Insane in the Ukraine

>> Katheryna’s Dreams revisits the old country

by AMY BARRATT

“Katheryna’s Dreams is not a theatre play, but an open creative process destined towards discovery of unknown or better to say forgotten techniques of a mystery performance. Gregory Hlady, with a selected group of professional actors from Montreal, works on ancient secret songs of Ukrainian tradition Dumys and Laments in relation with the performer’s creative acts.

“Gregory is a person one could call a true fire-soul, full of energy and humor, capable to inspire, among others, the prominent actor Gabriel Gascon to embark on this adventure with full devotion for the pleasure of creation. His attitude is one of a child who is carrying a secret, full of wonder, and having fun is just as essential as tapping into the energy and wisdom of the ancestors, or challenging gravity.”
—from the Katheryna’s Dreams press kit

What more can I add? Noted man of the theatre and fire-soul Gregory Hlady has brought his latest gravity-defying creation to the infinitheatre space for two weeks. Katheryna’s Dreams is loosely based on a Gogol story called “Terrible Vengeance,” though instead of a text it consists mainly of song. Seven actors and three musicians perform enthusiastically for nearly two hours, almost entirely in Ukrainian. Humourous? Fun? You betcha!
The festivities begin with a Muslim chant but quickly segue into Christian funeral rites… I think. Dang, I wish my Ukrainian were stronger. Then Hlady himself does some nifty throat-singing reminiscent of Tibetan monks.

A daughter (Katheryna) comes face to face with her dead father. Is the white-faced, sunken-eyed girl also dead, or merely dreaming? What’s put the old man in such a pissy mood? And are those in fact angels wandering around in the chicken-wire wings?
Hlady acts as director, periodically yelling “Action!” and “Coupez!” He is also one of two videographers catching everything on camcorder for posterity.

The father (Gabriel Gascon) rises from the dead, twice. The girl (Héloïse Depocas) performs some acrobatics with cables and rope some 18 inches off the ground. There’s a shadow-puppet bit and a messy routine involving a plate of beets.

Does Hlady’s character represent God, or just a sweaty-banged mortal with a death wish?
One thing is clear: Katheryna’s Dreams is less about Gogol than it is about Ukrainian nationalism. Pining for his homeland (I suppose), Hlady thought to call up the traditional songs of his childhood and present them on stage accompanied by a lot of mysterious, wonderful images. The Ukraine, you see, was also the birthplace of Gogol, though the world knows him as a Russian writer. Apparently both men’s veins run with borscht.
There’s a late appearance by the Blessed Virgin (still hanging around infini from The Mary Project, I guess), then the audience politely applauds the hard-working performers on their way. :

Katheryna’s Dreams at infinitheatre
(3964 St-Laurent) until March 10, 9:30pm, $10–15. Box office at Le Frappé
(3900 St-Laurent); 987-1774