Pretty fly

by AMY BARRATT, photo by LAURA ASTWOOD

The word on the street is that Number Eleven Theatre's Icaria is a must-see. Unfortunately, it is only in town from Toronto for two performances, tonight (Nov. 8) and tomorrow at the National Theatre School.

In a very theatrical, dreamlike way (one critic described it as "part circus, part nightmare"), a young woman recalls the events that shattered her childhood. The title is meant to evoke the mythical Icarus, who fashioned himself a set of wings and flew too close to the sun, but this show shouldn't be confused with Icaro, the one-man version of the legend performed here a few years back by Italo-Swiss clown Daniele Finzi-Pasca.

Icaria is directed by NTS alumnus Ker Wells, who founded Winnipeg's Primus Theatre, known for its physical, innovative work. This production, which features four-part vocal music, has delighted eyes and ears in Toronto, Halifax, and even at the Catskills Festival of New Theatre. Icaria is performed by Varrick Grimes, Alex McLean, Elizabeth Rucker and Jane Wells. Nov. 8-9, 8 p.m. at Salle André Pagé, National Theatre School (5030 St-Denis), $8-12. Info: 495-7124. :

Mixed bag

by SHOLEM KRISHTALKA

For whatever reason, scholarly shows in independent galleries seem to be a rarity. All the more reason, then, to see Defining the Portrait, the new show at the Leonard and Bina Ellen art gallery. Curated by art history professor Sandra Paikowsky, the show assembles works from the gallery's permanent collection in order to better understand portraiture as a medium and as an idea.

The show moves thematically through different types of portraiture--Self-Portraits, Artists by Artists, the Imaginary Portrait, Identified and Non-Identified Subject--with mixed results. Most of the older pieces seem staid and stiff, but there are some knock-outs: Angela Grauerholz's manic portrait "Anne Ramsden," Marion Wagschal's densely atmospheric "Man With Smudge Fires," Geneviève Cadieux's quasi-abstract "Untitled (dos)" and Janet Werner's glamorous "Pretty Boy." Despite the unevenness of quality, however, this comes across as one smart little show. At 1400 de Maisonneuve W., until Dec. 15. Info: 848-4750. :

Send in the French clowns

by MARITES CARINO, photo by CHRISTOPHE RAYNAUD DELAGE

If you take two artistic directors from two French companies and mix in the creative process what do you get? The result might be Et après on verra bien, a multidisciplinary show that fuses dance, theatre, music, and the circus arts. The work is the brainchild of Guy Alloucherie, artistic director of French company H.V.D.Z. (Hendrick Van Der Zee), and Laurent Letourneur, who passed away two months after the show started its European tour last year. Letourneur was part of Anomalie, a collective that explores circus arts.

The show's 10 young performers are all recent graduates from France's Centre National des Arts du Cirque de Châlon en Champagne. In Et après on verra bien, they bring life to themes of solitude and enclosure with humour as clowns, acrobats, jugglers, dancers and off-kilter trampolinists. Nov. 8-10 at the Salle Pierre-Mercure in the Centre Pierre-Péladeau
(300 de Maisonneuve E.), 8 p.m., $35. Info: 987-6919. :

Weekly grime

by VINCENT TINGUELY

The Grimy Windows variety showcase at Hurley's Pub has been presenting a rollicking mishmash of writers, spoken word artists, comedians, musicians and wrestlers on a monthly basis since February. It's a kind of hothouse testing ground for talent, where you might find writers taking a turn at singing, wrestlers reading poetry, or comedians playing jazz guitar. Now Doug Simms and Mark Paterson, the minds behind this "poor man's Ed Sullivan show," have decided to turn it into a weekly event to accommodate the numbers of performers who want to play. According to Paterson, "I had a couple of months where the shows would be really long because there were so many people in them."

To introduce Mike Paterson and Derick Lengwenus, two new co-organizers shouldering the Grimy Windows load, the re-launch show will feature a press conference moderated by local wrestler Nixon Stratus. There'll also be an improv playwriting and performance contest featuring dynamic wordist Catherine Kidd, stand-up comic James Murovic and actor-comedian Mike Paterson, and an introduction to Montreal's newest comedy troupe, Dan Guterman and the Masters of Levity. At 1225 Crescent (2nd floor), Monday, Nov. 12, 8 p.m., free. :

Is it Art?

Breakfast club president: That saying "Everyone's a writer" seems to be ringing truer day by day. Minor celebs of every ilk are rushing to bang out half-backed, navel-gazing, pseudo-inspirational autobiographies, in an effort to cash in on the gold rush. Minor celeb #26,524: Cora Tsouflidou. Never heard of her? Perhaps you've heard of her breakfast restaurant franchise chain, Chez Cora. Yes, there is a real-life, flesh-and-blood Cora behind Chez Cora, and now you can find out all about her. Learn about her childhood in the Gaspé, her marriage to a Greek guy, her life on Parc Avenue, her rise to breakfast queen status and how she came to serve fresh pork at her Laval restaurant. Read all about it in Déjeuner avec Cora, (Libre Expression), in bookstores now. :

ArtsHole

Let the music play: Celebrating two years of existence, local electronic (and other specialties) record store Atom Heart is showing the tri-artist exhibit ZÏlon Godin Pilon. Named after artists Zïlon, Eric (Godin) and Alain (Pilon), the show runs until Dec. 9. The vernissage goes down Nov. 9, 7-10 p.m., with an electronic performance by Gepdi. At 364-B Sherbrooke E. Info: 843-8484. o Buddha, baby: The culmination of a whopping 24 years of research into the Buddhist and pre-Buddhist stupa, a religious building where rituals are performed, Stupa: Environment of the Vertical Horizon is quite something. Created by Richard Purdy, it is a Ph.D thesis, performance, digital video and "installaction." Visit the thing at the Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur (100 Sherbrooke E.) until Dec. 15. :



Artistat: Number of contemporary Indian artists featured in Secular Practice: Recent Art From India taking place at galleries around town as part of Moving Ideas: A Contemporary Cultural Dialogue with India: 9 :