by AMY BARRATT

Will Toronto audiences get to taste the Gravy, or will they go hungry next month? There is a very real possibility that one of Montreal's hardest-working and most creative young theatre companies will have to cancel its Toronto debut for lack of funds.

Gravy Bath Productions' Kali Yuga is booked into Toronto's Poor Alex Theatre September 8–25. As of last Friday they had paid up half of the $7,000 rental cost, which they would forfeit if the run were cancelled. In addition to the space, the scrappy young company needs cash to U-Haul their minimal set pieces along the 401, and to cover that infamous trio of road expenses - gas, food and lodging - for a cast and crew totalling 14 or 15 people.

Gravy Bath, founded in 1999, has never let poverty stop its train before, and truth be told, they are not likely to let it stop them now. But individual company members risk taking on a painful level of personal debt.

The company began working on Kali Yuga: The Five-Hour Saga (it was whittled down to 4.5 hours during the run at the Saidye and will continue to be re-worked right up until the Toronto opening) last October. The piece was "written" by Anthony Kokx and Madd Harold, but the entire company is credited with "creating" it. That, actor Yann Bernaquez explains, is because so much of the final dialogue came out of improvisation.

"Madd and Tony would tell us, these are the things that need to happen in this scene and we would improvise it." Each of the play's three acts was workshopped extensively, with the writers ultimately shaping a script incorporating the best parts from all the improvs.

For Bernaquez, Kali Yuga was a unique experience on more than one level. First, there was the freedom of creating much of his own dialogue and of slowly building a character over a period of months - a luxury virtually unheard of outside theatre school. Then there's the fact that Bernaquez's character, Denis, speaks entirely in French.

If you've spoken to him, or seen him act in English, you probably never guessed that his first language is French. Theatre crowds got an initial taste of the franco Yann at last spring's Fringe-for-all, which, spirits high and pants low, he co-hosted with Tony Palermo. Currently an English Lit major at McGill - a fact that perplexes his relatives in Sorel - Bernaquez discovered a comfort level in performing in French that he hadn't experienced before. Though still deeply devoted to Gravy Bath - as one of the core members of the group he has the privilege of receiving no salary for his efforts - Bernaquez says this experience has given him "une piqûre pour le français" and that he hopes to do more work in his mother tongue.

Of course, it remains to be seen what Toronto audiences will make of a French-speaking character. But if you think it's worth finding out, and if you want to see the gravy continue to flow, any donation, however small, would be gratefully accepted. Gravy Bath can be contacted at 920-9183 or gravybath@saidyebronfman.org.

More locals on the loose

Foqué Dans La Tête Productions, currently wrapping up a run at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe fest, will be in Vancouver from Sept. 9–19 presenting their second hip hop theatre tour de force JOB II at that city's Fringe. For more info on FDLT's doings, visit their Web site at http://fdltproductions.com.

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