Tag Archives: Belfry Theatre

Taking Shakespeare

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I planned to write a different post this week.  Seeing the online version of the play Taking Shakespeare a couple of days ago changed my mind (or course, if you want to follow the cheesy caravan pun.)

I am growing increasingly weary of all things on a screen. Perhaps you are, too?  (Oh, I admit  there are many advantages to using  Zoom and new horizons to explore via YouTube, but, as in all things, a balance is necessary. Acknowledging the irony,  I sincerely thank you for reading this post – on a screen.)  I have a subscription to the Belfry Theatre and almost reluctantly tuned in to the final production of their spring season.

Belfry Theatre, belfry.bc.ca image

My reluctance was short lived.  Taking Shakespeare by John Murrell is an extremely well written play. An award winning writer, Murrell also translated plays, and wrote librettos.  He received a Governor General’s Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement  in 2008.  The Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia provides a brief  summary of his prolific works, as well as his interesting life.

The realistic dialogue, and the authentic characterizations are brought to life by excellent actors.  Patti Allan and Austin Eckert are both experienced stage and screen performers.  Allan, as the professor, gave a particularly nuanced performance of a cynical professional woman of a certain age tutoring the seemingly apathetic, directionless student.

As with other visual performing arts, the success of the online presentation also depends significantly on the skills of the the videographer.  Candelario Andrade presents a simple, but very effective delivery of the play.  I was able to concentrate on the characters’ relationship, as well as focus on them as individuals.  (You may want to watch his Video Editor demo reel .)

The good news is that you can watch the play, too.  It’s available until Sunday, June 13.  Tickets are available from the Belfry Theatre.  I highly recommend it.

Taking Shakespeare, Belfry Theatre, belfry.bc.ca image

Travel through time with Boom X

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All live theatre is an act of courage, wouldn’t you say? In some ways, it’s risky for everyone: the performers, writers, producers as well as the audience.  As an audience, we expect to be entertained, inspired, and challenged in exchange for our time and money.  The creative team displays the product of months (sometimes years) of work, distilled into a couple of hours of live performance, subject to amateur criticism, dismissal or rejection.

It’s a precarious situation.  Despite all of the challenges, live theatre continues, thank goodness.

This week, I had the privilege of attending a presentation of Rick Miller’s BoomX at the Belfry Theatre.  I made a point of going to the show because I had seen one of his previous shows, Boom.  I remember it being a creative, interesting and thoroughly entertaining performance.  Maybe you are familiar with Rick Miller, as his show MacHomer, originally performed at the Montreal Fringe Festival, has been presented in 130 countries.  (Yes, one hundred and thirty!)

Rick Miller wrote, directed and performed in all of these shows. Click here for two very brief trailers for the shows, Boom and BoomX.  It will help you get a sense of his many talents, and the tenor of the work.  The shows are well researched;  I particularly liked the inclusion of Canadian content.  It’s a multi-disciplinary, fast-paced  performance, with a variety of visual and sound effects. Miller welcomes us –the audience–into the performance.  It ends on a thoughtful note as Miller speaks about the merits of live theatre.  I left the show looking forward to the final instalment of this trilogy of plays.

Actually, I may go to see it again.  There’s still time as BoomX continues to Sunday, August 18 at the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, B.C.

 

 

 

 

True Crime

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I’m hope it’s obvious that The Art Caravan values creativity, but strives to be discerning in its observations and judgments.  So, yes, I may be that person you see in a theatre or concert hall sitting down amidst a sea of people giving a standing ovation at the end of a performance.

The other evening I found myself enthusiastically jumping to my feet at the end of the play, True Crime.  I was so focused on congratulating the solo performer that I didn’t notice if anyone else was standing.

Torquil Campbell: True Crime

True Crime was both co-created and performed by Torquil Campbell.  Therein lie the reasons for my standing ovation.  The writing is smart, original and intriguing.  The premise of the play is based on the story of  Campbell’s personal fascination with  Christian Gerhardsreiter, a contemporary con man who impersonated a Rockefeller for several years. True Crime cleverly explores ideas about reliability and reality, motivation and values.

Campbell’s performance was almost breathtaking.  He convincingly played a variety of characters with distinctive accents as well as singing original songs. (He is also a member of the bands Stars and Memphis. Click here for a music video of Memphis.)  He commanded the stage for a full ninety minutes.

But don’t just take my word for it.  Click here  to read a Toronto Star review of the play.

True Crime played for a few nights in Victoria, British Columbia as part of the excellent Spark Festival, an annual event of plays, workshops and events at the Belfry Theatre.  Spark continues until March 28, 2018.