Sala Rossa event to be a veritable circus of poetry, dance, and music


THE MCGILL DAILY
April 10, 2006


By Leah Garfield-Wright
(Culture Writer)

Local rhymester Carolyn Souaid is back on the poetic front to bring words from the page to the stage. As a long time advocate of publicly liberated art, Souaid’s past projects include appropriating Montreal sidewalks for widely cast celebrations of words, and joining other Montreal poets for spontaneous street performances during the week of “Random Acts of Poetry.” In the same playful spirit, Souaid will be stepping it up and onto a real stage for her next project. Circus of Words/ Cirque des mots is an impressive and expressive cabaret show of performance poetry that seeks to invigorate and integrate literary genres.

“We’ve decided to really run with the idea of poetry as something that can be readily fused with other art forms such as dance and music to create a circus in the true sense of the word and idea,” says Souaid. This unique vision is shared by co-producer Endre Farkas, who is a poet, playwright, and author. Though Montreal is already a haven for spoken-word events, the Circus of Words/Cirque des mots is distinctive in its integration of “theatrical elements of the stage such as plot, character, dialogue, sets, light, and sound, and the input of directors and musicians” claims Farkas.

As Montreal’s status as World Book Capital expires at the end of April, this “literary/theatrical/movement/musical event” sponsored by Poetry in Movement/Poésie en mouvement productions will maintain and expand the theme of rejoicing in all things literary. “What’s special is that our show broadens the concept of the ‘book’ and focuses on the kinetic aspect of poetry, daring the written word to leap off the page and onto the stage,” says Souaid.

The six performances cover enough genres to please an English, French, Spanish, or even Hungarian teacher. Québécois maudit poet Lucien Francoeur begins with a self-titled “rock poet” or “poet-rocker” performance and the francophone faction is further rounded-out by the guitar-accompanied poetry singer, Fabiola Toupin, as well as a modern poetry group of comedians and poets. Internationally acclaimed choreographer Lin Snelling and musician and visual artist Michael Reinhart offer a fusion of movement and text in English. Next, the stage supports a trilingual performance by actor Bobo Vian in a theatrical tribute to Josef Attila, one of Hungary’s most famed poets. Desparecido Productions presents The Breakfast of Dreamers, a poetic story about “the interruption of harmonious and sustainable lifeways by the agents of Progress and Capital.” Lastly, hailing from Afghanistan is the elegant dancer Manijeh Ali, for a repeat performance of dance and poetry.

Indeed, the integral part of the spectacle is the strength of crossing barriers of genres, languages, and expectations. Last year’s sold-out performance of Circus of Words/Cirque des mots is a clear indication that this year promises no less. Farkas notes, “I think all the participants share a feeling that poetry speaks for our times in the art form of our times.  Poetry is not a relic, not a useless form of art. It is vital; it is engaged. And Circus of Words/Cirque des mots 2006 is here to demonstrate that.”


The show will be at Sala Rossa on Thursday, April 13, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. For more information, check out www.endrefarkas.com, for reservations, call 486-9260.


(Reprinted with permission of the author)