All I Want for Christmas

 
Centaur Theatre 2021

All I Want for Christmas

Written and Directed by Rebecca Northan

Quebec Premiere

November 16 - December 5, 2021

Featuring Mariah INGER 🎄 Gabe MAHARJAN 🎄 Amelia SARGISSON

Set & Costume Designer James LAVOIE

Lighting Designer Andrea LUNDY

Fight Director Robert MONTCALM

Assistant Director Murdoch SCHON

Stage Manager Merissa TORDJMAN

Assistant Stage Manager Luciana BURCHERI

A Christmas comedy full of slapstick humour and hilarious heart, suitable for ages 12 and up.

Plot

Being an elf isn’t easy. Ginger is the only elf in North Pole history to have been fired from every job she’s tried. When Santa’s mailroom needs a last-minute replacement on December 23rd, Ginger’s sibling, the fastidious Nog, pulls some strings to get her the new position. All she has to do is open letters and run the switchboard – what could possibly go wrong? 

All I Want for Christmas came about in response to a Facebook post from Cape Breton’s Highland Arts Theatre’s Artistic Director, Wesley Colford, who was seeking recommendations for a holiday play with a “maximum of three actors, comedic, preferably Canadian, and preferably written by a woman”. Northan messaged Colford, offering to write a new play. During a phone call, in which Colford shared their wish list of key elements, the basic premise of the play took shape in Northan’s imagination. The HAT production was an unequivocal success when it premiered in December 2020 and now it makes its Quebec premiere at Centaur.

Writing a comedy centred on a holiday associated with gathering during lockdown was a welcome challenge for the self-described workaholic. “I wanted to incorporate the pressure that family can put on us to be a certain way, especially during the holidays, and I definitely wanted to explore the isolation, loneliness and longing to connect that many of us have been experiencing during the pandemic”, explained Northan. “I also happen to be going through perimenopause and want to shine some comedic light on that taboo topic—stop all the whisperings about ‘the change’. I’m always interested in questions around identity, getting to the truth of who a person is, and their right to be accepted for who they are. I had a lot of time to reflect on these themes during Covid, and found a way to wrap them all up with a giant, hilarious Christmas bow. My goal as an artist is to get people laughing while touching their hearts.”

“Having Rebecca and her team at Centaur for Blind Date was a fabulous experience for us and our patrons. When I learned she had a new comedy for the holidays I couldn’t wait to read the script. Rebecca’s brilliant sense of comedy combined with her generous heart and theatrical versatility shine brightly in this quirky, uplifting story that takes a deep comic dive into our very human need to feel loved for who we actually are rather than who we think the world wants us to be.” - Eda Holmes, Centaur’s Artistic and Executive Director.

Parental Guidance:
This play is recommended for ages 12 and up. There is some mature content: mild swearing, alcohol consumption, and references to depression, attempted suicide, and divorce.

Show Schedule Prices
Evenings            Tues. through Sat.          8pm
Matinées            Sat. & Sun.                    2pm
                         Wed. Nov. 24                 1pm    
                         Wed. Dec. 1                   1pm  
Prices 
$67 (Adult), $57 (Seniors) and $38 (under 30)
All prices include tax and surcharges.

For more information about Centaur Theatre visit the Centaur Theatre website.

Portico Project: The Exchange

 

Centaur Theatre 2021

Centaur Theatre Company Presents the Portico Project production of  THE EXCHANGE  September 23 - October 2, 2021 Sponsored by the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation

Co-created & directed by Julie Tamiko Manning Co-created & designed by Nalo Soyini Bruce and Eo Sharp Dramaturgical support by Rose Plotek Stage Manager Trevor Barrette Creative contributors & performers Maryline CHERY | Corrina HODGSON | Sandra KADOWAKI Ainsley McNEANEY | Kayin QUEELEY The Exchange performances are FREE - 20 minutes - and presented twice per evening at 5:30pm and 7pm, Thursdays through Saturdays. Space is limited therefore audiences are encouraged to reserve by phone (514-288-3161) or ONLINE.

