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Cheap theatre thrills>> Off-the-beaten-path treasures from some
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 CREAM OF THE ACTING CROP: The cast of two/three They say you can’t be in two places at one time, but Graham Cuthbertson will be flouting that rule this weekend as he takes the stage simultaneously at two Montreal venues. Graham Cuthbertson, the actor, will be appearing in Harry Standjofski’s new play two/three, at OFF Interarts on the Main. Meanwhile, a short piece by Graham Cuthbertson, the emerging playwright, will be performed as part of the SideMart ShortList, at Théâtre Ste-Catherine. Last week, I wrote about two shows taking place in people’s lofts. This week, for your delectation: two more off-the-beaten-track treasures (at bargain basement prices) featuring some of the best and hardest-working theatre talent in the city. SideMart, which has evocatively added “Theatrical Grocery” to its name, is the company that brought us an exciting American Buffalo last December, performed behind the scenes at the MainLine Theatre. The company has another production planned for the fall, but, as co-founder Andrew Shaver explained, they wanted to be heard from again soon. “We were interested to do a [theatrical] take on the cabaret thing,” Shaver says. The ShortList is an evening of short (under 15-minute) new works by established and new writers. “Trying something new” is a big part of the mandate of what SideMart hopes to make into a “roaming quarterly event.” Thus, you have Cuthbertson—best known as an actor—writing and directing something, and actors Patrick Costello and Erik Anderson performing their own adaptation of the Chekhov story “The Exclamation Mark.” Writer-performer Talya Rubin is collaborating for the first time with visual artist Vida Simon and J. Whiting, former theatre critic as well as actor and director, and will host the evening in his latest incarnation as a stand-up comic.The lovely Jeanne Bowser, often spotted in the company of J. Whiting, will not be in attendance at the event, as she, like Cuthbertson, will be uptown performing in Standjofski’s play. Both Bowser and Cuthbertson are former students of Standjofski’s at Concordia and he describes them as “the cream.” The cast also features Danielle Desormeaux and Danette Mackay, known to Kiss My Cabaret aficionados as Madame and Matante. In addition to writing, directing and producing the piece (with his company le Nouveau théâtre anglais), Standjofski also appears in the play. The working title two/three refers to the fact that the piece consists of two one-act plays, each of which could stand alone but, when performed together, seem to be related, thus creating a “third” play. The choice of venue, a studio space normally used for rehearsals or readings, is partly due to necessity: the project has little funding and also came together in a hurry and rather late to find a theatre to rent. Although he says he wouldn’t mind doing the production a bit bigger, he is happy with the intimacy of the room and doesn’t even mind the technical restraints. “I wouldn’t mind doing more with lighting,” he says, “but there is music, and I generally like it [low-tech]… Sometimes, you just want to showcase the acting, and these actors are marvelous.” The SideMart ShortList, Two/Three, OFF Interarts(5145 St-Laurent), |
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