Welcome To The Theatre

The Centaur Theatre, that is. Montreal's primary theatre company. My aunt Tracy* used to work there, and still knows many of the people who do. She expects she will be able to get me a job as an usher, meaning free shows for me. Which is terribly exciting. So, let's look at what the season has in store, shall we?

Scorched: "Described by Wajdi Mouawad as an exploration of “the questions of origins”, Scorched centers on Jeanne and her twin brother Simon, who are summoned to the office of a notary to hear the last will and testament of their mother, Nawal. They are each handed a letter written by their mother; one is to be delivered to their brother and one to their father. The mystery begins, sending them on a journey into their mother’s past, to a Middle Eastern country engulfed in a civil war where she was a political activist and later became a prisoner. Through poetic language and evocative imagery, the play connects the origins of these three members of a family in startling and unforgettable ways."

Thoughts: Could be interesting. I find political material has to be handled well for me to enjoy it, though.

Skydive: "Skydive is a unique theatrical presentation that is staged with the two performers soaring above the stage floor for the entire length of the play. The story unfolds in the 30 seconds of a skydiving free-fall gone horribly wrong. In the stretched out perception of time in a crisis, the story travels back in time to the events that led up to the disastrous jump when Morgan, a frontman for an ‘80’s cover band, decides to help his reclusive agoraphobic brother, Daniel, escape his spiraling descent into fear-bound paralysis by a therapy technique that involves jumping from an airplane in order to face one’s fears.

With breathtaking aerial choreography, cinematic action sequences, and a cheeky soundtrack of 80’s pop, Skydive is a celebration of the power of imagination in the pursuit of the universal dream to fly."

Thoughts: I don't know. For whatever reason, it doesn't interest me. I think it's the '80s thing. I look forward to seeing how it's executed, though.

Shirley Valentine: "Alone in her bland kitchen, consumed by boredom and the dull ache of routine, Shirley Valentine is talking to the walls until she commits the ultimate housewife faux-pas: serving her husband the wrong dinner. With resolve and determination, she leaves behind an uncommunicative spouse, a drop-in daughter and a drop-out son to board a flight to beautiful, sunny Greece and find the love, joy, wonder and passion she thinks she left behind with her youth"

Thoughts: This one sounds like a pretty interesting feminist-ish piece. I'm looking forward to it.

Doubt: "Set in 1964 in a Bronx Catholic school, Doubt centres around an older nun, Sister Aloysius, who does not approve of teachers offering friendship and compassion over the discipline she feels students need in order to face the harsh world. When she suspects a new priest of sexually abusing a student, she is faced with the prospect of charging him with unproven allegations and possibly destroying his career as well as her own. To help build her case, she asks for help from an idealistic young nun, who finds her faith in compassion challenged, and the protective mother of the accused boy, the first black student ever admitted to St. Nicholas."

Thoughts: Doubt is a play I've been curious about for some time, so I'm looking forward to the opportunity of seeing it.

Age of Arousal: "Enter the boldly uncensored world of loosened corsets as five Victorian women pursue a new age where erotic and economic freedom reign supreme. It’s 1885, and the typewriter is invented, a population imbalance leaves London flooded with half a million more women than men and an escalating suffrage movement has ushered in a rip-roaring New Age. Mary Barfoot, an ex-militant suffragette, runs a school for secretaries with her beloved Rhoda. The school’s invasion by three spinster sisters and a charismatic cad named Everard, creates a catalyst for political, sexual and emotional explosion. Ideas and libidos clash for dominance, as each character confronts the meaning of revolutionary courage. Sexy, fresh, and vibrantly funny, Age of Arousal is a modern look at forbidden Victorian desires on the brink of explosion."

Thoughts: I think this sounds both hilarious and like there's some thought behind it. Another I'm looking forward to.

With Bated Breath: "From the author of Divinity Bash / Nine Lives, The Weekend Healer and Whale Riding Weather, With Bated Breath is the provocative tale of Willy, a troubled but charismatic gay kid who flees Cape Breton Island for Montreal with hopes of forgetting a newly broken heart.
He finds momentary comfort with the denizens of the city’s red light district, but soon goes missing without a trace. Willy, in one way or another, has had a profound effect on the lives of the other characters. His presence lingers. As rumors fly, secrets explode, and reality blurs with fantasy, Willy is both remembered and reinvented. Imbued with equal measures of wit and warmth, MacDonald proves to be a master at merging the pedestrian with the highly theatrical."

Thoughts: Could be good, could be bad. I really don't know whether or not I want to see this.

So, there you have it. Anyone seen any of these shows? Able to tell me what to expect?