Stage Door News
Stage Door News
THIS IS WHY WE LIVE delights audiences with a surreal, cabaret-style performance that celebrates a great female voice of the 20th century. Blending three languages, this fragmented piece merges original musical score and physical theatre all inspired by the poetry and collage work of Szymborska.
Nobel prize winning Polish poet Wisława Szymborska explores the fragility of human existence in her work with humour, wit, lightness and sincerity. Her work speaks of humanity’s connection to nature, of the irony that is inherent is daily life and writes from a place of hope when looking at our ability towards destruction.
In Co-production with Tara Arts (UK) and Théâtre de L’Enfumeraie (France), emerging theatre company Open Heart Surgery Theatre will have its Canadian premiere at The Theatre Centre from October 6th to 9th, 2016.
Director Coleen MacPherson says "THIS IS WHY WE LIVE has been an incredible journey for myself and the company of artists involved; coming from diverse backgrounds and blending a live musical score into the work, we have all come together to experiment with how poems can find their way in the theatre and to communicate a very unique voice -- it has been an incredible ride exploring a wise and witty poet like Szymborska and not to mention working with some very talented, young and inspiring artists! This marks our debut in Canada with Open Heart Surgery Theatre, so we are excited to share the work on Canadian soil."
As part of THIS IS WHY WE LIVE’s Toronto run, Open Heart Surgery Theatre is excited to present Szymborska in the Present Day, a special talk following the show on October 8th featuring a panel of Toronto-based contemporary poets to discuss Wislawa Szymborska’s profound influence on modern-day poetry.
Directed by Coleen MacPherson (playwright of award-winning First Draft, Mimetic Festival UK) and performed by Elodie Monteau (Miraculi, Theatre Senza, European tour; Cassandre, Les Compagnons Butineurs, French and Central American tour; Sans Issues Dessous, Collectif Petit 8, French tour) and Alaine Hutton (Intangible Trappings, Lester Trips), with cellist Dobrochna Zubek (Yo-Yo Ma Fellowship recipient 2012-2016). Set and costume design by Helen Yung (LULU, Buddies in Bad Times; The Whole Shebang, Dreamwalker Dance Company; GULLIVER, Harbourfront Centre) and lighting design by Rebecca Picherack (Uncle Vanya, Shaw Festival; Disgraced, Mirvish; Blood Wedding, Soulpepper Theatre)
“[Open Heart Surgery Theatre] is to be applauded for demonstrating the boundless possibilities afforded by physical theatre ... a melancholy quest for freedom” - Full Stop Arts, Michael Reffold
Open Heart Surgery Theatre is an international theatre ensemble based in Toronto and the UK interested in inter-cultural work. Led by Coleen MacPherson, Open Heart Surgery Theatre has performed in Canada, France, the UK, and soon, Egypt. We take an interdisciplinary approach to theatre making: merging live music, film and dance to create original theatre that opens the heart and speaks about relevant material.
THIS IS WHY WE LIVE is being presented at The Theatre Centre’s incubator space, a nationally recognized live-arts incubator that serves as a research and development hub for the cultural sector. The Theatre Centre’s mission is to nurture artists, invest in ideas and champion new work and new ways of working. The company fosters a culture of innovation by embracing risk and questioning traditional notions of failure and success.
SHOW INFO for THIS IS WHY WE LIVE:
Venue: The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St. W, Toronto
Dates: October 6th at 7:30pm
October 7th at 7:30 pm
October 8th at 7:30pm with Szymborska in the Present Day: A Post-Show
Talk with Local Poets at 8:45pm
October 9th at 1:30 pm
Tickets: $25 Regular, $20 Student
Free Drink Included
Available online at theatrecentre.org or by phone at 416.538.0988
twitter: @OHsurgery
Photo: Wisława Szymborska.
2016-09-07
Toronto: Open Heart Surgery Theatre presents "This Is Why We Live" October 6-9