Wildside Festival – January 18 to February 8, 2024 LiveEvents January 12, 2024 725 Centaur Theatre, in collaboration with La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines, presents The Wildside Festival Get ready to immerse yourself in the world of independent theatre, where creativity knows no bounds. “The Wildside continues to be an important opportunity to celebrate innovation in performance. This year we are excited to present work by some of Montreal’s most exciting independent theatre creators, in our ongoing effort to support experimentation and cutting edge performance practice in our city.“ – Rose Plotek, Curator “This edition of the Wildside Festival confirms the relevance of the collaboration between the Centaur Theatre and La Chapelle. Renewing this pleasure of participating in the interdisciplinary living art offer in both languages with a precious partner like the Centaur is a real pleasure. Wishing everybody a fantastic Festival and looking forward to welcoming you.” – Olivier Bertrand – Director of La Chapelle Scènes Contemporaines Still Life January 18 – 20, 2024 Still Life is both a brilliant study of a writer struggling with general anxiety disorder, and a scathing criticism of performance-oriented culture. It proposes that art can heal and provide hope. Severely shaken by a panic attack on her birthday, the writer is bewildered as to the cause—she seems afraid of fear itself! She tests herself as a live nude model and as a clinical subject for stress—but both bring on panic attacks. The-30-Year-Old finds inspiration in the self-portraits Nidaa Badwan took, shut up in a Gazan flat. She envies the freedom the photographer found in nine square meters, and vows to leave her apartment only when the time is right. But her dark apartment betrays her every move. She feels like a rat in a maze. A candid look at anxiety, this feminist play criticizes performance-oriented culture. Still Life illustrates how society responds when one falls short of the accomplishments expected at life’s first major milestone. It proposes that art can heal the past and provide future hope. Ricki January 30-31, February 1-3, 2024 A darkly absurd fable about the trials of a woman who with her ten-year-old son moves to Montreal to rebuild their lives after the loss of her husband and home. Their relationship is tested by a mysterious arrival at their doorstep. The play is a bittersweet exploration of the conflicts between parents and children as they struggle against monsters, real and imaginary. Written by Joseph Shragge, Ricki was further developed with Playwrights’ Workshop Montréal and also workshopped at Concordia University as part of Greg Macarthur’s playwriting class. A subsequent residency led by director Alison Darcy with Sophie El-Assaad was held with Infinithéâtre’s inaugural Big Bang Artists’ Laboratory, where all disciplines of theatre makers explore, innovate and collaborate to find exciting, original ways to tell live stories. Choose Your End January 26-27, 2024 With a Casio keyboard and the internet, we make videos and original music about the things that scare us most: sentient AI, environmental collapse, the end of civilization; the future. It’s gonna be a blast! Confabulation January 27, 2024 Confabulation, Montreal’s original all-true storytelling series, is back at Wildside with another evening of stories, shared by the people who lived them! Expect the same honesty, humour, drama and character you expect from a Confabulation show — only with a fifth of the time, and five times as many storytellers! Music Series February 2-3, 2024 Folk-rock band Sarah Segal and the Lasers take to the stage to bring you “Montreal Music”––songs about our fair city. Come out and enjoy songs you already know and love––and discover some new favourites as well! Stay tuned for special guests announced leading up to the shows! Plays for the End of the World January 21, 2024 at 3pm A debut project by Scaredy Cat Theatre, “Plays for the End of the World” is a collection of dark yet comedic short plays that boldly confront the dread and helplessness of our contemporary existence. These vignettes offer poignant and unsettling glimpses into lives not so far from our own, of morality, violence, grief, and the haunting specter of loneliness. The performers shift between characters and narratives, using non-linear storytelling, clown, music, and poetry. Three ceaseless floating heads, a humble watercooler maintenance man, an enraged punk drummer, and a broken hearted autopsist are just some of the characters you will meet in this searing new work. “Plays for the End of the World” is not a premonition of what’s to come, but an offering to where we have already arrived. It’s a visceral journey into the landscapes of our daily lives, where the seemingly mundane echo the profound weight of an impending apocalypse. As this project grows, we invite you to witness these raw, unapologetic plays and to take part in their evolution. For more information visit: www.centaurtheatre.com
