The Baklawa Recipe

Centaur Theatre /49th Season

THE Baklawa Recipe

World Premier 

January 23 -February 18, 2018

Written by Pascale Rafie

Translated by Melissa Bull

Directed by Emma Tibaldo

The play was inspired by the playwright's own family. There are four women on the stage, members of the same family. Two older women came to Canada from Lebanon in the 1960s and settled in Ville St-Laurent, a greater Montreal's neighbourhood. They married two Canadian-born Lebanese brothers who never appear on the stage, and their lives became tied together. Two other characters are their daughters, cousins, who represent a new generation of Quebequers - Canadians.

The stage action takes place from the perspective of two generations. Those who started their new live in a new land represent the generation of immigrants who are trying to preserve their traditional cultural values while embracing their new country. And there are their two daughters who are fully-fledged Canadians but are still struggling with some of their mothers' issues. One accepting the cultural heritage of her mother, the other totally disassociating herself from her Lebanese cultural values, as her mother herself attempted to do quite painfully and unsuccessfully. 

The only constant in the play is the making of Baklawa, which rans as a leitmotiv through the entire play and ties together the two generation of women and the play's separate scenes. It represent the women's cultural heritage. It becomes their grounding activity and an important symbol for the succeeding generations. Many family issues also resurface that the members of the audience couldt relate to.   

The play bergan its journey as La Recette de baklawas. It received its first French public reading at the 2012 Festival du Monde Arabe. Since then, it has been developed through the CEAD (Centre des auteurs dramatiques). Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal’s Artistic Director, Emma Tibaldo, stepped in to direct a French reading at Theatre d’Aujourd’hui as part of Dramaturgies en Dialogue in 2013. In 2015, an independent reading was presented at Theatre La Risée where Ms. Rafie was author-inresidence and from 2015 to 2017 CEAD, in partnership with Les Voyagements, produced several more French readings in various local Maisons de la culture with Ms. Tibaldo at the helm. PWM then commissioned and developed the English translation by Ms. Rafie’s half-sister, Melissa Bull, through the Cole Foundation’s Emerging Translators program and PWM's Translation Workshop program. The Baklawa Recipe had its first public reading in English at Imago Theatre's Her Side of the Story in 2016.

CREATIVE TEAM

Actors Eleanor Noble, Anne-Marie Saheb, Christina Tannous and Natalie Tannous

Set & Costume Designer Eo Sharp

Lighting Designer Bruno Rafie

Composer Nicolas Royer-Artuso

Sound Designer Peter Cerone

Movement Designer Leslie Baker

Dramaturg Élizabeth Bourget

Translation Dramaturg Maureen Labonté

Assistant Director Emily Murdoch

Stage Manager Jacynthe Lalonde

Apprentice Stage Manager Chloé Ekker

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For more information, visit the Centaur Theatre website.

Sunday Chat-ups

Sunday Jan. 28 @ 12:30pm

FREE

Join Lucinda Chodan, Montreal Gazette’s editor in chief as she speaks with The Baklawa Recipe Playwright Pascale Rafie, and Lighting Designer Bruno Rafie.

In collaboration with the Montreal Gazette

Saturday Salons

Saturday Jan. 27 & Feb. 10

Following the matinee performance.

FREE

Get to know Centaur’s new Artistic and Executive Director, Eda Holmes, in casual conversation about this production and all things Centaur.

Talk-Backs

Thurs. Feb. 8 & Sunday Feb. 11

Following the performance.

FREE

Audiences are invited to stay 

after the show for a lively Q&A

Auto Show 2018: Toyota Design

Montreal International Auto Show 2018 / Toyota Concept Car
January 19 - 28, 2018

Each year, visitors see many superbly designed cars at the Montreal International Car Shaw. All car makers boost the latests car models, but before each model is actually produced, a lot of work and design skills are needed to bring it to life. Toyota comes with the most intriguing new designs. You can see, for instance, their last year's (2017) stunning concept car here. This year's prototype-concept car is also a marvel. It has a stern metallic finish that projects a a dignified and solid image. It also looks sportier than the last year's prototype.

The car features many interesting design elements, and you might find yourself circling around it several times to catch all or many of them, as one attention shifts from the most prominent features to the other less flashy details that are also of great significance to the overall design of this concept car.

The number of cars presented at the Shaw and their variety is so vast that one can easily miss some gems. But this Toyota prototype design is definitely not to be missed. Look for it at the Toyota exhibition section on Level 2, the last huge exhibition Hall of your Auto Show visit. 

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Location of the Montreal International Auto Show:

Palais des congrès de Montréal

For more information, visit the Montreal International Auto Show website.

Auto Show 2018: Performance Zone

Montreal International Auto Show 2018 / Vintage Cars - Design
January 19 - 28, 2018

The Montreal's annual Auto Show, that draws great crowds year after year, brightening for them the January's cold winter, has once again opened its doors to the visitors at its usual location at the at Palais des congrès. On Friday morning, the first day of the exhibition, the Shaw has welcomed an impressive crowd of people, that once again testified to the great popularity of this show.

