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Toast of the clown >> And some stuff around town by AMY BARRATT
In Toc en Stock, Don Rieder portrays Dr. Toc, a vagabond clown carrying all his worldly goods (or is it the whole world?) on his back. Rieder wrote the text and direction is by Valerie Dean, who is the other half of the producing company, Klauniada. The piece is being performed in a small dance studio in the Belgo building on Ste-Catherine. Dr. Toc announces himself before his entrance by the clatter of tin pots, pipes and paraphernalia he carries. Over the course of the next hour and a bit, these bits of scrap will be all he needs to tell several stories, the longest of them being his take on the seven days of Creation. Though I speak of stories, this type of theatre is actually short on narrative and long on imagery, with character being the glue that holds everything together. Although pacing problems briefly allowed the performance to sag, Rieder was more than capable of winning us back with his rubberfaced, openhearted manner. The piece is spoken mostly in Rieder's imperfect French, with frequent gusts to a Southern-drawling English and a smattering of Italian in the creation-of-the-world segment--in which God is a puppet who is also an Italian film director. It's off-the-wall and it's wonderful. Typical of Klauniada's funny and creative use of props is the eggbeater serving as the movie camera. Everything about the staging has that same improvised, magical quality. At centre stage is an enormous crate made mostly of chicken wire and rags and lit from within, making it seem truly a Pandora's box of wonders. Rieder climbs into it from time to time, usually to emerge as a different character. Apart from that, the main set piece is a still that produces shots of a thin reddish liquid which Dr. Toc identifies as "Bivo." Since the incident with the serpent in the Garden, Toc explains, life hasn't been as easy as it was before. "But with Bivo, it's so easy!" he continues, with the enthusiasm of a religious convert or a really good salesman. Although there are things in it that children would love, Toc en Stock is clowning for grownups, worth seeing for the childlike wonder it can evoke in even the most sophisticated and black-turtlenecked among us. Toc en Stock, tonight through Saturday, Dec. 5, 8pm at the Belgo Building, 372 Ste-Catherine W., suite 316. Tickets $12. Reservations: 276-4080. Farms, insects and Plateau girls Other funky little spaces housing quirky little shows this weekend include infinitheatre, where the Infinite Festival continues with The Farm by Alexandria Haber and Put Another Monologue on the Fire by Titters. The duo of Janis Kirshner and Laura Mitchell have concentrated more on the dramatic side of their writing than in past shows such as Female Bondage and Lashed But Not Leashed. That's not to say that there aren't laughs in this piece, just a little less mugging and more emphasis on character development. The show is directed by the insanely talented, insanely young Jill Sweetin. Over at Geordie Space, Cavea Luna makes its reappearance (in French) as part of the foreshortened Les 20 jours du théâtre à risque. A bizarre yet funny piece about the mating rituals of Plateau girls and their insect counterparts, it features wonderful acting and brilliant movement work by five actors who co-created the piece with director Muriel de Zangroniz. The Farm, 8pm, tonight (Thursday, Dec. 3) through Saturday; Sunday at 2pm. Put Another Monologue on the Fire, 10pm through Saturday, Sunday at 4pm, IF Space, 3997 St-Laurent. Cavea Luna tonight through Sunday night at 8:30pm, Geordie Space, 4001 Berri, space 103
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November, the busiest month of the year for theatregoers--and critics--has ended. But this one was so jam-packed with activity that it's spilling over into December, traditionally the dead month. Toc en Stock, a one-man clown-based theatre piece, is just one tasty little canapé on the coming weekend's buffet table of performance.