Centaur Theatre’s outdoor event, Portico Project, returns for its second year with a new commissioned work developed by the event’s inaugural curators: Julie Tamiko Manning, Eo Sharp and Nalo Soyini Bruce. They were given ‘carte blanche’ by Centaur’s Artistic and Executive Director, Eda Holmes, to create a new interdisciplinary piece for the steps of the theatre, which the trio dubbed The Exchange.  Referencing Centaur’s Montreal Stock Exchange origins, The Exchange features five performers with a wide range of artistic skills. They include Maryline Chery (actor, theatre creator and improviser of Haitian descent); Corrina Hodgson (award-winning Queer playwright and disability advocate); Sandra Kadowaki (Japanese Canadian percussionist and composer); Kayin Queeley (Afro-Caribbean educator and founder of Montreal Steppers); and Ainsley McNeaney (multi-faceted musician, composer and singer/songwriter). In The Exchange, a small group of travelers encounter a theatre performer who seems paralyzed … an empty statue. They resolve to awaken the actor from the fundamental limitations of their discipline to see the myriad creative possibilities available. Challenging the theatrical norm of written text and making full use of the unique setting, the exchanges between the travelers and the actor take shape through spontaneous movement, sound, and music in an exciting and powerful 20-minute work that explores various aspects of theatre invention and performance, from the process of how a new work is born and where it is presented to who is on stage and who is watching.  “The driving goal in this endeavour was to ensure performers and patrons go home feeling they have gained something valuable from their experience”, said director Julie Tamiko Manning.  “There’s a certain inaccessibility that conventional theatres have, which can sometimes get in the way of that happening. It’s definitely changing, which is great, but it’s so ingrained in the system we often can’t see that there are other ways to make theatre. We forget that we can question our methods. It begins with something as basic as the universally-accepted assumption that we start with a written script but language can be a barrier too. We wanted to unpack ‘exchange’, because of Centaur’s history with the word, but also draw from an extraordinary rehearsal I had with another drummer, working on a previous project. We realized we were conversing in another language, one that sprang from a deeply spiritual place—rooted in cultural complexity—that words could never have fully expressed. With The Exchange, we wanted to investigate and flesh out how artists can create within a new rehearsal paradigm, how stage characters communicate with each other in performance, and how the performers connect with the space. We’re so grateful to Centaur for the gift of complete autonomy in this undertaking and for its unwavering faith in us.”

“So much has happened in the last year and a half that has prompted us to question how we live in the world. Is it possible to imagine better systems based on respect and understanding that encourage us to build a more fluid, responsive society? Centaur is very proud to support these incredibly talented artists as they probe these vital issues within the theatre realm. By investigating and implementing a different artistic approach, they help us to envision new ways to look at our relationships and our world. I’m so excited for people to immerse themselves in The Exchange!” - Eda Holmes, Centaur’s Artistic and Executive Director.

Vancouver’s Boca del Lupo is partnering with Centaur again this year with another fun, immersive theatre activity: Plays2Perform@Home. Teaming up with theatre companies and playwrights from across Canada, Boca del Lupo has created five box sets that enable everyone to take leading roles in short, newly created plays with friends and family around the dinner table, picnic blanket, or campfire. The Quebec contributors are local playwrights Marie Barlizo, Michaela Di Cesare, Gabe Maharjan and Adjani Poirier. The Quebec box set will be available for purchase at the Portico Project events for $30. The Western, Prairie, Ontario, and Eastern box sets can each be ordered through Boca del Lupos’ website for the same price and the complete national collection is available for $125.  Vaccination passports are not required; all audience members must wear a mask for the duration of the performances that will be socially distanced.

The Portico Project is once again sponsored by the Beaverbrook Canadian Foundation, and the Société de développement commercial du Vieux-Montréal stepped up as a supporter this year. Thank you both for your confidence; we couldn’t do it without you!

The Portico Ad-Hoc engages under the terms of the Indie 2.2; professional artists who are members of the Canadian Actors' Equity Association. For more information about this event visit this webpage. For more information about Centaur Theatre visit the Centaur Theatre website.

Divina Dali

 

DIVINA DALI

AT GRAND QUAY

OF THE PORT OF MONTREAL

July 16 - October 31, 2021 

  

This exhibition is a journey into Dante Alighieri’s the beyond world, passing through Dali’s surrealism. Thes exhibition presents more than100 works that celebrate the Spanish artist Salvador Dali as well as the Italian writer Dante. It also features Dali’s monumental work he created n 1945 that had never before been exhibited. Additionally, there are several large scale photos.

Dali’s  works on display are his original watercolour illustrations of the Dante Alighieri’s narrative poem The Divine Comedy written between 1308 and 1320. Allegorically, the poem represents a state of the soul after death, including the divine justice, punishment or reward. According to the Western church's postulates established at about those times, both Dante’s poem and the exhibition are divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatory and Paradiso. The Divine Comedy is considered to be the pivotal work in Italian literature. It helped to establish the Tuscan language in which it was written as the standardized  Italian language.

