With many local theatre companies trying to bring back audiences to their venues during this topsy-turvy time that is the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centaur Theatre has decided to bring theatre “al fresco” to kickoff its 52nd season with their new Portico Project.
Running until October 3, the Portico Project gives a fresh air approach to enjoying theatre, as the Centaur presents a number of short productions that are being staged on the exterior portico of the theatre’s facilities located at 453 St. Francois-Xavier Street in Old Montreal.
One of the productions that is part of the project’s line-up is “Is there anything else I can do for you?”, a new short solo play (running between 12 and 15 minutes) mixing movement and text that was created and developed by Amy Blackmore, who is also the Executive and Artistic Director of the MainLine Theatre and the Montreal Fringe Festival.
Starring Maxine Segalowitz, who stole the show with her performance as Columbia during the MainLine’s annual production of “The Rocky Horror Show” last fall, the play chronicles Amy’s own experiences as she dealt with a recent personal medical situation, and how she had to navigate the ins and outs of our health care system during the pandemic. And because Amy is still in recovery from this health situation, which has temporarily curtailed her ability to speak, she enlisted the help of Emily Gualtieri from the troupe Parts+Labour_Danse to aid her with directing the play and issuing instructions.
Show times for “Is there anything else I can do for you?” are at 4 p.m. (September 25 and October 1), 2 p.m. (September 27) and 3 p.m. (October 3). Admission is free; however, donations to the Centaur Theatre are welcome. For more information, or to purchase tickets, go to www.centaurtheatre.com/portico-project.
The Montreal arts interculturels
The Montreal arts interculturels (MAI), located at 3680 Jeanne Mance, kicks off their 2020-2021 exhibition season with the timely “Live in Palestine”, which runs until October 24.
The exhibition originated from an art and resistance conference that took place in Bethlehem, Israel. Exhibition curator Rehab Nazzal, along with co-curators Stefan St. Laurent and Anna Khimasia, travelled to Palestine to speak with Palestinian activists, artists and scholars, as well as personally witness everyday life there on a first-hand basis.
Featuring works by a number of well-known and emerging artists who are currently living and working in Palestine — many of which are being seen in Montreal for the first time — the exhibition will focus on work that mixes performative practices with political engagements, as well as address the issues and complexities of what it’s like to live in occupied Palestine.
Admission to the exhibition is free, but reservations are required for the 45-minute guided tours that are going to conducted on September 25 (English) and October 2 (French). All attendees must wear face masks when visiting the exhibition. For more information, call 514-982-3386.
Pan-Caribbean cuisine at Kamuy
Fans of fine dining, take note. Kamuy, one of Montreal’s hottest new restaurants that is located on Jeanne Mance Street in the heart of the city’s Quartier des Spectacles, has recently announced that they will be offering their popular Pan-Caribbean cuisine for the lunch and brunch crowd.
The lunch menu, which will be offered every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, will feature express service and menu items that contain fresh ingredients from the Caribbean islands plus many of the flavour profiles and influences that has made Kamuy such a dining hot spot. As for the brunch service, which will be offered every Saturday and Sunday until 3 p.m. along with tapas from 3 to 5 p.m., will be a festive Bagatelle Brunch that has been made famous by the restaurant’s head chef Paul Toussaint. And throughout the brunch period, diners will be treated to continuous music playing that will add to their unique dining experience, and will feature such musical styles as reggae, jazz, bachata, merengue, troubadour, and salsa, to name a few.
To reserve your spot to sample Kamuy’s international adventure in dining, call 514-447-7481 or email info-reservation@kamuy.ca.
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