2010 Summer Festival

 

 

Hahaha
OKidOK • Belgium

Ages 5 and up • 75 minutes
Non-Verbal
The Big Top, LeBreton Flats Park

Evening shows available!

 

Curriculum Connections:

Trained in Brussels and at the Montreal Circus School, Xavier Bouvier and Benoît Devos (aka Okidok) are an outstanding theatre-clown duo. Hahaha, their first full-length show, is comprised of a series of their own non-verbal sketches, impressive routines developed and perfected over the course of touring with various circus troupes throughout Europe and North America. Created with finesse and simplicity, the routines are as hilarious as they are improbable – a ball falling from the sky, an unruly carrot, a door leading to a void – and all result in comic, visually stunning physical theatre.

www.okidok.be

 

 

Lava
Studio ORKA, Belgium

Ages 5 and up • 60 minutes
In English
Tent 2, LeBreton Flats Park

*Maximum seating capacity: 38

 

Curriculum Connections:

Two soil investigators discover something quite wonderful while constructing a subterranean car park. At approximately fifteen metres deep, they suddenly hear strange, inexplicable sounds. Scratchy, creaky noises, murmering, snippets of piano music... They pursue their investigation, complete with mini-cameras, and find tangible proof that beneath our earth’s crust, amongst moles and worms, something (or someone) is alive. A small audience is invited to the site to witness the underground mystery. Sudio Orka are well-known for their travelling exhibitions, all of which share a preference for absurdity, enlargements and dreamworlds. Lava explores the fine line between imagination and reality.

www.studio-orka.be

 

* Please book in advance to insure your seat.

 

 

Hansel and Gretel
Gruppe 38 • Denmark

Ages 8 and up • 40 minutes • English
Barney Danson Theatre, Canadian War Museum

Evening shows available!

 

Curriculum Connections:

The wonderful thing about fairytales is that they are marvelously
engaging as well as useful. They are incredible stories about fighting against life’s difficulties, about distinguishing between good and evil and about sorting out all those confusing impressions that reality offers. Gruppe 38’s take on the classic Grimm tale of Hansel and Gretel’s encounter with a breathtaking gingerbread house – and an extremely wicked witch – is rich in detail. Elegantly told with the use of a narrator, beautiful projections and an eerie live soundscape (provided by a suit-clad musician), Hansel and Gretel effortlessly draws the audience into the unfolding story. A gripping and magical theatre experience for young people.

www.gruppe38.dk

 

 

 

 

Trio for a Green Pea
Pascal Ayerbe • France

Ages 3 to 7 • 45 minutes

Bilingual (English & French) with music
Barney Danson Theatre, Canadian War Museum

 

Curriculum Connections:

   

Trio for a Green Pea is a show created by Pascal Ayerbe, a French composer who uses everyday objects to make music. From a rambling washbasin to chirping birds, from tubas and bow saws to plastic toys used in an unconventional manner, a trio of charming little gnomes creates music that is wildly entertaining. In their universe, anything and everything can be used to make a rhythmic, percussive symphony. Children of all ages delight in the magic of creative discovery – the only limits are the audience member’s own imaginations.

www.pascalayerbe.com/trio-pour-un-p'tit-pois.html

 

Kotama - Spirit of Taiko
Nagata Shachu, Toronto

All ages • 50 minutes
Drumming/Music
Tent 3, LeBreton Flats Park

Evening shows available!

 

Curriculum Connections:

 

Based in Toronto, Nagata Shachu has enthralled audiences with its mesmerizing and pulse-quickening performances of the Japanese drum (taiko). The group’s principle aim is to rejuvenate this ancient art form by producing innovative and exciting music, while keeping it rooted in the folk drumming traditions of Japan. Featuring a vast array of Japanese taiko, gongs, bells, wooden clappers, shakers and bamboo flutes, Nagata Shachu combines thunderous, primal drumbeats with subtle, intricate rhythms, to produce an extremely diverse sound. The result is an unforgettable experience that is powerful in expression and will take the audience on an incredible musical journey.

nagatashachu.com

 

 


 

Goodbye Mr. Muffin
Teater Refleksion and De Røde Heste, Denmark

Ages 6 to 10 • 40 minutes
In English
Atelier, Canadian War Museum

*Maximum seating capacity: 75

 

Curriculum Connections:

   

Once upon a time Mr. Muffin was young, strong and proud. He could carry a whole cucumber on his back! Now he is tired and grey. And he sits alone in his house remembering. He’s had a good life, better than most. He makes a list: 1 very wise and kind wife, 1 little house with its own mail box, 4 furry little kids and sometimes mail in the mail box.

A beautiful, gentle and touching story, Goodbye Mr. Muffin explores the idea of cherishing memories and not fearing death – or life.

www.refleksion.dk

 

* Please book in advance to insure your seat.

 

Bathtime
Théâtre Bouches Décousues Montréal

All ages 3 to 6 • 55 minutes
In English and French
Tent 1, LeBreton Flats Park

 

Curriculum Connections:

 

At the end of a busy day as a firefighter, Mrs. Firebell faces her biggest challenge: giving her baby a bath and putting him to bed. He is a courageous yet fragile child, facing his fears and dreaming of becoming a firefighter himself one day. Bathtime is a break of sorts, a time for deep contemplation. Everyone, young or old, relaxes in a bath. Tenderness surfaces and becomes a buoy floating on the sea of imagination. As an introduction to theatre for the very young, Bathtime offers a sweet meeting-place for children and adults.

www.theatrebouchesdecousues.com

 

 

 

Neon Bible Project
Canterbury High School, Ottawa

All ages • 50 minutes
In English

 

The Neon Bible Project is a new and exciting presentation featuring pre-professional drama students
from Canterbury High School. This movement-driven play is based on ideas and themes found in Montreal rock band Arcade Fire’s 2007 album Neon Bible and has been created entirely by Canterbury’s senior drama class. We are extremely proud to be showcasing these students’ work as a special addition to the Festival.

www.canterburyhs.ocdsb.ca