1461 DAYS OF LABOUR: Maïta

After touring Quebec, Canada, the U.S. and Mexico in three languages since 2000, the Masques award-nominated production Maïta, by Esther Beauchemin, arrives in Montreal this week at Concordia’s D.B. Clarke Theatre (1455 Maisonneuve W.), March 13–20, via Geordie Productions (geordie.ca).

Directed by Robert Bellefeuille, this lavish play inspired by Indonesian shadow-puppet theatre tackles the subject of child slavery, as Beauchemin’s story is brought to life with the vivid creations of puppet designer Josée Campanale.

Maïta, the eight-year-old daughter of a puppet maker, is sent by her father to work in a factory to pay off family debts. Before leaving, the father gives her Issane, a puppet on which Maïta’s mother has sewn 1461 pearls, one for each day she must work until her father comes back. She works hard at the factory and soon becomes indispensable to Wunan, the factory foreman. When night falls, Maïta recounts to the other children the tale of Issane, who is trying to escape from a labyrinth in which the Goddess of the Night has imprisoned her, as she counts the days until she is free.

by NEIL BOYCE

Televisual gold

SHAW ’NUFF: From Winnipeg Babysitter

In the past few weeks—with megagiants like CTV and Canwest Global throwing fire sales to stave off bankruptcy, and word that grassroots organizers in Hamilton, Ontario have been raising funds to purchase the local Global affiliate and return it to its former independent glory—there has been a lot of talk about the good old days of community television. This makes it the perfect time to check out Daniel Barrow’s archival performance project, Winnipeg Babysitter.

Culled from hundreds of hours of footage, the screening—which Barrow accompanies with an overhead projection of historical and biographical commentary—was inspired by Barrow’s desire to preserve Winnipeg’s televisual gold. After a rumour circulated that SHAW cable, which had purchased the city’s local station, was destroying its archives, Barrow set out to right that wrong, accumulating material by hunting down the station’s original producers.

Featuring the first onscreen performance by cinematic luminary Guy Maddin, as well as more obscure offerings such as The Pollock and Pollock Gossip Show, and Metal Inquisition by Fearless Pig and Terrible Dog, this is a one-night-only event not to be missed. The screening takes place tomorrow night, Friday, March 13, at Concordia (2070 Mackay, Rm. 1-605).

by STACEY DEWOLFE

 

Green verse

by VINCENT TINGUELY

Psycho slowed down

As any student of the cinema can tell you, Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece, Psycho, is one of the most studied, most admired and most appropriated texts in film history.

From Gus Van Sant’s reviled shot-by-shot remake, and Douglas Gordon’s art-world homage 24 Hour Psycho, to the plethora of academic analyses, the film remains a puzzling object of fascination to artists and scholars.

So it was with some trepidation that I approached Sophie Bélair Clément’s Regarder 24 Hour Psycho at Dazibao (4001 Berri, #202). Installed in two galleries so that the video and audio components are kept separate, the work is twice removed from the original, using the Gordon adaptation as its source. For those unfamiliar with his work, he took the original film and slowed it down so that its running time was stretched from 109 minutes to 24 hours.

What resonates most is the thinking behind Clément’s attempt to recreate the now 93-minute shower scene. Created in collaboration with Olivier Girouard, who composed the soundtrack after Clément was denied access to the original score, the work functions as commentary—speaking to both the practice and limitations of textual recreation.

by STACEY DEWOLFE

Is it art?

GO AHEAD AND JUDGE: You mother likely told you, “Never judge a book by its cover,” but bookcoverarchive.com implores you to do just that. With over a 1000 covers already posted, and the number growing, if you like books and/or design, this site is pretty much like porn.

Edited and run by Ben Pieratt and Eric Jacobsen, the site is simply designed and easy to navigate. Clicking on any cover brings up information like the title, publisher, author, publishing house and even a link to Amazon where you can purchase the title and support the archive with a cut of the sales. Clicking on the authors or the designer’s name will link you to other titles they’ve designed or written that are also on the site.

Though the list so far is pretty stellar, there’s one drawback: all the covers are contemporary and most were designed after ’95, which means no iconic Hemingway or Roth covers from the 1960s. But they’re taking suggestions, and you can e-mail them your favourite cover designs through the site.

Arts hole

DYNAMIC DUO: Optica gallery (372 Ste-Catherine W., #508) presents Messages passagers the first Canadian solo exhibit by Dagmar Keller and Martin Wittwer. Comprised of three recent works, the artists examine the relationship between reality and fiction. The vernissage takes place this Saturday, March 14 at 3 p.m. the exhibit runs until April 18 • TOYS NOT MADE IN CHINA: Off the Hook (1021A Ste-Catherine W.) presents Toypunks, a documentary series on the converging worlds of designer Japanese toys, fashion and punk rock. It screens tomorrow, Friday, March 13 at 9 p.m.

Artistat

The number of chances left to see Al Kalima (le Verbe) a solo show by UQÀM dance student Sandra El-Sabbagh, which explores expressing religion in dance, playing tonight, Thursday, March 12 at 7 p.m. at Église Saint-Pierre Apôtre (1201 de la Visitation): 1