed by Ann Lambert, follows long-time friends Debra (Debra Kirshenbaum) and Laura (Laura Mitchell) on their vacation escape to a sunny paradise.  The contrasts between the middle-aged pair are quickly established:  Laura is recently divorced with two kids, Debra is never married, childless and kinda-sorta dating; Laura is reserved and tentative, pre-occupied with the world’s injustices, and Debra is a brassy broad keen on soaking up all of life’s bounty.