Looking for plays in all the wrong places

>> Sniffing out summer theatre

by AMY BARRATT

There are those who will tell you that there's no theatre in the city between St-Jean-Baptiste and Labour Day. This is true only if theatre is defined as conventional plays in conventional (subscription) houses. If you're willing to explore new venues or venture a little farther afield, you should be able to find something to see, whether your taste runs to kitsch or "kulchah."

It wouldn't be summer without Shakespeare in the Park, and men in tights have already been spotted in the suburbs and are said to be moving relentlessly towards downtown. Ten-year-old Repercussion Theatre is offering Macbeth in repertory with perennial favourite A Midsummer Night's Dream. The latter--a revival of last summer's production, but with a whole new cast--is playing this very evening (Thurs.) at Centennial Park in Côte St-Luc. Saturday evening the troupe will be in Beaconsfield's Centennial Park. All performances start at 8:30 p.m.

If a roving theatre troupe can have a home, I think of Repercussion as "at home" in Westmount Park, because the ponds and old-fashioned lampposts set just the right mood, especially for Dream. The players will make the first of several stops there next Wednesday and Thursday, July 1 and 2. The same magical atmosphere should prevail in Parc Lafontaine, where the company ends up in mid-August. Admission, as always, is by donation, and for your own comfort you're asked to bring a lawnchair or a blanket. Call 485-6000 to track their movements.

A totally different but equally appealing open-air Shakespeare experience awaits on the mountain later in July. Elysian River Theatre presents The Tempest, directed by Lowell Gasoi. This company's productions are mobile, not in the sense that they move from park to park but that the action moves from place to place during the course of the performance, with audience members led along by torchbearers. You might not want to schlepp a chair along for this one but a blanket or towel isn't a bad idea. The meeting place is at the base of the Cartier monument on Mount Royal (across from Jeanne-Mance Park), and shows begin at 7 p.m. every evening except Sundays. The Tempest runs from July 9 to 25. For more information, call 369-2152.

If you like Canadian plays and have a car, Théâtre Lac Brome is the spot. Their season begins tonight (though the opening gala isn't until Saturday) with Don Quixote de Lac Brome. Hey, it's not their fault that Théâtre du Nouveau Monde did a Don Quixote adaptation earlier this year. This one, by Eric Overmyer, has live Latin music supplied by Nicholas Pynes, and Robin Wilcock as the title character. Two actors seen at Centaur this past season, Martin Simms and Jane Wheeler, are also featured.

The Piggery in North Hatley also begins its season tonight with Thirteen Hands, a play by Pulitzer Prize-winner Carol Shields, about bored housewives who play a lot of bridge. Call 819-842-2431.

Later in the summer the infamous Goulem boys team up once again (Alain directs, Eric co-stars with Mark Hildreath) in a production of the by-now classic musical Fire, about Jerry Lee Lewis and the birth of rock 'n' roll. That runs from July 16 to Aug. 1.

Next, the theatre continues its love affair with the Quebec playwright Michel Marc Bouchard when it presents Pierre and Marie... and the Devil With the Deep Blue Eyes (Pierre et Marie... et le démon), translated by Linda Gaboriau and directed by Bill Glassco, who was responsible for bringing so many of Michel Tremblay's plays to a Toronto audience at the Tarragon Theatre in the '70s. That one runs from Aug. 6 to 29. All shows have performances Wednesday through Saturday nights, and single ticket prices range from $10 to $18. Call 242-2270 for information.

Did I promise kitsch? Three words: Grease, version française. This véhicule de vedettes is already underway at Salle Pierre-Mercure (see listings) and continues at least until Aug. 1, and probably forever. What could be better than that? Possibly one thing: Les Fous du rock 'n' roll, a musical revue featuring "pop hits from the U.S., Quebec and France, dating from 1955 to 1965," is the new floorshow opening tomorrow at the Cabaret du Casino. Tickets are available through Admission (790-1245).

And of course there's the comedy festival--oh excuse me, the Festival Craven A Just For Laughs in association with Labatt Blue--but more about that in the weeks to come.