Centaur’s Wildside Theatre Festival primed to heat up Old Montreal from January 7 – 17 LiveEvents January 2, 2015 5073 From January 7 to 17, 2015 Centaur Theatre takes its annual walk on the wild side with the 18th edition of the 10-day winter festival of boundary-breaking theatre. With a keen eye for the new and unusual, local playwright and actor, Johanna Nutter (My Pregnant Brother), has curated a program ranging from mime and movement to rock opera and comedy. “Wildside is Centaur’s no-holds-barred blast-off into the new year, an open invitation to the audacious and curious,” said Executive and Artistic Director, Roy Surette, who added, “It’s our way of combatting the post-holiday blues so Wildside Superpasses make great stocking stuffers! This year, the Wildside Festival explores such themes as loss (Aiden Flynn Lost His Brother So He Makes Another), the sensuous connection between the body, words and light (Coming and Going), open relationships (Delicacy), sexual predators (F*** You! You F***ing Perv!), finding love and freedom (Johnny Legdick), rediscovering your inner kid and letting him loose (Playday Mayday) and the irresistable urge to get a laugh at any cost (The Way You Tell Them). The Wildside Art Exhibition is a ‘first-come, first-exhibited’ art display for emerging artists. Centaur invited artists to bring one of their works to the theatre (453 Saint-Francois-Xavier), on December 14th between 1:30 and 5pm. Centaur will display as much as the Seagram’s Gallery walls can handle for the duration of the 10-day event with a vernissage from 5 to 7pm on January 7th. The Offside Festival – last year Ms. Nutter introduced a new facet of the fest that syncs perfectly with the event’s edgy character and has been officialy dubbed, Offside. She has expanded it considerably sicne last year with live shows every night (except Sunday) following the day’s final presentation. Audiences can linger over a drink and avoid going back out into the cold just a little bit longer. Sarah Segal-Lazar’s Sermo Scomber (Talk Macro, Wildside 2014) is planning a country-themed show, No More Radio will drop by, Oimoi’s Ephemerillz put an improvisational spin on Greek lyric poetry, the newly created Wildside Emissaries will host an open mic night, Rachel Mars (Wildside 2015) will host a Jewish-themed improv slide show and both Friday nights are dedicated to the wild man himself, Tom Waits, who’s written enough material to last into the wee hours. As Nutter put it, “Offside is the most open and wild aspect of the fest: just come, hang out, laugh and sing along.” See below for the Offside line-up. Wildside Theatre Passes offer a discounted price to any four shows in the line-up but they’re very popular and sell out fast. Interested buyers are urged to call the Box Office as soon as possible to take advantage of this offer. Tickets: 4-Show Superpass: $50 Regular or $40 for Subscribers, Students Seniors & under 30 Single Show: $15 Regular or $12.50 for Subscribers, Students Seniors & under 30 Please call the Centaur Box Office: 514-288-3161 or online: www.centaurtheatre.com Wildside at a glance Aiden Flynn Lost His Brother So He Makes Another Aiden Flynn Lost His Brother So He Makes Another To put his family back together Aiden Flynn makes himself a brother from scraps. A silent Frankenstein’s-monster story told through movement, music and shadow puppets. Winner of Centaur’s Best English-language production Montreal Fringe Festival Presented by Theatre Howl (Saskatoon). Created by Nathan Howe and Morgan Murray. Directed by Nathan Howe. Featuring Morgan Murray and Danielle Spilchen with original score by Nathan Howe and Derek Desroches. Coming And Going Darkness and light, form and imagination, meditative stillness and moving shapes… A sensorial journey through ocean tides lit only by the moon. An entrancing choreography between movement, words and music. Presented by For Body and Light (Montreal). Created by Stéphanie Morin-Robert in collaboration with spoken word and music artist, Ian Ferrier. Featuring Stéphanie Morin-Robert, Ian Ferrier, Allison Burns, Linnea Gwiazda. www.forbodyandlight.org Trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmUNl7n653M Delicacy A wealthy Yorkville couple meets a younger, open-minded couple at an underground sex club. Two weeks later, they invite the young couple back to their condo for wine and cheese to see if lightning strikes twice. Warning: mature content. Presented by Theatre Brouhaha (Toronto). Created by Kat Sandler. Featuring Andy Trithardt, Tennille Read, Kelly McCormack, Kaleb Alexander. “Explosive marital comedy” – Globe and Mail F*** You! You F***Ing Perv! A schizophrenic immersion, a sensory bombardment of weird imagery, a pervasive sound score, tap dancing and tasteless jokes, a raging illogical exploration of one theme—sexual predation. Warning: Mature content. Created by Leslie Baker (Montreal). Text by Joseph Shragge. Featuring Leslile Baker. Sound by Peter Cerone and lighting by Howard Mendelsohn.“brilliant, dark and disturbing … positively feral” – The Gazette foffyouperv.wix.com/fringe Johnny Legdick: A Rock Opera Cursed with a third leg, Johnny Legdick was sold to the circus by his parents and forced to live out his life in misery. But upon finding his true love (who is similarly disfigured), he decides to do what no freak has tried before at Suckadecocka circus… escape. With two new songs! Warning: (Im)mature content! Presented by Playwright Hero and The Jem (Montreal). Created by Jonah Carson, Jimmy Karamanis, Elijah Fisch, Macleod Truesdale and Tyler Miller. Directed by Jimmy Karamanis. Featuring Colin MacDonald, Arielle Palik, Tadzeo Horner-Chbib, Travis Martin, Mara Lazaris, Adam Capriolo, Chris Aitkens and Sarah Segal Lazar Winner Segal Center Award for most promising English theatre company! “a romp and a half and the songs are catchy as hell” – Bloody Underrated Playday Mayday From the two-time Just For Laughs Best Comedy Award winners & creators of Hypnogogic Logic. The masters of playful and surreal sketch comedy, Uncalled For, present a story about kids that’s made for adults who were smart enough to never fully grow up. Presented by Uncalled For (Montreal/Toronto). Created by Matt Goldberg, Mike Hughes, Dan Jeannotte, Jacynthe Lalonde, Colin Munch and Anders Yates. Featuring Matt Goldberg, Mike Hughes, Dan Jeannotte, Colin Munch and Anders Yates. “The smartest, funniest thing I saw on stage, in theatre or comedy, all year”– Eye Weekly (Toronto) The Way You Tell Them Turning the spotlight on the inner workings of comedy, The Way You Tell Them interrogates the desire and – sometimes uncontrollable – compulsion to be funny. Presented by Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre (Montreal). Created by and featuring Rachel Mars (United Kingdom). www.rachelmars.org
