May 2, 2010, Montreal—
Amazing. Unbelievable. A wonderful eclectic evening. These were just a few of the many comments overheard as the crowd filed out of the Studio space at the Segal Centre for Performing Arts following the 6th annual Circus of Words / Cirque des mots last night. On this Worker’s Day, May 1st, some of Montreal’s most exciting performers did their thing.
Producers Carolyn Marie Souaid and Endre Farkas set the tone for the evening with an opening “shtick” that was both entertaining and politically conscious, and the host, Jeanette Kelly, arts reporter for CBC Radio One 88.5, was stunning in her tux. With her characteristic charm and professionalism, she ran the evening like a true Ring Mistress.
The acts themselves, playing to a nearly sold-out space, were varied and top notch.
Franklyne and her posse got the crowd going with their trilingual, Latin American-infused Québécois music. Especially powerful was “Bang Bang Bang” a song of war/antiwar. Franklyne was infectiously charming, witty and serious. Her posse backed her up more than solidly.
The young actor/playwright Jessica Rose presented a hilarious and absurd exploration of a horny 1950s adolescent doing her laundry while trying to cope with raging hormones (the 15-year-old, flying high on her mother’s anti-depressants, has only a Miss Etiquette guide book to help her navigate her convoluted fantasies and desires).
Monk-E, known for his work with at-risk students, hip-hopped and rapped while a series of slides of his graffiti executed around the world were projected. Accompanied by Caroline Dupont on keyboard, he was joined for his final piece—improvised by the incredibly talented Meryem Saci. Together, they ended the first half of the show.
Following a brief intermission, 20-year-old Kirya Marchand, winner of the Homerun Poetry Contest sponsored by CBC Radio for National Poetry Month, reeled in the audience with her prizewinning poem, “Montreal.” The McGill University literature student delivered her poem barefoot and with passion and confidence.
Groupe de poésie moderne followed. Typically, one never really knows ahead of time how many of the group will show up for a performance. Regardless, the group always gives you a bang for your buck. Their strength is their theatrical training and verbal choreography. And Benoit Paiement and Chantal Jean – the two who showed up – delivered.
Meryem Saci tore the Segal roof open with her vocal prowess. She moved through hip-hop, soul, gospel, and a Tina Turner kind of driving song that won the heart and soul of the audience.
Paul Van Dyck closed out the evening with an excerpt from last summer’s one-man hit show Paradise Lost. Reprising the Garden of Eden scene with the help of his marionettes, he breathed life into the famous pair and humanized the Fall from Grace, which ended here with the powerful and touching gesture of the two marionettes holding hands as they are about to leave the Garden.
The Circus of Words/ Cirque des mots 2010 was proof once again that you don’t have to dumb down to entertain. It is possible for serious art to be entertaining and elevating.
