http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/topic/5enghttp://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/781http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/781Imagine, if you will a shoot -out between two of North America’s most famous French-Canadian word slingers, Michel   Tremblay and Jack Kerouac.  George Rideout’s Michel & Ti-Jean, playing at the Centaur until March 7, is an unexpected surprise, a daring, novel  audacious  idea that actually works on stage.  The encounter between the two takes place in 1969, one month before Kerouac drank himself to death.  Tremblay, who was then 27 and anxious to validate himself as a writer, hitchhikes to St. Petersburg, Fla., with a copy of his then as yet unproduced play, Les Belles Soeurs in his knapsack  to give to Kerouac to read.Alidor AucoinThu, 11 Feb 2010 05:00:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/782http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/782Kate McGarrigle was a free spirit who, with her much more restrained sister, Anna, enchanted us with their unornamented, honey-voiced duets in both official  languges.  Kate was the taller of the two, the slightly off kilter one, tart and earthy, the one who took charge on stage assuming everyone in the audience was a member of the family.Alan HustakThu, 11 Feb 2010 02:00:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/758http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/758 MONTREAL CONFIDENTIAL A Reprint of a 1950’s Montreal tourist guide; plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.  Alan HustakThu, 07 Jan 2010 11:00:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/759http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/759 POLITICS PEOPLE AND POTPOURRI l. Ian MacDonald’s snapshot of history in the making Alan HustakThu, 07 Jan 2010 10:30:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/760http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/760Ten years after Ex-Centris opened as Montreal’s premier cinema art house, the $35-million complex on St. Lawrence Blvd is attempting to carve a new niche for itself as a multi media showcase for emerging  talent.Alan HustakThu, 07 Jan 2010 09:30:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/739http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/739Taking a cue from last year’s successful Centaur Theatre production of Willy Russell’s crowd pleasing Shirley Valentine, The Segal Centre at the Saidye has countered with an invigorating production of the author’s one other popular play, Educating Rita.Alidor AucoinThu, 03 Dec 2009 14:30:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/740http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/740Par un soir de novembre en 1998, je me trouvais dans un bar du Lac Saint-Jean avec mon mari Alex Ivanovici. Sur les écrans géants, on diffusait un combat de boxe : un anglophone affrontait un francophone. C’était un bar un peu rude, dans un bastion souverainiste; en tant que Montréalaise bilingue mais résolument anglophone, j’avoue m’être sentie nerveuse. Je voulais partir au plus vite. Mais, de retour à notre gîte, nous étions songeurs. Qu’est-ce qui nous faisait si peur? La tension politique dans le bar? Le risque d’avoir à débattre, que les choses dégénèrent?Annabel SoutarThu, 03 Dec 2009 13:30:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/741http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/741Réfléchir à l’émergence des préoccupations culturelles dans l’arène publique, voilà ce que propose l’auteur Simon Brault avec son livre FACTEUR C.  Dans ce vibrant plaidoyer pour « la culture pour tous », l’auteur interpelle tant les artistes, les entreprises culturelles, les gens d’affaires, les journalistes, les politiciens, que l’ensemble des citoyens, afin de réfléchir tous ensemble à l’importance de la culture...Louise V. LabrecqueThu, 03 Dec 2009 13:00:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/720http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/720 He infatuates us still.  At least a dozen biographies about Pierre Elliott Trudeau have been written, none of them as satisfying as Just Watch Me, (Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 788 pp. $39.95) the second volume of John English’s dispassionate, intimate look at Canada’s most contradictory, perplexing and some say greatest Prime Minister. Alan HustakWed, 04 Nov 2009 14:30:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/721http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/721Inherit the Wind. Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee’s dramatization of the 1925 Scopes monkey trial, is a timely old chestnut of a play, especially now that the fossil skeleton of Ardi, a 4-foot tall female primate who died 4.4-million years ago, is making headlines. Alidor AucoinWed, 04 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/722http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/722A kiss is just a kiss but in Steve Galluccio’s overrated romantic farce, In Piazza San Domenico, a lip lock has toxic consequences.  Galluccio’s play, held over at the Centaur until November 15, is a crowd pleaser in the same way that mindless B-movies have a following.  