Here’s a list of concerts this month in Peterborough and area that have piqued my interest. We are blessed to have such a great local music scene!
The Rise of Sexual Politics
We live in an age where sex and horror are the new gods.
So what better way to illustrate this than dusting off ancient morality tales and pumping them full of graphic sex and deplorable violence so that a bunch of frat boys can be inspired to hit the weights together. The Immortals, Clash of the Titans, and — most persistently — 300 have narrated this strange misappropriation.
Original hack maestro Zach Snyder has taken sabbatical to ruin another franchise (he cast Ben Affleck as the new Batman) and has left the directorial reigns in the fumbling hands of Noam Murro. Bizarrely, this is Murro’s sophomore effort after the Dennis Quaid/Sarah Jessica Parker dud, Smart People.
Not that the original 300 — based on the overrated Frank Miller’s account of the desperate last stand between three hundred gallant Greeks standing against the racially ambiguous Persian masses — was much to savour.
An intense, intimate, and intelligent night of theatre
Lust, regret, desire, madness and memories: four conditions of the human mind that are universal throughout time and are featured as the emotional centerpiece of the Spiel Players’ production of The Raven and Lady with a Lap Dog.
For two nights only, a collection of Peterborough’s most noteworthy performers brings to life tales from two of literature’s most celebrated authors — Edgar Allen Poe and Anton Chekhov — in an unique theatre experience that adds something new to Peterborough’s theatrical landscape.
A one-act production combining music, drama, and literature, the production opens with Robert Winslow’s dramatic rendition of Poe’s The Raven. Directed by Beau Dixon, Winslow brings the insanity, darkness, and melodrama associated with the works of Poe in an emotional and frenzied performance.
Think Spring with March workshops and events
I was at the Cobourg Home Depot on Sunday and noticed they added a large sign by the front door counting down the days to March 20th — the first day of Spring.
The sign provides hope that winter is finally coming to an end and warmer days are within reach.
While the 20th heralds the arrival of spring, we all know there are several more weeks of cold and snow yet to go before the grass turns green and leaves appear on the trees.
“What Time is the 9:20 Bus?”
Local author Lucinda Hage has released a non-fiction book entitled What Time is the 9:20 Bus? A Journey to a Meaningful Life, Disability and All — the first book of its kind in Canada. There are hundreds of books about children with disabilities, but none about their successful transition to adulthood.
Unable to have her own child and anxious to adopt, Lucinda is overjoyed when a newborn baby is granted to her and her husband. Devastation follows when the baby, Paul, is diagnosed with a serious genetic disorder that means he will be intellectually challenged and require medical intervention for the rest of his life. Lucinda’s already-tenuous marriage disintegrates, and she becomes a single mother caring for a difficult and fragile child.
Peterborough’s music-making marathon
One of Peterborough’s most unique evenings of music is back — with a stacked lineup of local performers.
This is not your typical night of live music, though. The bands have yet to rehearse (let alone be formed) and the songs won’t be written until the evening before showtime.
The fourth annual 24 Hour Music Project hits the Historic Red Dog on Saturday, March 22nd beginning at 9 p.m., with doors open at 8 p.m. The show has a $10 cover.
The project is the brain child of local artist Rob Swales, and is partly based on the theatre version of the 24 Hour Project.
Ten songwriters are paired off to write songs together and, on the day of the show, each set of songwriters drafts a band from a pool of musicians. Each of the five bands works on the songs and rehearses them, culminating with a live performance in the evening.
Art in the Street – March 2014
Artist Spotlight: Anne-Marie Kornachuk
Anne-Marie Kornachuk may be less in the local limelight these days, since the time when she was the Director of the Art School of Peterborough and had shows at the now defunct Russell Gallery.
As a successful commercial artist, her exquisite oil paintings are more often seen south of the border in places like New York, Cincinnati, and Los Angeles.
A little closer to home, in Lakefield, she is represented by the Trias Gallery in Oakville and has shown work at the Art Gallery of Peterborough.
Starting Seeds Indoors
In what seems like a relentless winter filled with polar vortexes and ample snow, many of us are counting down to the first day of spring, now 23 days away. While spring may still be a good three weeks away, there are plenty of ways to help push away the winter blues, especially if you’re a gardener.
With many of us receiving seed catalogues each week, now is the time to start thinking about starting seeds indoors to get an early start on the 2013 growing season.
Grindhouse drama
If Abbott and Costello were in a Quentin Tarantino film, you’d get The Dumb Waiter.
Kate Story directs two of Peterborough finest actors — Dan Fewings and Brad Brackenridge — in a one-act dark comedy which is as funny as it is suspenseful.
Beautifully Macabre
Director Jerry Allen has taken some big risks staging The Beauty Queen of Leenane at the Peterborough Theatre Guild, but the risks definitely pay off.
The most provocative production of the current Guild season, the show straddles a fine line between “black comedy” and “psychological drama”, which managed to both delight and shock an unsuspecting audience during its opening night performance.
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