REVIEW: Prison Dancer at the NAC is a rehabilitating tale of humanity
Carmen Leilani De Jesus, Romeo Candido, and Nina Lee Aquino have created a contemporary classic with Prison Dancer.
Carmen Leilani De Jesus, Romeo Candido, and Nina Lee Aquino have created a contemporary classic with Prison Dancer.
Did someone order some Hairspray? Well, it’s arrived at the National Arts Centre, and it’s more than ready to win your heart over.
It’s not a perfect theatricalization, but Fall On Your Knees is nearly adaptation-proof.
“This requires such a work ethic. This is not for the faint of anything.”
“The timeline of your body is different from the timeline of your spirit, and there’s a world where if everything is aligned right, certain rules don’t apply anymore,” says Yvon Soglo, AKA Crazy Smooth.
In 1987 I was hired by the Rolling Thunder Theatre Company for a ten-week contract. Brainstorm with the cast, write and direct a new play, then wave bon voyage as the Thunder van ambled off for ten months of touring.
Had things gone differently with Soulpepper’s programming, another production entirely might have been in its place this season. And, had things gone differently in Jani’s early years as an artist, she might not have grown into the fierce matriarch of Indigenous theatre that she is.
We all have demons inside of us. We all have those monstrous thoughts, but what is it about our circumstances that allows us to act on them?
A playwright, an actor, a designer, and two theatre creators/performers talk about what it’s like working on a piece of theatre based, in some way, in reality.
Might there be a greater responsibility to myself, my collaborators, my audience, and my country when I display my voice and body as if they were Macdonald’s?
When Tom steps on stage, the atmosphere in the theatre changes. It’s palpable.
“I think everyone is afraid.”
Memorable directing notes from Christopher Newton, Neil Munro, John Hirsch, Daniel Sullivan.