THEATRE:
In the wings

What to expect from the summer in stage

by AMY BARRATT

Since that other whatchamacallit festival is taking up a whole page elsewhere in this paper, it seems only fair to begin this one with what little information we have so far about the third annual infringement fest. We have dates, and we are chuffed to report that this year’s infringement runs June 15–25, which means it has only a three-day overlap with you-know-who, and might even be able to groove a little on their momentum. Those dates do however make it virtually concurrent with the Just for Laughs fest, but this being summer in Montreal, the chances of any festival getting 10 days to itself are nil.

What we don’t have from the infringement as of press time are specific venues for specific shows. What we do know is that U.S. actor Gary Corbin will be performing his one-man show, Four One-Legged Men, somewhere in the city. Corbin, an actor first and amputee second, plays four distinct characters from different eras in this 80-minute show that got raves at the Buffalo infringement and in NYC. From what I’ve read, this is a show not to be missed, wherever it ends up playing.

Or, for local content at the infringement, check out What Juliet Does When Romeo’s Not Around, a one-woman, eight-character show by Julie Marceau. Keep checking www.infringementfestval.com/montreal for updates.

The Just for Laughs festival’s attempts at self-produced comic theatre have not been an unqualified success, so these days they’re more focused on bringing in successes from elsewhere. New this year is the Flying Solo series, which boasts six one-man shows, with emphasis on the “man.” From Man 1 Bank 0, picked up from last year’s Fringe, to The Nigerian Spam Scam Scam, the six shows in the series just happen to feature male solo performers. I suppose the festival can claim some sort of balance since their other “theatrical” outing is Women Fully Clothed, a sketch comedy show featuring five homegrown comediennes from Jayne Eastwood to Teresa Pavlinek.

Obscene at the Segal?

It’s Yiddish Theatre time again at the Segal. Tonight, June 8, marks the official opening of God of Vengeance. Originally published in 1908, Sholem Asch’s play was extremely controversial. When it was finally staged on Broadway in 1923, the company was charged and convicted for presenting “an obscene and immoral play.” Because it shows Jewish characters who are not particularly good or admirable, it has been called anti-Semitic. Director Bryna Wasserman has never shied away from challenging her audience; this classic of the Yiddish stage, presented with English and French supertitles, promises to do just that.

Tonight also marks the North American premiere of A Chair in Love, a new comic opera co-produced by Quebecois and Welsh companies. The libretto is by one of my favourite playwrights, Larry Tremblay, with score by John Metcalf. In English with French titles, it is at Espace GO until June 18.

The French version of My Fair Lady, currently closing out Théâtre du Rideau Vert’s season with sold-out houses, will move to the Salle Pierre-Mercure in the Centre Pierre Peladeau from June 27–July 22. Directed by Denise Filiatrault, it remains, like the original, set in London, but the “cockney” Eliza speaks a joyous joual, while Henry Higgins speaks a plummy froncais de Fronce.

This summer, Repercussion

Theatre will be performing Much Ado About Nothing in Montreal-area parks. Meanwhile, Bishops University students are doing A Midsummer Night’s Dream featuring songs by the Beatles, which sounds suspiciously similar to the show Repercussion toured the last two summers. The Hudson Village Theatre summer season officially gets underway June 21 with the opening of The Foursome, by—who else?—Norm Foster.