Luminato, Toronto Festival of Arts and Creativity is set to start tonight, June 10. New partnerships and continuing collaborations infuse the theatre and dance program for the festival’s fifth anniversary edition. “For Luminato’s fifth anniversary, we are tremendously pleased to present several new, Luminato-commissioned works, world premieres, and North American premieres by accomplished local and international talent,” said Janice Price, CEO of Luminato. “The 2011 Festival celebrates the art of storytelling,” said Chris Lorway, Artistic Director of Luminato.
Here are my recommendations of some plays that will be part of this year’s Theatre program at Luminato.
Andromache
In Necessary Angel’s new and radical adaptation of Racine’s Andromache, the war has ended in a hail of brutal crimes against women and children. The new leader, Pyhrrus, has become infatuated with a hostage, the recently widowed Andromache. She now faces a sickening dilemma – should she allow her surviving child to be publicly executed by her enemies, or should she sell herself to Pyrrhus? Canadian poet Evie Christie collaborates with director Graham McLaren on a modern adaptation of Andromache that examines how obsessive love and lust leads people to commit unspeakable acts. The world premiere of Luminato-commissioned Andromache will be presented June 10-12 and June 14-19 at The Theatre Centre.
Tout Comme Elle (Just Like Her)
The English language premiere of Necessary Angel’s Tout Comme Elle (Just Like Her), commissioned by Luminato, combines song with a rich and poetic text to explore the painful, but necessary separation of mother and daughter. Conceived by acclaimed Québec director Brigitte Haentjens, and featuring a cast of 50 women, Tout Comme Elle (Just Like Her) is a poignant and daring piece of theatre about the inevitability of loss and the eternal nature of love. Tout Comme Elle (Just Like Her) is written by Louise Dupré and translated by Erín Moure. Tout Comme Elle (Just Like Her) will be presented June 14-18 at the Bluma Appel Theatre.
One Thousand and One Nights
One Thousand and One Nights brings to the stage one of the world’s greatest folk story cycles. The tales are told by Shahrazad to prevent King Shahrayer from taking terrible daily revenge for his wife’s infidelity. Each night he marries a virgin only to kill her the next morning. Shahrazad prolongs her life by keeping the King engrossed in a labyrinth of stories that never ends – a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of life, love and destiny.
One Thousand and One Nights is presented as a two-part theatre piece performed over successive evenings, as well as two-part weekend performances from June 11-19 at The Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Opera Centre.
I also recommend checking out some of the Dance events as well. Here are some suggestions:
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
British choreographer Christopher Wheeldon’s unique synthesis of neo-classical and modern dance vocabularies has established him as one of the most important – and sought-after – choreographic artists at work today.
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a co-production between The National Ballet of Canada and The Royal Ballet (UK) and is based on the famous Lewis Carroll book of the same name. The Alice stories have long fascinated and attracted other artists, including choreographers, both for their fantastic effects and the rich psychological and emotional terrain they present. Wheeldon’s ballet seeks to restore the book’s fundamental appeal: Its brilliantly anarchic and unfettered evocation of the imaginative world of childhood. The North American premiere of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland opens at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts will be presented at Luminato from June 10-12.
Confluence
Akram Khan and Nitin Sawhney celebrate the union of kindred spirits, and explore the nature of the creative process, in this thrilling fusion of dance, live music, and projection. Akram Khan, noted for his distinctive blend of classical Indian kathak with contemporary dance technique, as well as his collaborations with artists from varying disciplines, is one of the most acclaimed choreographers of his generation in Britain today. Nitin Sawhney—composer, producer, songwriter, DJ, and multi-instrumentalist—is a latter-day Renaissance man who has collaborated with Khan over much of the past decade on such works as kaash, zero degrees, bahok, and, most recently, Vertical Road.
Confluence takes the form of a conversation in motion and music between these two friends and artistic co-creators. Khan and members of his company join Sawhney and his fellow musicians—including the astounding young vocalist Nicki Wells—live on stage to revisit highlights of their past work together, to present a new piece created for the occasion, and to explore the psychological, emotional, and spiritual terrain of the creative journey itself. The North American premiere of Confluence will be presented June 16-18 at the MacMillan Theatre.
The fifth anniversary edition of Luminato takes place from June 10-19, 2011. Tickets for all Luminato 2011 programs please visit www.luminato.com.