The playwright claims Feydeau as an inspiration, but Feydeau enlarged human foibles; Galluccio combines the improbable with the predictable, then exploits human nature in crude and unrealistic fashion. Alidor AucoinWed, 04 Nov 2009 13:30:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/723http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/723L’ouvrage collectif Heureux sans Dieu, qui vient de paraître sous la direction de Daniel Baril et Normand Baillargeon, offre un kaléidoscope sur un thème fort peu abordé dans nos sociétés soi-disant modernes : l’athéisme.  Pourtant, comme le rappelle Hervé Fischer dans sa communication les athées représentent 25% des Canadiens selon un sondage effectué en mai 2008.René GirardWed, 04 Nov 2009 13:00:00 -0500http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/701http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/701If there’s any doubt that Michel Tremblay is a national resource, all you have to do is look around .  He’s everywhere.   Tremblay’s latest play – his 30th– Fragments des mensonges inutiles, is at the Theatre Jean Duceppe until October 17.  His  fifth novel,  La Traversée des sentiments, comes out  in November, and a  musical based on his classic, Les Belles-Soeurs, (lyrics by René Richard Cyr and music by Daniel Bélanger) will  be staged next spring at Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui, and  is already a box office hit.  Tremblay is also doing the French translation of Steve Gallucio’s farce, Piazza San Domenico,  which opens the Centaur season  Oct. 6 , Michel Tremblay is also a character who banters with Jack Kerouac  in George Rideout’s play, Michel & Ti-jean, at the Centaur in February.  A production of Albertine in Five Times is at the Shaw Festival until mid October, and next year,  Stratford will produce For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again.Alidor AucoinThu, 01 Oct 2009 09:30:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/702http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/702He may have written Death of a Lady’s Man but Leonard Cohen is not, repeat, not dead. As of last week, he’s 75 years old and pulling in a pension but the man’s alive, the man is well and as far as we know, he still knows how to make the ladies sweat. Edmonton’s Allison Akgongor’s Longing for Leonard knows what she’s talking about when she writes Leonard’s sounds entice us His words carry us awayP.A. SévignyThu, 01 Oct 2009 07:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/683http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/683Montreal's beloved symphony orchestra recently staged its 11th annual ball at Windsor Station and proved to be this year's premier sensory-pleasing fundraiser.   A symphony of incredibly tantalizing delights for the eyes, palates and ears, the benefit soirée pulled out all the proverbial stops, as some 500 guests fêted their local orchestral treasure.Naomi GoldWed, 02 Sep 2009 03:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/684http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/684Nous vivons une époque exceptionnelle de l’histoire de l’humanité.  En effet, nous sommes enfin sortis des mythes anciens qui décrivaient, d’une manière ou d’une autre, la création de l’Univers.  En somme,  nous voilà sortis d’une vision du monde qui traçait invariablement une frontière entre le Ciel et la Terre, le Bien et le Mal.   Ces mythes plaçaient la Terre au centre de l’Univers, tel un nombril originel, et la religion était, de ce fait, profondément imprégnée des idées d’Aristote.  Toutefois, lorsque Galilée découvrit des détails astronomiques dans le Ciel divin, nous étions déjà passés de l’autre côté du miroir.  Et nous savons aujourd’hui l’impact que ses observations eurent sur l’avenir de la civilisation en général et sur la recherche scientifique en particulier. Louise V. LabrecqueWed, 02 Sep 2009 02:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/663http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/663Eric Siblin has a foot planted firmly in two musical worlds. A  film maker and widely travelled Montreal Free-lance journalist and documentary film maker  who cut his teeth as a newspaper pop-music critic,  Siblin, 48, has entered the so-called classical sphere with his first book by deconstructing  J.S. Bach’s cello suites. It is an extraordinary effort,  a free-wheeling literary riff about  the art of making music . Like travel writer Bruce Chatwin, Siblin condenses worlds into pages and leaves a reader hungry for more.  He became fascinated with the “dark moody tones’‘ of the cello suites nine years ago  after hearing them for the first time played at the Royal Conservatory of Music In Toronto .. “I had no reason to be there,” he writes,  … “but I might have been searching for something without knowing it. Top 40 tunes had overstayed their welcome in my auditory cortex, and the culture surrounding rock music had worn thin. I wanted music to occupy a central part in my life, but in a different way.” Alan HustakThu, 06 Aug 2009 07:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/664http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/664 C’est tout bête? La sélection naturelle, l’adaptation au milieu, l’évolution des espèces, et quoi d’autre encore ?  Ah oui : les histoires de fous aux Galapagos, les singes qui parlent (on en connaît tous !), l’architecture de l’embryon, les fleurs musicales, les hirondelles de Tchernobyl et les batailles de mouches, constituent quelques exemples figurant au palmarès de ce livre extraordinaire, Darwin, cest tout bête, qui relate, avec un humour imparable,  la vie du célèbre naturaliste et scientifique Charles Darwin.  