Although the latest car models at the Show merit the visitors' utmost attention, this year's Performance Zone had once again proven to be very much appreciated, giving the car lovers the possibility to remember, or for the younger generation to discover, how cars used to look like once upon the time. Several of these old car models are arrange in a situational installation-like setting, with many vintage props completing the effect of seeing how it used to be as when some of the visitors were still young.

I saw one young woman when entering the first Performance Zone room suddenly jumping up with joy and with a loud shout, "WOW!". Her friends laughed and told her their was still more to see...

Definitely plan to spent time to look at the vantage cars on display, as even some small details might amaze you.

You can also purchase at the Auto Shaw toy vintage car models as seen in the photo below.

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Location of the Montreal International Auto Show:

Palais des congrès de Montréal

For more information, visit the Montreal International Auto Show website.

McCord 2017: Gabor Szilasi

GABOR SZILASI

THE ART WORLD IN MONTREAL, 1960-1980

December 7, 2017 - April 29, 2018

Gabor Szilasi is a renowned Montreal’s photographer.  This exhibition consists of 43 black and white photographs from the artist's personal collection, 40 of which have never been published and were printed especially for this exhibition.

The exhibited photographs were taken at exhibition openings and other artistic events held in Montreal between 1960 and 1980, and are presented in chronological order. They immortalize galleries that no longer exist, several artists, faces, places and vitality of Montreal's art life at a time of social and cultural upheaval. Shot in a spontaneous documentary style, they capture the art scene of the 1960s and 1970s, a period of great artistic growth and diversification when art was coming into its own in Quebec. Szilasi's images show the restrained elegance of the early 1960s, which slowly gave way to an atmosphere of enthusiasm by the end of the decade, before settling into a mood of relaxed irreverence in the 1970s. Although Gabor Szilasi is one of Quebec's best-known living photographers, this significant aspect of his work has never been exhibited before.

The exhibition offers a contemporary reinterpretation of the artist’s substantial photographic archive consisting of over 100 rolls of film, or approximately 3,600 negatives. Equipped with a 35-mm camera, the photographer shot, printed and archived the images with a method used in the latter half of the 20th century and now largely obsolete. Contact sheets are an integral part of this mode of photography, so they are included in the exhibition with items like Szilasi's camera, negatives and notebook. These items, representing the material nature of the artist’s archive, provide an insight into his creative process.

"As part of our mandate to feature the best in documentary photography from here and abroad, the Museum is honoured to present, for the second time since 2010, the work of Gabor Szilasi," stated Suzanne Sauvage, President and Chief Executive Officer of the McCord Museum. "A major figure in Quebec photography, Szilasi has influenced an entire generation and created an exceptional record of a period in the cultural history of Montreal."

Gabor Szilasi at the press conference 

Gabor Szilasi at his McCord exhibition

Photographer Gabor Szilasi

Photographer Gabor Szilasi was born in Hungary in 1928 and immigrated to Canada in 1957. Soon after settling in Montreal, Szilasi began to photograph the many art openings that he and his lifelong companion, artist Doreen Lindsay, regularly attended. Over the next few decades he produced an extensive photographic record of the individuals that made up Montreal’s visual arts community, a number of whom would shape the history of art in Canada. Presented at McCord Museum for the first time as a body of work, these images exemplify Szilasi’s long-standing fascination with people and, in particular, artists. Photographing openings may at first have helped him integrate into the local art scene, but it evolved into a way of acknowledging the affective relationships that bound him to his adopted city.

Numerous activities like lectures, meetings and film screenings are being organized in concert with the exhibition. The Museum is also marking the occasion with a new annual membership category aimed specifically at photographers, both amateur and professional. A description and schedule of the programming can be consulted at the McCord Museum's Website, on the calendar of activities and the membership inscription page.

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All photos in this article © Nadia Slejskova

PAC 2017: Passion - Hockey

PASSION: HOCKEY
A Unifying Experience

November 25, 2017 - March 11, 2018

Pointe-à-Callière (PAC), the Montréal Archaeology and History Complex, is presenting a new exhibition Passion: Hockey.

Hockey is officially Canada’s National Sport. Canada is considered the birthplace of ice hockey, and Canadians generally regard the sport as their own. Though three locations: Montréal, Windsor (Nova Scotia), and Kingston (Ontario), have all claimed to be the birthplace of ice hockey, there is little clear evidence to pinpoint the exact place where a game played originally with balls and sticks has become a hockey game. What we do know, the first game of organized ice hockey, as we would recognize it today, in fact the first indoor game, was played in Montréal on March 3, 1875, where J.G.A. Creighton, a McGill student, established a set of formal rules. Hockey is therefore a part of Montreal and Quebec social history and is highlighted as such by the present PAC's exhibition that celebrates and explores the different dimensions of this sport, including its popular roots, and its evolution and influence. And it also celebrates the oldest and most legendary team in the NHL league, the Montréal Canadiens.

