Breathing life into hellish paintings onstage
Earthly Delights come alive, relationships get really real, seeds planted for future hits
Hieronymus Bosch: The Garden of Earthly Delights Watch this if: You want to see a Bosch painting come alive. Marie Chouinard’s dance creations are enigmatic, intelligent and usually a little bit bacchanalian. So it’s hard to think of a source of inspiration that’s more exciting for Chouinard to tackle than the hellishly detailed paintings of Hieronymus Bosch; in particular, the triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights. Compagnie Marie Chouinard returns to Canadian Stage after two memorable productions ( The Golden Mean, Orpheus and Eurydice) with a show that’s likely to be as engrossing as its source material. But unlike a painting, this dance piece can’t be hung on a wall for repeat viewings. Don’t miss this limited run.
Wednesday to April 23, Bluma Appel Theatre, 27 Front St. E. Illusions Watch this if: You think the best love stories are very complicated and very layered. Ivan Viripaev’s play casts four actors to play two married couples and lifelong friends at various points in their lives: courtships, marriages, deceptions and mercies. On its own, Illusions is an intimate look at the lives and loves of four individuals; the production that opens this week at Streetcar Crowsnest by SideMart Theatrical Grocery adds another lay- er by casting it with two real-life couples: Brett Donahue and Laurence Dauphinais, and Andrew Shaver and Marie-Ève Perron. Not only will audience members see echoes of their own lives in the characters, they’ll see the echoes reverberate within the actors in real time.
Wednesday to May 7, Streetcar Crowsnest, 345 Carlaw Ave. The RISER Project Watch this if: You want to see theatre stars on the rise. This is the fourth edition of Why Not Theatre’s RISER Project, an experiment in indie theatre producing that gives you four productions for the time and money of one. The project has already proven to be fertile ground for future hits to bloom, such as the Dora-winning Mouthpiece.
The first two productions in the 2017 edition are ready for their time in the spotlight: The Draupadi Project, a reimagining of the Indian tale the Mahabharat, written and performed by Sharada Eswar and directed by Karin Randoja; and Chautauqua, the latest exploration of salvation from Justin Miller’s drag character Pearle Harbour.
Monday to April 26, the Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St. W.