When planning Dante’s 700th birthday celebrations in the early 1950s, the Italian government commissioned Salvador Dali to create 100 illustrations for a commemorative edition of the Divine Comedy. They considered Dalí’s hyper-realistic, bizarre, and nightmarish imagery the perfect pairing to Dante’s visions of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. However, the public outcry against the commissioning of a Spanish artist to accompany the work of an Italian cultural hero forced the Italian government to revoke its support for the project. Undaunted, Dalí worked with a French publisher to have 100 wood engravings (one for each of The Divine Comedy’s verses) made after his watercolours which were completed and published in 1963. Those same original watercolours are presently exhibited in Montreal.

Divina Dalí offers visitors a unique opportunity to travel through three imaginary worlds: Hell, the Purgatory and Heaven. It represent a return, an encounter, seven centuries apart, between the literary work of Dante and the pictorial talent of Salvador Dalí.

The exhibition was based on an original idea from LaGirafe en feu. It was conceived in a spirit of innovation and even driven by some current issues. It twill allow visitors to experience a more intimate and often overlooked dimension of Salvador Dalí's creation by becoming familiar with Dante's major work Divina Commedia, one of the prominent humanist treatises in literature.

This is the exhibition's premiere. It has never been presented anywhere else in the world. It was curated by Raynald Michaud.

DIVINA DALÍ ON SOCIAL MEDIA

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ABOUT

LaGirafe en feu plans, designs, scripts and produces exhibitions dedicated to the work of Salvador Dalí. Embodying Dalí's very spirit of surprising and creating events, it initiates unusual collaborations with current artists; drawing on Quebec know-how and genius, without ever losing the essence of the works of the Catalan master.  Divina Dalí is an original idea from La Girafe en feu.

Raynald Michaud - the Commissioner Artistic director, author, director and designer of exhibitions, shows and events in public and private cultural enterprises. Developer of innovative animation concepts and collaborator of numerous cultural bodies including the Pointe-à-Callières Museum, Space for Life and the Just for Laughs Museum. Recipient of many prestigious awards.

Visit the DIVINA DALI website.

To buy tickets.

MMFA 2020-2021: Riopelle

RIOPELLE                                                                                 

THE CALL OF THE NORTHERN LANDSCAPES AND INDIGINOUS CULTURES

Until September 12, 2021

Jean Paul Riopelle (1923-2002), a major Quebec and Canadian artist, is internationally acclaimed as a prominent figure in modern art. This exhibition, based on original research, explores the artist’s interest in North and Indigenous cultures. On view are nearly 160 works and more than 150 artefacts as well as archival documents. The exhibition sheds new light on the artist’s work during the 1950s and 1970s by retracing his travels and influences that led to his fascination with Canadian northern regions and the North American Indigenous communities.

The exhibition reveals Riopelle’ interest in non-Western arts, as inspired by his friend and collector Georges Duthuit and the writings of anthropologists and ethnologists such as Marius Barbeau, Jean Malaurie and Claude Lévi-Strauss.

It explores the influence of Riopelle’s hunting and fishing trips with seaplane owner Dr. Champlain Charest in the North and Far North of Quebec and Canada during the 1970s, as evidenced in the Jeux de ficelles (1971-1972), Rois de Thulé (1973) and Icebergs (1977) series. Using an intercultural approach, the exhibition offers a novel parallel between Riopelle’s creations and some of the sources that inspired him, in particular a selection of Inuit masks and works of Pacific Northwest coast First Nations.

Following a path that is both chronological and thematic, the exhibition includes nearly 110 works by Riopelle (paintings, sculptures and works on paper) from the MMFA’s collection and some 30 institutional and private collections in Canada, the United States and France. Of special interest is the unveiling of two recently restored major works: the monumental sculpture La Fontaine (circa 1964-1977), displayed for the first time, as well as the imposing canvas Point de rencontre

(1963), the artist’s sole commissioned work, previously exhibited at the Opéra Bastille in Paris. Also on display is a 1946 watercolour by Riopelle that belonged to André Breton; a little-known series of remarkable works on silver-point paper; and several major works, including Blizzard Sylvestre (1953), L’étang – Hommage à Grey Owl (1970), D’un long voyage (1973) and Pangnirtung (1977). Artifacts and an extensive selection of documents (correspondence, publications, photographs and videos) help contextualize the artist’s work.

This exhibition is not to be missed!

Visit the the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts website to check on the opening hours and to purchase your ticket online.

National Gallery Prague

 

NATIONAL GALLERY PRAGUE - NÁRODNÍ GALERIE PRAHA

Virtual Experience

The National Gallery Prague was founded in 1796 and is one of the world's oldest public art galleries and one of the largest museums in Central Europe.

