Ghosts and clowns on stage
Family Literacy Day celebration takes place at the library
In her opening remarks before the Saturday matinee of Henrik Ibsen’s “Ghosts,” TheatreHub artistic director, Sarah Blanchard, made an interesting observation.
She said that every weekend for the rest of January, a new play production will open in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
Actually, including the return of “Beauty And the Beast” to Glace Bay’s Savoy Theatre followed by a Valentine’s dinner theatre show at the same venue, the trend continues until the middle of February.
And after that, there are new productions opening at the Highland Arts Theatre and the Boardmore Playhouse at Cape Breton University.
But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s get back to January’s offerings.
TheatreHub’s “Ghosts” made excellent use of a smallish room, used on several occasions by other small theatre companies, just behind the auditorium in the former Holy Angels Convent.
Performed three-quarters in the round with a minimum of set pieces and props, this staging increased the intimacy and intensity of Ibsen’s dark family drama by making the audience feel like they were in the parlor where a family’s seamy secrets are being scorched away one layer at a time.
It was a bold move to introduce oneself to the theatre public with a classic work. The ingenuity of the direction and the commitment of its cast made me look forward to other TheatreHub productions.
This week the Highland Arts Theatre brings back the clown duo of Morro and Jasp for a new show, “Of Mice & Morro & Jasp,” which runs nightly at 8 p.m. until Sunday.
Last year’s show, “Morro and Jasp Do Puberty,” I thought was a hilarious, skillfully played examination of growing up seen through the eyes of the two “clown sisters” (played by Amy
Lee and Heather Marie Annis). Some found jokes about menstruation and tampons a little uncomfortable to sit through (I did but only because I was falling out of my seat laughing).
With a wink and a nod to the Steinbeck classic, “Of Mice & Morro & Jasp,” is described in a HAT media release: “Forced to work as carnival clowns, the duo’s dream of owning a farm with rabbits comes to life with adorable props, myriad literary references, and some help from the audience.”
So there are bunnies: who could have a problem with bunnies?
“The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of Monsieur de Sade” serves as the title and a plot summary for the upcoming Boardmore Theatre’s production that has a six-day run from Tuesday, Jan. 23 to Sunday, Jan. 27 at Cape Breton University.
This production is a kind of a 50th anniversary remount of a production done at the Lyceum on Sydney’s George Street by
Harry and Elizabeth Boardmore in the 1960s.
This production, featuring a large cast, is directed by Gary Walsh, who had the lead in that original production.
Besides being a heady, intense drama about sexuality, madness, revolutionary politics and murder, this show boasts some of the catchiest songs you’ll ever leave the theatre humming.
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This next event isn’t a theatre event, but it is well worth taking in.
On Saturday, Jan. 27 from 2-4 p.m., the McConnell Library in Sydney is hosting a Family Literacy Day celebration — an event sponsored by the Adult Learning Association of Cape Breton County, Cape Breton’s Family Place Resource Centre and the Cape Breton Regional Library.
Family Literacy Day is a national series of events to raise awareness of the importance of reading and engaging in other literacy-related activities as a family.
The McConnell event features a puppet show, crafts and face
painting, and every child who attends will receive a free book from the adopt-a-library literacy program.
There is no admission fee for this event (like all programs sponsored by the Cape Breton Regional Library), but nonperishable food donations for Loaves and Fishes are welcome.