A lifestyle blog for curious minds
The Charming Modernist is a lifestyle blog for curious minds that focuses on the best of food, travel, arts and culture.
The Victorians were on to something. Not in their repressive society, or their corsets, but in their literature, a seething froth of feelings and ideas that brought us boldfaced names like Dickens and Wilde, Doyle and Braddon, Hardy and Eliot. There's so much richness in that period that still resonates for readers today.
Read MoreTheatre is a funny business, funny both in the amusing sense and in the weird sense. Second City’s latest revue, Party Today, Panic Tomorrow, is a blunt instrument of a show that is loud, unapologetic, political and fierce. Unlike the more cerebral and brainy Everything is Great Again, the current show has a more frenzied feel about it. It’s more physical, more hard-hitting, and takes more risks. There are parts that will make you feel decidedly uncomfortable and parts that will leave you scratching your head. And I absolutely loved it. It may not be for everyone, but it was for me.
Read MoreCavalia’s Odysseo bills itself as “like no other show on earth!” Now, that’s a big claim…but it’s not wrong. If you’re not familiar with Cavalia, you probably will be soon. Like their better-known cousins Cirque de Soleil, they are a Montreal-based entertainment company that combines circus arts, live music, and film with the beauty and vigour of horses. It’s an usual combination that sometimes feels hard to pin down. Is it an athletic competition, a concert, an equestrian exhibition? I’m not sure, and I’m not sure I would even try to classify it. The bigger question is – does it work? And to answer that, I can give you a resounding yes. Whatever else Cavalia’s Odysseo is, it is undeniably full of spectacle, movement, and excitement.
The evening begins as we enter the White Big Top, Cavalia’s custom-designed venue. From a distance, the tent looks like a turreted castle straight out of a fairy tale. Inside, a wide stage is filled with a packed sand surface surrounded by trees and vines. The sand is real, the trees are not, but the effect is mysterious and lovely all the same. Stadium seating ensures that no matter where you sit, your view is unimpeded, and it’s surprisingly comfortable. It may seem odd to mention it but trust me, after a two and a half hour show, I was very grateful for those seats. Flamenco guitar was playing softly as we took our seats. I assumed it was recorded, but when the lights went down I could see musicians tucked away in the wings.
Baz Luhrmann is one of those directors whose aesthetic is immediately recognizable – and not to everyone's taste. Personally, I love the technicolour glossiness of a Luhrmann film. I love the staginess taken to extravagant lengths, the lush visuals and golden light, the swooning romance and sneering villians. Clothes are never just clothes, but costumes. Places have a feeling of unreality about them. In Luhrmann's world, everything is fake, but that doesn't mean it's not true. He makes movies where we know everything is artificial. Everything has been designed, chosen with care, for the single purpose of showing us an emotional truth. In other words, the more unreal it seems, the more it resonates in the heart.
When it comes to competitive ballroom dancing, think of the athletically choreographed steps, the illusion netting, the million-watt smiles. A good dancer never lets the audience see her bleeding feet or his bad knees. Yet the grace and fluidity they bring to the stage is breathtaking. Their bodies tell a story and become part of the theatrical experience. In fact, the only thing I can think of that's more stagy than competitive dance is a musical. So the creation of a stage musical using Baz Luhrmann's 1992 film Strictly Ballroom as source material is a pretty natural progression. In fact, Luhrmann adapted the movie from his own stage play – a rare example of a story going from stage to screen to stage again. The show has its North American premiere run right now in Toronto.
Read MoreComedy, I've learned, is more complicated than it looks. It's not just a question of throwing a few one-liners in the air and walking away. Comedy takes a lot of different forms and techniques. There's standup, which can be very personal and intimate; improv, which really benefits from the chemistry of a group of players; and sketch comedy, which combines the relentless practice and fine-tuning of the first with the playful spontaneity of the second. Cast members workshop a scene together, improvising and riffing and adding and subtracting until a bright shining sketch emerges. The Second City's latest mainstage production is on now and if you've never seen sketch comedy, it's a great introduction to the genre. And if you are familiar with sketch, go anyway. It's a fantastic evening out. You'll laugh, you'll cry . . . but mostly, you'll laugh.
Read MoreThe Charming Modernist is a lifestyle blog for curious minds that focuses on the best of food, travel, arts and culture.
Hello and welcome to The Charming Modernist, a lifestyle blog for curious minds. We enjoy sharing our love for travel, food and arts and culture with family, friends and the online community. Read more >>