The gallery's collections are not housed in a single location. They are showcased in a number of historic buildings within the city of Prague, as well as other localities. The largest of the gallery sites is the Trade Fair Palace (Veletržní Palác), which houses the National Gallery's collection of Modern and Contemporary Art. Other important exhibition spaces are located in the Convent of St Agnes of Bohemia, the Kinský Palace, the Salm Palace, the Schwarzenberg Palace, the Sternberg Palace, and the Wallenstein Riding School.

Presently, the National Gallery Prague is offering virtual visits of its collections. Consult the National Gallery's website.

The number of individual works available for viewing is quite enormous. On this webpage, it is possible to choose a collection within a particular historical period, works of an individual artist, or view specific artistic techniques and materials.

Since it is not indicated for how long this free virtual experience will be available (maybe only during the pandemic?), do not hesitate to visit the National Gallery Prague website before this offer might be retracted.

Click on images to enlarge them.

Hover over images for more information.

National Gallery Prague website.

Choose individual works here.

MAC 2020-2021: Materiality of Language

La machine qui enseignait des airs aux oiseaux

34 local artists reflect upon the materiality of language

Virtual preview of the exabits available from December 17, 2020

Click on 3 images on this MAC webpage

The Montreal Museum of Contaporary Art (MAC) presents La machine qui enseignait des airs aux oiseaux. It showcases two curators Mark Lanctôt and Francois LeTourneux and their engagement with the local art scene, as well as the notion of language in all its permutations. These ideas evolved considerably over the course of the past two years, with visits to more than eighty local artists’ studios, conversations with a multitude of artists, writers, researchers, thinkers and diverse art practitioners, culminating in the current exhibition. 

 
“The artists and collectives selected for the show represent an extensive and richly diverse body of works around the theme of language, and how, beyond its spoken and written form, it can also be inscribed upon bodies, gestures and on the very material world around us,” explain the curators. “These works enable us to observe the transmission and translation of knowledge, memory and affects as these come toe to toe with the boundary between the body and technology”.                         

World events shape the narrative
 
Numerous questions were raised during the preparation of this show, which bringing forth new meanings especially in light of the current circumstances. “What is body language at a time when a world-wide health crisis literally force the confined separation of our bodies? How our focus, awareness of time, and our physical senses have been transformed? How can the tools we now rely on to communicate with others subjugate their just scrutiny?”

The show assembles a number of works that explore these issues and offer responses that are, according to the curators, “significant for their kaleidoscopic voices each of which fragment into a unique view of the world.” Every piece contains its own logic while concurrently weaving conversations with other pieces at the exhibition, inviting the visitor to discover and to interpret.

Artists:

• Vikky Alexander
• Trevor Baird
• Thomas Bégin
• Simon Belleau
• Scott Benesiinaabandan
• Sandeep Bhagwati
• Jacques Bilodeau
• Rosika Desnoyers
• Mara Eagle
• Surabhi Ghosh
• Carla Hemlock
• Kristan Horton
• Sheena Hoszko
• Isuma
• Kelly Jazvac
• Suzanne Kite
• Moridja Kitenge Banza
• Karen Kraven
• Marlon Kroll
• Nicolas Lachance
• Yen-Chao Lin
• Anne Low
• Luanne Martineau
• Manuel Mathieu
• N.E. Thing Co
• Jérôme Nadeau
• Isabelle Pauwels
• Guillaume Adjutor Provost
• Walter Scott
• Erin Shirreff
• Eve Tagny
• Samuel Walker
• Nico Williams
• Thea Yabut

Noteworthy: digital preview, film program, podcasts, catalogue

• A free digital preview acting as an introduction to the exhibition, the works and the artists will be available on the MAC’s website starting December 17th.
   
• Author, Ronald Rose-Antoinette, proposes as guest curator a film program entitled chorus, talk through life during the course of the exhibition with artists Denise F. da Silva & Arjuna Neuman, Esery Mondésir, Darlene Naponse, Jamilah Sabur, Kengné Téguia, and Suné Woods.
   
• Daisy Desrosiers, an independent curator, will host a series of podcast interviews with some of the artists of the exhibition.  Available soon on the MAC’s website.
   
• A catalogue accompanies the exhibition and includes an essay by Krista Lynes, several short texts written by Nicole Brossard, Marie-Andrée Gill, Rawi Hage, Symon Henry, Joana Joachim, Michael Nardone, Madeleine Thien, Maude Veilleux, Jacob Wren, as well as a number of extracts compiled by Raymond Boisjoly, by Maya Deren, Jeanne Favret-Saada, Branden Hookway, Alfred Jarry, Catherine Malabou, Ferdinand de Saussure and Michel Serres.

MAC is fully committed to supporting and encouraging the Québec art scene.