WHAT TO SEE AT LUMINATO 2017
Lineup runs the gamut from skateboarders to Chekhov to hip-hop
Notes of a Native Song: Earlier this year, Musical Stage Company and Obsidian Theatre produced Passing Strange, a rock musical about a young black man’s coming-of-age in California and Europe (winning three Toronto Theatre Critics Awards and earning eight Dora Award nominations). Luminato is bringing the duo responsible for that autobiographical musical — Mark Stewart, a.k.a. Stew, and Heidi Rodewald — and his band The Negro Problem, in their Canadian debut. Notes of a Native Song is dedicated to the work of writer and activist James Baldwin, playing off his famous collection of essays, Notes of a Native Son. An unmissable event. (June 15-18, The Famous Spiegeltent, David Pecaut Square)
Carly Maga
Until the Lions: British dancer/choreographer Akram Khan has built a loyal following during his several Toronto visits. Given that Khan, 42, plans to retire from the stage next year, this may be your last chance to experience the visceral impact of his sleek, lightning-fast dancing, inflected by the Indian Kathak style and his brilliant theatrical imagination. Until the Lions takes its title from contemporary poet Karthika Nair’s meditation on Sanskrit epic The Mahabharata’s female characters. An imperious warrior lord, a wronged princess and her reincarnated, demonic, gender-switching avenger do battle in this gripping dance-to-the-death drama. (June 15-18, Joey And Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre)
Michael Crabb
Life Reflected: If you can’t make it to Stratford this summer, here’s your chance to catch it — director Donna Feore — in our own city. Known mostly for her command of largescale musicals, Life Reflected is an interesting shift for her (as director and creative producer) — merging storytelling, original compositions performed by the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and immersive projects and technical elements to reflect four legendary Canadian women: anti-bullying advocate Amanda Todd ( My Name is Amanda Todd), writer Alice Munro ( Dear Life), astronaut Roberta Bondar ( Bondarsphere) and poet Rita Joe ( I Lost My Talk). Since Life Reflected sold out its Ottawa premiere and plays only one night, this will be a hot ticket. (June 18, Sony Centre, 1 Front St.)
Carly Maga
Breakin’ Convention: It’s explosive, gritty, hyper-kinetic and it’s finally coming to Canada. The International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre, a highlight of London’s Sadler’s Wells for the past 14 years, vaults the Atlantic to bring together some of the world’s best b-boy/b-girl crews along with leading Canadian hip-hop companies and cutting-edge street dance troupes. Curated and hosted by UK hip-hop pioneer Jonzi D, the headline Sony Centre stage performances are complemented by freestyle sessions, workshops, graffiti art and a free outdoor park jam. The event is a blazing demonstration of the important place hip hop occupies in contemporary culture. (June 23-25, Sony Centre)
Michael Crabb
Ian Kamau/The Residents Project:
The Theatre Centre, the much-valued live art incubator and performance space on West Queen West, is partnering with Luminato on an initiative to extend its residency program. “Dozens of pieces have been created since 2004,” Luminato’s Josephine Ridge says. “A lot of them have not had lengthy presentation seasons, nor have there been opportunities for artists to return to the work.” Theatre Centre’s artistic director Franco Boni says the partnership will provide a vital opportunity for “work that’s happening in Toronto to be seen in an international context.” The program’s first selection, to run in 2018, will be announced in the Famous Spiegeltent at 4:30 p.m. on June 24. This will be followed at 6 p.m. by a performance by Trinidadian-Canadian writer, poet and hip-hop artist Ian Kamau, a current Theatre Centre resident. (June 24, The Famous Spiegeltent)
Karen Fricker
Skateboarders vs Minimalism:
Always a tough fit with the festival, the visual arts program this year is, by Ridge’s own standards, admittedly thin. Past years made up for it with quality (Marina Abramovich, Geoffrey Farmer) over quantity, but those expecting such presence will be disappointed. Topping the list will likely be Australian video artist Shawn Gladwell’s Skateboarders vs Minimalism, a literal title for a work that shows skaters ollying up and back on replica versions of sculptures by Minimalism’s high priests Donald Judd and Carl Andre. A cheeky one liner — think of a moustache on the Mona Lisa — the subversion of the intended purity of high Modernism’s last gasps checks boxes for both crowd-pleasing and art world cred. (June 24, Drake Commissary, 128 Sterling Rd., starting at 1:30 p.m.)
Murray Whyte
Uncle Vanya: On first impression, a Chekhov classic sticks out as an uncharacteristically traditional entry in an otherwise adventurous Luminato program. But Ridge says the Vakhtangov State Academic Theatre’s production is a “very contemporary take on the piece stylistically.” Vakhtangov’s Lithuaniaborn artistic director Rimas Tuminas has directed the show in the tradition of Chekhov’s lesser-known contemporary Vsevolod Meyerhold, creating, in the words of Guardian critic Michael Billington, a “total-theatre mix of words, music, mime, and symbolism.” And, as Ridge points out, “nobody does Chekhov like the Russians. It’s so beautiful to have a chance to hear that language. “The rhythms of Chekhovian writing in the original is fantastic.” (It will play with English surtitles.) Reviewing the production in London five years ago, Billington called it “mercurially brilliant” and gave it five out of five stars. (June 24-25, John Bassett Theatre, 255 Front St. W.)
Karen Fricker