Famous players

>> Isadora Duncan, the Marquis de Sade and
Jesus make their way to the stage

by AMY BARRATT

The Marquis de Sade, Isadora Duncan, Jesus Christ: just three of the characters coming to a stage near you this autumn.

At least, you can count on seeing the Marquis in Quills, and the mother of modern dance in Isadora: Fabulist! It’s doubtful the Lord will make an appearance, despite having his name in the title of Dating Jesus.

Fallen Angel, which created a lot of buzz last season with George F. Walker’s Heaven and the Frankenstein story Monster, this fall, will tackle a different kind of monster, the Marquis de Sade, in Quills. Made into a film in 2000 starring Geoffrey Rush, the play was penned by Doug Wright, whose I Am My Own Wife, played the Segal last spring. Fallen Angel’s version is at the MainLine starting Oct. 25.

Cultural Harmony

Persephone Productions are going Canadian with Unity (1918) by Kevin Kerr. It is set in the small Saskatchewan town of Unity near the end of World War I, and deals with the deadly 1918 Spanish flu epidemic that took more lives—mostly young adults—than the entire war. The Governor General’s Award-winning play (which, believe it or not, has a sense of humour) goes up at the Monument National’s Studio Theatre Sept. 27.

Teesri Duniya, Montreal’s 25-year-old “intercultural” theatre company, is producing two shows before the new year. First up is A Leaf in the Whirlwind, based on the stories of Lalithambika Antherjanam, an upper caste Indian woman who wrote in secret about the oppression of women by her community. The adaptation is by Jodi Essery, known for her work with SaBooge Theatre, and the piece is directed and choreographed by Aparna Sindhoor. Oct. 10–28 at the MAI.

In December, Teesri will co-produce (with Vancouver’s newworldtheatre), My Name Is Rachel Corrie, based on the writings of the 23-year-old who was crushed by an Israeli tank while protesting the destruction of Palestinian homes in Gaza in 2003. Commercial theatres have shied away from the controversial material adapted into a play by actor Alan Rickman and journalist Katharine Viner. The Teesri/newworld production is directed by Sarah Stanley and performed by Adrienne Wong.

Local Saviours

Stanley, who stars in infinitheatre’s That Woman, opening tonight, Sept. 13, is a busy bee this season. She also directs Imago Theatre’s Isadora: Fabulist!, a new play by Montreal’s own Greg Kramer, starring Leni Parker. That’s at the Monument National Studio starting Nov. 7.

Speaking of local playwrights, Housekeeping & Homewrecking by Alex Haber returns Nov. 26 for a two-week run at the Théâtre Ste-Catherine. An expanded version of the 2007 Fringe hit, it is directed by Alain Goulem with the original cast.

Unwashed Grape, which came on the scene a few years ago in the context of the Harvest GLBT festival, has continued growing on its own. They are following up last spring’s double bill by Ann Lambert with a comedy drama by another local playwright, Louise Arsenault. Dating Jesus, opening Nov. 6 at Théâtre Ste-Catherine, is directed by Paul Hawkins and stars the luscious quartet of Laura Mitchell, Debra Kirshenbaum, Janis Kirshner and Taylor Baruchel.

Golden Harvest

Speaking of the Harvest fest, it moves to December this year and the line-up will include such seasonally appropriate fare as A Queer Carol by Joe Godfrey and its French version, Un conte de noël flyé. These and many other queer-friendly events will take place at the MainLine Theatre December 5–16.

Those who can’t wait for the Harvest should grab tickets for Clean Irene and Dirty Maxine, a creation of Toronto-based Independent Auntie Theatre. This three-woman collective (Evalyn Parry and Anna Chatterton on stage, with Karin Randoja directing) is being brought to town for five performances in October by Out Productions. With a rhyming text, physical performances and a sick sense of humour, Clean Irene and Dirty Maxine has been critically acclaimed across the country.

The mainstream season kicks off Oct. 2 with the third installment of Vittorio Rossi’s trilogy, The Carpenter, at Centaur. Renovations at the Segal Centre for the Performing Arts should be more or less complete when The Diary of Anne Frank kicks off their theatre season Oct. 14.