Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Nightwood Theatre is thrilled to present Volcano’s breakout success from the 2016 Progress Festival, Century Song, onstage at Crow’s Theatre, 345 Carlaw Avenue, April 18-29, 2017.
After touring Canada and Europe to rave reviews, this tour de force performance returns to Toronto for a limited run. Called a “must-see” (NOW Magazine), Century Song is a live performance hybrid showcasing the extraordinary talent of soprano Neema Bickersteth as she seamlessly melds classical song and movement to inhabit a century of Canadian women.
Created by Bickersteth, and Dora Award-winning collaborators Kate Alton (choreography) and Ross Manson (direction), this gorgeously unique show features music by some of the past 100 years’ most adventurous composers (Sergei Rachmaninoff, Olivier Messaien, John Cage, Georges Aperghis, and Toronto’s own Reza Jacobs), as well as projections by Germany’s fettFilm – astonishing visuals that bring alive major art movements of the 20th century. Both whimsical and riveting, Century Song is a wordless chronicle of the age, built from art.
Born in Alberta to Sierra Leonian immigrants, Bickersteth has received acclaim for her work as a classical singer, performing at major venues in Canada and Europe. When describing the inception of Century Song, Bickersteth says, “Once I became comfortable with my ability as an opera singer, once I got to the point where I felt immersed in the form, then I began to question the form itself. I started to wonder how I, as a black person singing white European roles from another era, connect personally to this art form. It became problematic to connect with what I was trained to sing. I love the music, but I began to feel constricted in my expression of it. I began to look for other ways to fuse my training and love of classical music, with my dawning awareness of other modes of expression.”
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Tues, April 18 – 8 pm *PREVIEW – all tickets are $20
Wed, April 19 – 8pm *OPENING
Thurs, April 20 – 8pm
Fri, April 21 – 8pm
Sat, April 22 – 8pm
Mon, April 24 – 1:30pm
Tues, April 25 – 8pm
Wed, April 26 – 8pm
Thurs, April 27 – 8pm
Fri, April 28 – 8pm *SOLD OUT
Sat, April 29 – 2pm
Tickets range from $20 to $35 and are available in person at the Crow’s Theatre Box Office, 345 Carlaw Avenue, 647-341-7390 or at nightwoodtheatre.net or crowstheatre.com
ABOUT NIGHTWOOD
As Canada’s foremost feminist theatre, Nightwood provides an essential home for the creation of extraordinary theatre by women. Founded in 1979, Nightwood Theatre has created and produced award-winning plays which have garnered Dora Mavor Moore, Chalmers, Trillium and Governor General’s awards. The company is helmed by Artistic Director Kelly Thornton and Managing Director Beth Brown, whose leadership has received public acclaim for artistic excellence, advocacy, and the successful training and development of emerging female talent.
For more information on Nightwood Theatre visit nightwoodtheatre.net
Twitter: @nightwoodtheat
Facebook: /nightwoodtheatre
ABOUT VOLCANO THEATRE
Volcano is an international award-winning theatre company based in Toronto. Using innovations in global and intercultural performance practice, Volcano creates theatre that is stylistically and socially modern, a theatre that explores identity, politics, and history. Volcano is both cosmopolitan and uniquely Canadian, bringing this country the latest in international theatre trends while touring Canadian artists and works around the world. Led by Artistic Director Ross Manson, Volcano has been a vital contributor to the independent theatre scene since 1994, and continues to question what it means to be a purveyor of outward-looking, rigorous Canadian performance.
For more information on Century Song or Volcano visit volcano.ca
Twitter: @volcanotheatre
Facebook: /volcanotoronto
Photo: Neema Bickersteth in Century Song. ©2016 John Lauener & Dahlia Katz.
2017-03-01
Toronto: Nightwood Theatre presents Volcano's "Century Song" April 18-29