Games people play

Edward Albee’s 1962 classic Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opened at Canadian Stage on Thursday evening in a production directed by Brendan Healy.  It’s a long (not far short of 3.5 hours with two short intervals) and complex play; heavily dependent on quick-fire dialogue and with occasional outbreaks of absurdism.  An older academic couple invite the “new man” and his wife back for drinks after a faculty party at a small New England college.  George, a historian of modest distinction, is married to Martha, the daughter of the college president.  The newcomers are Nick, a biologist, and his wife Honey.

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February 2025

Before looking forward to next month I want to mention a couple of things this weekend that I haven’t previously noticed.  Saturday (Jan 25th) at 12.30pm there is a Met HD broadcast of new production of Aida with a pretty interesting looking cast.  Later, at 6pm there’s a rather special concert at the Arts and letters Club to celebrate the 100th birthday of Morry Kernerman (former assistant concertmaster of both the TSO and OSM).  The concert is presented by Canzona Chamber Players and wiull feature Trio Uchida-Crozman-Chiu. Continue reading

The Journal of Helène Berr

Helène Berr was a student at the Sorbonne in the 1940s.  She was musical, well read and kept a journal.  One looks at her photograph and one sees exactly what one expects; regular features, not too much makeup, nicely cut hair.  All in all a typical young middle class Parisienne of the period.  But she was Jewish and, ultimately deported to Auschwitz and then Bergen-Belsen, where she was killed just days before British troops liberated the camp on 15th April 1945.

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Late night in Temerty

Always one of my favourite concerts, the annual late night one in Temerty Theatre which forms part of the 21C festival.  As usual on Saturday night Brian Current was conducting the GGS New Music Ensemble.  This time it was two new Canadian works plus a 1994 piece by Luca Francesconi. Continue reading

Imani Winds and Michelle Carr

The opening concert of this year’s 21C festival was given by the Imani Winds (Brandon George Rule – flutes, Toyin Spellman-Diaz – oboe, Mark over – clarinet, Kevin Newton – horn and Monica Ellis – bassoon) and pianist Michelle Carr in Mazzoleni Hall on Saturday evening.  It was a programme of 20th and 21st century works with a kind of French/jazz theme.

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Winter Solstice

Roland Schimmelpfennig’s play Winter Solstice in an English translation by David Tushingham opened at Canadian Stage’s Berkeley Street Theatre on Friday night.  It’s directed by Alan Dilworth of Necessary Angel theatre Company in collaboration with Birdland Theatre and Canadian Stage.

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Sara Schabas in the RBA

Wednesday’s lunchtime recital in the RBA was given by Wirth Vocal Prize winner Sara Schabas and pianist Alexey Shafirov.  It was a varied and virtuosic programme.  Five composers and five languages were involved and the works performed ranged in date from the 1815 to 2000.

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Towards a Poetics of the Person

Liz Appel’s play Wights was premiered at Crow’s Theatre on Wednesday night in a production directed by Chris Abraham.  It’s a complex satire on Academia and academic relationships with a touch of comedy/horror; Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf with just a smidgeon of Shawn of the Dead.  And it takes place in the immediate run up to the 2024 US Presidential Election. with all the hopes and fears for the future packed into that.

Wights-photobyDahliaKatz-9302

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Last Landscape

Adam Paolozza’s Last Landscape opened at Buddies in Bad Times on Tuesday night.  It’s an experimental piece about environmental collapse.  It’s not exactly a “play”.  There are no words.  What there are are puppets, movement and sound.

1. Last Landscape_photo by Fran Chudnoff

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