Delinquient
dramatics

The stage goes wayward with stowaways,
Darwinism, unwed mothers and paedophiles

RAZOR SHARP AND REWINDING THE CLOCK:
The Pillowman and Till We Meet Again

by NEIL BOYCE

No zeitgeist-like themes emerge in this fall’s theatre lineup. Small companies keep forging ahead on a wing and a prayer: a little grant money, a little sponsorship and they’re off. Meanwhile, hoping lightening strikes twice, the big houses bank on names and hits from past seasons to rekindle box offices.

After the stunning success of Mambo Italiano, Steve Galluccio—now well past the beans-for-breakfast portion of his career—returns triumphant to Centaur theatre with In Piazza San Domenico (Oct. 6–Nov. 1). Directed by Roy Surette, this comedy of errors is set in 1952 in the burning summer heat of Naples. It’s a world premiere, so we get to see it before it’s inflicted on anyone else.

In the Centaur’s Brave New Looks series, Rock, Paper, Jackknife... (Oct. 6–17) is Marilyn Perreault’s dark story about five kids arriving in a village in Northern Quebec—stowaways who’ve spent a month in a shipping container.

Fenulla Jiwani’s 30 Dates arrives at Centaur for a limited run (Sept. 23–26). The fluffy comedy about a woman hitting 35 and desperate to avoid an arranged marriage has had a string of sell-outs from Vancouver to Toronto.

DARWIN ON TRIAL

Knowing a good thing when they see it, the Segal Centre brings back Greg Kramer (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) to direct their season opener, Inherit the Wind (Oct. 18–Nov. 8). Based on the infamous “Monkey Trial” of 1925, this classic centres on a Tennessee school teacher who challenged a law banning Darwin’s theory of evolution from being taught in schools.

In the Segal Studio, “documentary theatre troupe” Porte Parole present Sexy béton, Part 1 (Sept. 21–Oct. 1). As bridges and buildings in Quebec collapse around us, Porte Parole examines how it got to this sorry state—and why, as journalist Alain Dubuc lamented, the topic wasn’t “sexy” enough for us to care about. At Segal’s Lab Space, In Actu stage Sarah Kane’s final play 4.48 Psychosis (Sept. 8–26).

Persephone Productions has Be My Baby at Monument National (Oct. 29–Nov. 14). Look out for Nadia Verucci in this ’60s-era tale of unmarried mothers.

SUBURBAN MOTELS AND PAEDOPHILES

Marking their fifth anniversary, Tableau D’Hôte presents George F. Walker’s complete Suburban Motel series at MainLine (Nov. 5–29) with five directors and 24 actors, most of whom helped build the company.

Winner of Infinithéâtre’s Write-On-Q contest, Amy Lee Lavoie’s Rabbit Rabbit—about a birthday-party clown paedophile on a date with a 16-year-old prostitute—runs at Bain St-Michel, Nov. 10–29.

Imago has GG-award-winning playwright Colleen Wagner’s latest, down from heaven, about the collapse of civil society, at Monument National (Sept. 24–Oct. 3).

Fallen Angel asks, “Are you prone to nightmares?” with Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman, directed by Frances Balenzano (Oct. 21–31) at Théâtre Ste-Catherine.

Altera Vitae has Martin Sherman’s drama on the Nazi persecution of homosexuals Bent, at Espace 4001 (Nov. 5–15); Davyn Ryall directs Tennessee William’s Suddenly, Last Summer (Sept. 22–Oct. 4) at Players Theatre; and Theatre Panache presents the WWII crooner Till We Meet Again, directed by Heather Markgraf-Lowe (Oct. 16–18 and Nov. 21–22) at Oscar Peterson Concert Hall.