End Game: Soulpepper 2012

So you know when you do an assignment in high school on a book, movie, historical event and you beginning to hate everything about it because of the people you work with, your teacher pressuring you or even plainly the content got boring? Well, that's how I started to dislike Beckett. It didn't have anything to with my group members or my teacher, but more of the content becoming very over extended. I had to remount an edited version of Waiting for Godot and it wasn't my favourite unit, and Samuel Beckett's work made me a little uneasy until Soulpepper presented Endgame in 2012.

I quickly fell back in love with Beckett and apologized for my quick dislike of his work thanks to Soulpepper. This piece of theatre is bleak but so full of complexity and thought. Daniel Brooks direction was absolutely fabulous and was evident from beginning to end. Diego Matamoros played Clov to Joseph Zielger's Hamm, which has probably been one of the richest relationships I've seen in theatre. Eric Peterson also graced the stage as Nagg with Maria Vacratsis' Nell. The presence was so alive in all four of them even though two of them were in a garbage can for their performance. And even when characters weren't on stage their energy was still present. 

Julie Fox's dry walled set design appears as almost like a supporting character for the cast, give such a definite texture and feel to the piece. Richard Feren’s sound design and placement and everything he did with the echoes and faint wind sounds were the cherry on the sundae.

Kelly McEvenue also worked as an Alexander Technique coach with the cast to help them endure the slanted stage and unnatural physicality. And since she's been one of my instructors at Humber it was a pleasure to hear about the process and thoughts behind the piece.

It was such an engaging piece of theatre that I would have loved to see again and again to pick up on the things I missed. It was a knock out that made me appreciate Beckett more than I ever had. 

You can get a season subscription to Soulpepper's 2013 season through their website, if you want to see fabulous productions like Endgame

Soulpepper

Website http://www.soulpepper.ca

Twitter https://twitter.com/Soulpepper

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SoulpepperTheatre?fref=ts

If you had a chance to see Endgame, let me know what you thought in the comments!

With love, 

Lisa Alves

Roz and Guild: What Shakespeare Missed... BIG TIME

Soulpepper has begun their 2013 season with a brilliant play by Tom Stoppard. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1966) is the piece of Hamlet Shakespeare missed. It's a comic masterpiece that follows Roz and Guild, two minor characters in Hamlet, as they wait to be summoned to the Danish court and then later this English King. It's intellectual writing weaves wonderfully through the pitiful story we know as Hamlet.

But the great this is, YOU DON'T NEED TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HAMLET! I personally haven't cracked open my copy of Hamlet for five years, so I was relying on my Lion King knowledge to help me out; and I understood and followed the story perfectly. It's because Stoppard detracted the importance on Hamlet to Roz and Guild, so really it's a whole new story for audiences whether they are Hamlet fanatics or not. 

Joseph Ziegler's direction of this piece of theatre was evident with his wonderful style. Ziegler lead the the ship of this creation splendidly. Ted Dykstra and Jordan Pettle played the leading men. These actors played such great opposites with one being a bit more intellectual than the other and one being a little more carefree than the other. Dykstra played such an open role and was a pleasure to watch even when he was just listening to the craziness of the other characters. Pettle seemed like he approached his role the way his character naturally is, intellectually and dynamically. He was open and pleasure to listen to. Is was also great to be in the presence of Nancy Palk and Diego Matamoros once again, as they played Gertrude and Claudius. Kenneth Welsh and his group of traveling gypsy actor were the party of the show and added such a great tone to the performance. 

The stage was in the round and the set was mobile, allowing for me to feel as if I was part of Roz and Guild's world which had a reminisces feel of Beckett's Waiting for Godot. 

Speaking of Waiting for Godot, the play had that existential quality to it, dealing with the fate of these poor laughable characters, along with the confusion and oddity. 

If you want to get tickets, please do because it is a must see! Soulpepper has added three new performances, extending the run for your viewing pleasure!

Soulpepper

Website http://www.soulpepper.ca/performances/13_season/rosencrantz_and_guildenstern_are_dead.aspx

Twitter https://twitter.com/Soulpepper

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SoulpepperTheatre?fref=ts

If you have seen it, comment here to tell me how you enjoyed it! :)

With love, 

Lisa

Spent

A 2010 Dora Award-winner and a hit at the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and was originally produced by Theatre Smith-Gilmour, TheatreRUN and Why Not Theatre.

Well this play certainly has a great reputation already! Spent was created by four artists who are really impacting Canadian theatre; Dean Gilmour, Michele Smith, Ravi Jain and Adam Paolozza. I might have a bias due to the fact that Gilmour was my Neutral Mask instructor last semester, but in all honesty this play was full of life and energy. 

The entirety of the play was intelligent and poetic while focusing on the greed that resulted in the recent financial crisis. Jain and Paolozza perform about 20 characters from around the world, all by themselves. The use of physical theatre was such a pleasure to watch and probably the best I've seen so far this year. 

This production was so well-paced and explored a great deal surrounding the economy within 70 minutes. 

I also want to highlight the music and the sound that this production used. The selection of songs added to the texture of the piece as well as the changing tones and pace. It was very satisfying. 

I highly recommend everyone to go see the show. The run ends on Friday February 22nd at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, so try an get your tickets at http://tickets.youngcentre.ca/single/psDetail.aspx?psn=6554

Theatre Smith-Gilmour
Twitter https://twitter.com/theatreSG
Website http://www.theatresmithgilmour.com

TheatreRUN
Website http://theatrerun.wordpress.com

Why Not Theatre
Twitter https://twitter.com/theatrewhynot
Website http://www.theatrewhynot.org

Ravi Jain
Twitter https://twitter.com/instantravi

Adam Paolozza
Twitter https://twitter.com/adampaolozza

With love,

Lisa Alves