Starving bohemian artists living in drafty Paris attics in the mid-19th century, struggling to produce their art, falling in and out of love, sharing and suffering, living and dying, all done while singing. That’s La Bohème in a nutshell. I am embarrassed, even ashamed to admit I’ve never been to
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PostArctica: Birds With Arms Compilation
Because the internet is so much more than just copy and paste!
Continue readingPostArctica: The Giants in Montreal
Went downtown today to check out the giant marionettes that are dominating the scene in the city this weekend. It is pretty cool because the crew that accompanies each giant are energized and organized much like a Cirque du Soleil act. The down side of this is that it really
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Three for the road
Cootie Catcher, written and performed by Lucas Brooks, focuses on Brooks’ close encounters of the transmissible kind. Using a cootie catcher, better known to some as a fortune teller, Brooks regales the audience with tales of all the times he thought he had been exposed to one STD or another,
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Laureen: Queen of the Tundra
As an American expat unfamiliar with the pop-cultural aspect of Canadian politics, a lot of the jokes in Laureen: Queen of the Tundra went over my head. However, it is to the performers’ credit that this did not distract from their commentary about the fluidity of gender and culture, against
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Non-conformist jugglers, Mrs. Pirandello, and intense performance art
The New Conformity, from Vancouver circus troupe Cause & Effect, is on its most immediate level a direct commentary on contemporary corporate culture. The performers, clad in identical grey suits, use juggling and physical comedy to tell the story of one man’s rebellion against imposed monotony, which begins with the
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Dystopia, misogyny, and carrés rouges
2056: A Dystopian Black Comedy takes place in a near-future Canada, controlled by an authoritarian regime known as the Helpers who have, in the wake of an atheist Reckoning, abolished all religion and languages other than English. Like other dystopias, it is based on controlled fear. Written by Keir Cutler
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: The No Bull$#!% History of Canada and Bar Kapra the Squirrel Hunter: No-bullshit reviews
No bullshit, just coffee: Kyle Allatt performs The No Bull$#!% History of Canada to June 21st A tight, well-paced show, The No Bull$#!% History of Canada rips through 600+ years of history in what feels like ten minutes. Given the vast timespan explored in what is actually just under an
Continue readingArt Threat: Performing Aloha in Queer Times
In 2001, filmmakers Kathryn Xian and Brent Anbe broke new ground with their documentary Ke Kulana He Mahu: Remembering a Sense of Place. The film, which documents the lives, struggles, and aspirations of several queer and trans Kanaka Maoli (Indigenous Hawaiians), also made an important and, at the time, novel
Continue readingArt Threat: What does the word Polytechnique mean to you? – a review of The Anorak
The Anorak, written and performed by Adam Kelly Morton, goes beyond the pat answers and media sensationalism around the Polytechnique massacre and examines what made Marc Lépine a killer. Exceptionally well-researched, Morton’s text looks critically at the myriad factors that anti-feminists have attempted to derail the public discourse with, from
Continue readingArt Threat: Just For Laughs: Gregg Proops & Paul F. Tompkins
The Just For Laughs Festival is taking place in Montreal, and Art Threat’s Kristi Kouchakji is there to review the politically-tinged humour for us. Greg Proops: “These are the bad old days.” The word on the street is that this Whose Line Is It Anyway? veteran has a remarkably intelligent
Continue readingArt Threat: Just For Laughs: Jerrod Carmichael, Nikki Glaser & Adrienne Truscott’s Asking For It
The Just For Laughs Festival is taking place in Montreal, and Art Threat’s Kristi Kouchakji is there to review the politically-tinged humour for us. Adrienne Truscott’s Asking For It: A One-lady Rape About Comedy Starring her Pussy and Little Else With a title like “Adrienne Truscott’s Asking For It” and
Continue readingArt Threat: Just For Laughs: David O’Doherty & What Would Beyoncé Do?
The Just For Laughs Festival is taking place in Montreal, and Art Threat’s Kristi Kouchakji is there to review the politically-tinged humour for us. Luisa Omielan’s What Would Beyoncé Do? Despite some terrible promotional copy, Luisa Omielan’s What Would Beyoncé Do? seemed promising. A single 30-something woman moving back in
Continue readingArt Threat: Daniel Higgs at Café Oto: A refuge of cultural integrity
In the mosh pit of global corporate excess that claims so much of London (UK) circa 2014, Café Oto is an oasis of cultural intelligence and inspiration. I popped in last night to check out Daniel Higgs and Michael Zerang, and I wasn’t disappointed. Daniel Higgs (formerly of Lungfish) is
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Hue Man & The Dysmorphia Diet
Hue Man: He Volution An exploration of socially constructed male gender roles through puppetry and video art, Hue Man: He Volution is an interesting concept that doesn’t quite work. The pre-show here includes a PowerPoint presentation about sexist terms that need to be retired, all of which pertain to concepts
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: God as Drag Queen, Big Gay Weddings, and Peeing on Stage for Poverty
God Is A Scottish Drag Queen II Where this God is concerned, nothing is sacred. Essentially an hour of stand-up performed by Mike Delamont in character as a Scottish incarnation of God in a floral power suit with a list of religion-related talking points, God Is A Scottish Drag Queen
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Chlamydia dell’Arte: A Sex-Ed Burlesque
“Butt sex should never be a surprise.” So begins the very catchy tune that opens Chlamydia dell’Arte: A Sex-Ed Burlesque. Alternating skits and burlesque numbers with vox pop video segements, this show aims to “educate through laughter”, and to some degree it succeeds. The safe sex aspects of the show
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Ginger Slurs & Slut Shaming
Project Gingervitis Project Gingervitis is a smart, funny take on discrimination, eugenics, geopolitics, and media manipulation. A one-man show written and brilliantly performed by Jordan Lloyd Watkins and set in a dystopian future, the show tells the story of a lone redhead born years after redheads were thought to have
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Kitt & Jane guide us through the ecological apocalypse
Kitt & Jane: an interactive survival guide to the Near-Post-Apocalyptic Future is environmental activist theatre disguised as charming comedy and shadow play. Created by the team behind the award-winning Little Orange Man, Kitt & Jane sees Kitt, still quietly mourning her grandfather’s death, teamed up with Jane (real name: Lucas)
Continue readingArt Threat: Montreal Fringe: Our Creation, Existence, & Destruction in 55 Minutes
Our Creation, Existence, & Destruction in 55 Minutes is a one-man show from recent John Abbott Theatre grad Ian Geldart. Supported by stage manager Natasha Gabriella Trepanier in minor speaking roles and the work of animator Dylan Alberts, Geldart sets out to explore the big picture laid out in the
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