Stage Door News
Stage Door News
The resident companies at Collective Studio & Events Space, with the help of Artichoke Heart Collective, are set to bring two original epics to Factory Theatre this March – and it’s a collaboration born as much from necessity as it is creative expression. The lack of affordable theatre venues in the city of Toronto isn’t stopping three very different theatre companies from working together to accomplish the same goal: producing their own work at the Factory Studio Theatre without having to file for bankruptcy.
To the Last Cry, presented by the Theatre Lab, follows a nameless peasant boy who must brave a magical forest of danger and deceit to save his dying brother and, hopefully, himself. A dark folktale created with the Theatre Lab's unique Human Clown aesthetic, To the Last Cry blends Commedia dell’Arte, Bouffon, the Laban Efforts, neutral mask, and puppetry to tap into the sincerity of what it means to be silly, and to embolden the construction of a beautifully haunting fantasy world. To the Last Cry has been in development since the spring of 2011, and is an expansion of the world inhabited by the shows Smother and Barakat & Jacopo, written by Omar Hady and previously produced by the Theatre Lab. Featuring performances by Aaron Rothermund (Antigone, Soup Can Theatre), Lea Russell (Into, New Face Entertainment), and live musical accompaniment by Emilyn Stam (Lemon Bucket Orchestra), Journey to the Last Cry is a spellbinding adventure through the possibilities of our imagination.
Pandemic Theatre’s offering, The Lost Sagas of Tjorvi the Flaccid, also takes place in a world unlike our own – not only because of the talking reindeer and colonizing insect monarchy, but because it is a world in which Vikings still rule supreme (albeit tenuously). When the King orders all able-‐bodied men to set sail for more sustainable lands, Tjorvi (Marcel Dragonieri, Best of Fringe’s The Traveling Salesman & His Magical Suitcase of Desires) jumps at the chance to prove himself a man worthier than the title “flaccid”. At once hilarious and insightful, Jiv Parasram (My Gaza, ‘tis of Thee) has written and directed a show that takes a critical look at society’s obsession with power, ego, and the nebulous concept of honour. Described as a piece that will “...make you laugh ‘til it hurts,” (Sonia Barker, Mooney on Theatre), The Lost Sagas of Tjorvi the Flaccid features performances by the Theatre Lab’s Michael Orlando and Omar Hady, Kat Letwin (Toronto Fringe Patron’s Pick A Funeral For Clowns), and Tyler Hewitt (Toronto Sketch Fest’s Rulers of the Universe).
Artichoke Heart Collective, an emerging object theatre company formed by Michelle Urbano and Tijiki Morris, is providing supplementary material to The Lost Sagas of Tjorvi The Flaccid in the form of puppetry and shadow puppetry. Artichoke Heart Collective has been featured in several Toronto puppetry cabarets, including Puppetmongers’ Fresh Ideas Festival, and will be featured in the Montreal Fringe Festival this summer with their new show, We Walk Among You.
the Theatre Lab and Pandemic Theatre present
To The Last Cry
written & directed by Omar Hady
featuring
Alexandra Bacynskyj | Rory de Brouwer | Daniel de Pass Aaron Rothermund | Lea Russell | Andrew Young
with Musical Direction by Lemon Bucket Orchestra's Emilyn Stam Stage Management by Christopher Whitlock
Lighting Design by James Bitter
Costume Design by Alexandra Bacynskyj Dramaturgy by Michael Orlando
&
The Lost Sagas of Tjorvi the Flaccid
written & directed by Jiv Parasram with Alex Rubin
featuring
Tom Arthur Davis | Marcel Dragonieri | Omar Hady | Tyler Hewitt | Ron Kelly | Kat Letwin En Lai Mah | Michael Orlando | Anne Wilkin
Assistant Direction by Joel Chico Stage Management by Rae Powell Lighting Design by Cameron Davis
Costume Design by Alexandra Bacynskyj
Limited Engagement: March 20th – 24th
Wednesday March 20th......8:00PM
Thursday March 21st .........8:00PM
Friday March 22nd ............8:00PM
Saturday March 23rd.........8:00PM
Sunday March 24th...........2:00PM (PWYC)
Sunday March 24th........8:00PM
Factory Studio Theatre (125 Bathurst St) Toronto, ON
Admission: PWYC -‐ $25.00
Box Office: 416 . 504 . 9971 www.factorytheatre.ca
Illustration: Poster for The Lost Sagas of Tjorvi the Flaccid. ©2012.
2013-03-05
Toronto: the Theatre Lab and Pandemic Theatre joins forces for an opera + theatre double bill