At first glance, Caridad Svich’s The Tropic of X seems like an ordinary science fiction play depicting a dystopian future. However, it is clear that Svich grounded this political drama in reality. Criticizing North American colonialism, capitalism, and consumerism, the narrative becomes a commentary on the negative conditions that such structures[Read More…]
Theatre
Tuesday Night Café Theatre hosts 24-Hour Playwriting Competition
The competition’s rules are straightforward: Twenty-four hours to write a play, 24 more to rehearse, followed by their performance. On Jan. 25, an eager audience filled up the Tuesday Night Café theatre, witnessing four concise and fully-realized plays. Each performance ran about 20 minutes. Sam Katz, U0 Arts, directed the[Read More…]
“The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)” triumphs
Shakespeare has long been the butt of jokes and the subject of moans in classrooms. Though considered foundational to many curricula, his 500-year-old prose can be impenetrable. To resolve that issue and address many of the Bard’s prepubescent critics’, Tuesday Night Café Theatre (TNC) presented The Complete Works of Shakespeare[Read More…]
‘A History of Breathing’ explores faith and trauma in a fantastical hellscape
What do you get when you cross a frog, a murderous soldier, and (maybe) god? This is the question that The McGill University Department of English Drama & Theatre Program ’s performance of A History of Breathing attempts to answer. This outlandish play combines elements borrowed from creation myths and the[Read More…]
‘Mythic’ will leave audiences enchanted
Broadway has no shortage of Classics-inspired musicals this season. Hadestown, an adaptation of the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice won two Tonys, including best musical. For fans of Rick Riordan, The Lightning Thief opened on Broadway in October. The creators of Mythic now playing at the Segal Centre, hope for the same[Read More…]
‘Ti-Jean and His Brothers’ brings Satan to centre stage at TNC
Tuesday Night Café’s (TNC) performance of Ti-Jean and His Brothers, a modern Caribbean folktale written by Derek Walcott and premiered at Morrice Hall on Oct. 16, is enticingly bizarre. The production is the first of the year from the entirely student-run theatre company and features plenty of up-and-coming actors from[Read More…]
‘Honour: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan’ brings the world of sex trafficking closer to home
Before Honour: Confessions of a Mumbai Courtesan begins, the audience is plunged into complete and total darkness in the Montréal Arts Interculturels (MAI) theatre. When a spotlight comes up on writer and performer Dipti Mehta—her face partially obscured from our view by a colorful, bejeweled scarf—her figure is the only limb[Read More…]
Home Theatre Productions is a welcome addition to the Montreal theatre community
Title of Show, Home Theatre Productions’ inaugural project, debuted on Sept. 12 at the Mainline Theatre. Those in attendance on opening night saw the intimate space packed with friends of the cast and crew, members of the community, and theatre fans alike, leaving nary an empty seat. The excitement in[Read More…]
Bring Your Own Juice supplies the laughs
In the midst of the pre-finals panic, there is often little time for humour. However, one McGill group is bringing joy and laughter to the community, providing some much needed respite from this terribly unfunny season. Bring Your Own Juice (BYOJ), McGill’s only sketch comedy group, hosted a three-night show[Read More…]
McGill Drama Festival continues to impress
Every year, Player’s Theatre’s Drama Festival highlights the abundance of student talent that McGill’s theatre scene has to offer. Showing until Feb. 23, the festival offers six original short plays written, directed, produced, and performed by students. Stories that depicted everything from a first date between high-schoolers to an existential[Read More…]