Mukashi, Mukashi; Once Upon a Time, currently playing at the Theatre Centre, is a collaboration between two companies; Toronto’s CORPUS and Osaka’s KIO. It explores two characters who feature prominently in the folklore of Europe and Japan; the wolf and the crane. This is done via a playful exploration of two well known folk tales; Little Red Riding Hood and the story of the Crane-Woman who weaves miraculous cloth.
It’s not opera yet but I’ll take any live theatre I can get right now. Last night’s show was a joint presentation by Jamii Esplanade and Théâtre Français de Toronto of David Danzon and
Carolin Lindner’s La bulle. It’s not an easy show to describe. There is one character; Pierrot, dressed in the traditional manner and played brilliantly by Danzon. He inhabits a transparent dome. Pierrot dreams his dreams wordlessly through mime, drawing, dance and even text. He finds ways to communicate with the outside world; us, sitting in a 360 degree arrangement around the dome. There’s music and complex lighting effects. The show has real emotional depth and is strangely moving. At times it’s very funny and Danzon’s agility and ability to go through what seem like complete personality changes is rather remarkable. It’s playing at 8pm every night until September 5th in the courtyard at Berkeley Castle but I’m afraid all performances are sold out.
Photo credit: Muriel Cavanhac
operaramblings 