The Night Dances paired Sylvia Plath’s poetry with live cello music as part of Toronto’s Luminato Festival
Charlotte Rampling’s staged recitation of Sylvia Plath’s poetry in The Night Dances, a part of the Luminato Festival’s 7 Monologues program, is a kind of performance that I don’t often see anymore. With her arresting stage presence and iconic husky voice, Rampling’s delivery seemed to have come straight out of classic Hollywood or an old British concert hall. Perfectly complimented by director/cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton’s vibrant interpretations of select Benjamin Britten movements from Suites No. 2 and 3 for solo cello, The Night Dances – while not flawless – still had me mostly riveted.
Who Killed Spalding Gray, on stage in Toronto, serves as an example of how to pull off a one-person show
I thought that I was going to be too late to see Daniel MacIvor’sWho Killed Spalding Gray, one of the Seven Monologues that are part of this year’s Luminato Festival. Streetcars were not cooperating and I made it to Harbourfront Centre Theatre at 5:48 for a 5:45 show. The doors were already closed but I heard someone say “You can seat people until the house lights go down. ”
Tanztheatre Wuppertal Returns to Toronto with the Triumphant Kontakhof
I could feel the anticipation from the audience before the sold out show began. It’s been 30-years since the legendary Pina Bausch’s Tanztheater Wuppertal has performed in Canada. Finally, on the 40th anniversary of Tanztheater Wuppertal, Luminato Festival brought them back to show us one of Bausch’s most memorable productions, Kontakhof.
Pina Bausch was one of the first to introduce theatre in dance. Her choreography spoke to the human spirit as she stripped away the layers of pretense and got down to talking about what’s real. First staged in 1978, Kontakhof touched on the relationship between the sexes and the deep desire to be loved. The performers were first introduced as individuals, not really connecting with each other but humorously walking to the front of the stage to show the audience their profile and their teeth!
Magic and Music on display at Luminato in Rafael Benatar’s “Compositions”
Compositions opened last night as part of the final weekend of Luminato. Based on the blurb in the program I had no idea what to expect. Based on the small audience neither did a lot of other people. It’s a shame because Rafael Benatar is delightful. So is his show.
