Matchmaker, matchmaker

THE DATING GAME: Inspiration for Articule’s All You Need is Love

If you love performance art and good food, galerie Articule has a special project this weekend that is sure to fill you up with both. New York-based artists Trong G. Nguyen and Elana Rubinfeld, aka Art Hijack collective, have chosen four contestants from right here in Montreal to play the parts of one Romeo and three Juliets in this Saturday’s unique performance of All You Need is Love.

The drama starts at 8 p.m. at both restaurant la Khaïma (142 Fairmount W.) and Articule (262 Fairmount W.). A live Internet feed links the two locations. Ideally, you want to be in the restaurant, where most of the action happens, but you can watch for free through Articule’s front window.

All You Need is Love is a humorous blend of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code. Other performers include Kennis Hawkins and Will Rawls (Dance Gang); invited guests Athésia, Giselle Numba One and Wounds of Sarah; and a special death-defying appearance by Marcel Duchamp, as both himself and his cross-dressing alter-ego Rose Sélavy (a pun on the French phrase “Eros, c’est la vie”).

The Matchmaking happens on August 18, for $25, which includes wine and a three-course dinner. RSVP: (514) 842-9686.

by CHRISTINE REDFERN

Clowns out of town

Calling all clowns and clown enthusiasts! Next week brings the world Clown’Art 2007, possibly the most exciting cultural event to hit beautiful downtown St-Jérome since…well, last year’s Clown’Art 2006 gathering. Over the course of the affair, which runs from August 19–23rd, clowns from far and wide will be assembling to conduct a series of performances, hold workshops and do a bunch of other stuff clowns like to do.

“It’s first and foremost a convention,” says head coordinator Frederico Boris Iuliani, “an opportunity for clowns and theatre performers to get together and share the tricks of the trade. Like doctors, we also need to refresh our expertise. But there’ll be plenty of great shows taking place too, and admission is absolutely free for all of the outdoor performances.”

Iuliani is particularly excited about one theatre piece called Sunk in the Trunk: A Clown’s Wonderful Struggle With Immigration, which he describes as, “very, very touching, like poetry, although there’s no talking in it.”

For a detailed schedule of the week’s events, or if you’d like to register for the clown camp that will be going down as part of the festivities, go to clownart2007.com.

by CHRIS BARRY