The exhibition also marks the centenary of the National Hockey League (NHL), and the 125th anniversary of the Stanley Cup. It was adapted by PAC from an exhibition developed by the Canadian Museum of History. It features over 500 unique items and even a collection of more than 1,200 hockey trading cards (see just below).

Last winter Pointe-à-Callière put out a call to collectors of hockey memorabilia. They received over one hundred offers from hockey fans, especially the supporters of the Montréal Canadiens. All kinds of rare items conserved over the years that recall key hockey events and players’ feats were loaned to the Museum and are now on display for visitors to see. A huge variety of objects: cards, hockey sticks, pucks, autographed photos, souvenir items, all symbols of fans’ devotion to the team and its history.

This exhibition will delight not only the ardent hockey lovers but also those who rarely watch hockey, or those who are not knowledgeable about the game but would like to learn more about it, its history and origins. The visitors will be amazed to see such rare items as a contract the great Quebec hockey player Maurice Richard, nicknamed "Rocket" Richard, signed just on an ordinary small sheet of paper (see below). This would be now quite unacceptable, in view of present day multi-paged, legally produced, long and detailed hockey players' contract documents. 

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For more information about the museum and its 2017 activities, visit the PAC Museum's website.

McCord 2017: Toy's Exhibition

THE TOPSY-TURVY STORYLAND
McCord Museum's 8th annual Toys exhibition

November 19, 2017 -  March 18, 2018

AN ADVENTURE OF DISCOVERY TO BREAK THE SPELL OF THE FAIRY CARABOSSE

The McCord Museum presents its annual Toys exhibition, this year based on an original concept: The Topsy-Turvy Storyland. It is largely geared to children aged 3 to 9 and their companions. All are invited to explore the world of timeless fairy tales that have charmed generations of kids: Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Little Mermaid and Cinderella. In an imaginative fairytale-like setting, the children and other visitors will see numerous toys and objects from the Museum's Decorative Arts collection. Ideal for the holidays and winter school break, the exhibition transports visitors to Storyland, a world turned upside down by an evil spell cast by the Fairy Carabosse.

This year's exhibition occupies more space than it has in the past, offering visitors a look at nearly 150 artefacts from the Museum's collection of toys and decorative arts. These objects, several of which are being displayed for the very first time, have been restored by the McCord Museum  conservators and arranged in a magical decor with a touch of nostalgia. Parents and children alike will enjoy this fun and exciting treasure hunt through the world of fairy tales.

Among the objects from the Museum's collection on display are antique storybooks, an automaton doll created by Léopold Lambert (19th century), and a life-size carousel horse (early 20th century). Texts aimed at adults provide background information on the fairy tales and details about the artefacts on display.

This is a participatory exhibition with its own story line that opens a door into the world of fairy tale characters:

The realm of good King Dagobert has been buzzing with excitement for days, getting ready for the grand ball to celebrate the king's birthday. Everyone is invited—everyone, except the Fairy Carabosse. Furious at having been left off the guest list, she casts a terrible spell on the kingdom so no one can join the party. Immediately, characters and objects from different  stories are all mixed up. Little Red Riding Hood's basket and cape have vanished, Hansel has lost his pebbles and found himself in a different story, and Jack is struggling to find his magic harp and hen that lays the golden eggs. But that's not all! The Little Mermaid cannot locate her friend the fish or her shells, Prince Charming has been thrown into another story, and Cinderella has misplaced her glass slipper. 

To break Carabosse's spell and enable King Dagobert's ball to go ahead as planned, children must spot the ten characters and objects that have been put into other stories. When visitors enter the exhibition, they are asked to use their powers of observation as they walk through the forest and peek into the windows of Grandmother's house (Little Red Riding Hood), enter the house of the wicked witch (Hansel and Gretel), wander above the clouds (Jack and the Beanstalk), explore under the sea (The Little Mermaid) and stroll through the magnificent palace ballroom (Cinderella). Once the spell has been broken, the visit ends in the "magic library," an immersive reading room that invites one and all to peruse fascinating fairy tales from here and around the world.

At the very end of the exhibition, the children enter a cosy library where they can sit down and read fairy tales.

Speicial activities for children

The exhibition also includes a dress-up area and space for playing games like bowling, memory, blocks and bird watching, to name a few.

Entrance to the museum is always free for children ages 12 and under, an initiative that enjoys the financial support of Tourisme Montréal.

Extensive programming for the holidays

The Museum offers numerous activities designed for the entire family, including Sunday workshops, story hour, The Adventure at the Museum and special events for the holidays and winter school break.  Consult the Museum's Website and the Events Calendar.

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Hover your mouse over images for description and credits.

For more information, visit the McCord Museum website.