L’auteur, Marc Giraud, a frappé dans le mille, en proposant aux néophytes en la matière toute la rigueur de l’activité cérébrale de Darwin,  mais sous une forme ludique particulière, où l’interrogation se dresse de tous bords, tous côtés. Louise V. LabrecqueThu, 06 Aug 2009 05:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/665http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/665La tournée qu’a effectuée la cantatrice Malgorzata Kubala au Canada n’est pas passée inaperçue, notamment dans la communauté polonaise.  La présence de cette grande cantatrice polonaise au Canada au cours du mois de juin 2009 constitue une preuve supplémentaire de l’engagement du nouveau consul de la Pologne dans la métropole québécoise, Tadeusz Zylinski, en faveur de la culture.Zénon MazurThu, 06 Aug 2009 02:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/645http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/645It was touch and go whether the troupe from Poland would make it; translating two dozen Yiddish plays into French and  English proved to be a bit of a headache  and the logistics of meeting the specific requirements of eight theatre companies and 200 actors, artists, musicians and scholars from around the world was an enormous challenge. Still, in spite of a few last minute glitches, and some anxious moments, all of the world’s major Yiddish players came together under one roof in Montreal for last week’s opening  of the International Yiddish Theatre Festival which wrapped up Friday June 25. “We’ve learned a lot, and I think we’re going to put that knowledge to use,” said  Bryna Wasseman,  artistic director of the Segal Centre for the Performing Arts who came up with the audacious idea...Alidor AucoinThu, 02 Jul 2009 05:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/646http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/646 Radio Canada-CBC et ses artisans traversent en ce moment des jours sombres et qui doivent susciter une réflexion et un débat de fond au sein de la société civile québécoise et canadienne.Monsieur Bernard Derome honoré   pour sa grande contribution au métier de journaliste à l’antenne de Radio Canada a lancé un appel en ce sens et je tiens à l’en remercier et à répondre présent à ce cri du cœur d’un homme réputé pour sa  réserve, sa rigueur et sa crédibilité... Sébastien DhavernasThu, 02 Jul 2009 04:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/647http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/647Who would have imagined that so many fusty, gilt-edged landscapes that have been out of fashion for so long could be so resonant to our times?  Expanding Horizons, a terrific summer exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts combines painting and photographs of the North American wilderness done, for the most part,  in the last half of the 19th century. Taken together, these bucolic, dreamlike vistas have been restored to their rightful position as potent masterworks. Such an exhibition could hardly be more appropriate...Alan HustakThu, 02 Jul 2009 02:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/556http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/55610 WORLD CONGRESS opens in MontrealMontreal isn’t the first city that comes to mind when you think of Art Deco, so Peter Sheridan, wasn’t sure what to expect when he arrived here  from Australia for the 10th World Congress on Art Deco. Sheridan, a Sydney, Australia, dentist who collects art deco radios is one of about 200 enthusiasts from 30 Art Deco societies around the world attending the week-long convention that opened Sunday. The get together was organized by Sandra Cohen-Rose, who 15 years ago wrote a book on the subject, Northern Deco; Art Deco in Montreal. Alan HustakThu, 28 May 2009 04:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/557http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/557En vue de l’écriture de cet essai, Émile Ortenberg semble n’avoir eu pour seule ambition que de vivre un message de lumière.  On constate à sa lecture que son propos se résume à merveille par cette seule idée, car c’est bel et bien dans cette optique que l’auteur rend compte de la lucidité, de l’amour et du bonheur que comporte la musique mozartienne, une musique à laquelle, d’ailleurs, de plus en plus de mélomanes accordent un statut tout à fait spécial...Louise V. LabrecqueThu, 28 May 2009 03:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/533http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/533Family values are at the heart of Over the River and Through the Woods, Joe DiPietro’s heartwarming intergenerational comedy at the The Segal Centre for the Performing Arts until May 10. It’s a slight play, normally dinner theatre fare, but, like a plate of delicious pasta, the Segal’s production is hugely satisfying.  It appeals to anyone who has ever found themselves caught between the demands of their increasingly dependent childish parents and grandparents, and their own, ever demanding professional obligations.Alidor AucoinWed, 06 May 2009 08:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/535http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/535Benoit McGinnis fait une impression inoubliable sous les traits de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart dans la brillante adaptation qu’a faite René Richard Cyr de la pièce Amadeus, de Peter Shaffer. La pièce est à l’affiche du Théâtre Jean Duceppe jusqu’au 21 mai prochain.Alidor AucoinWed, 06 May 2009 06:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/536http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/536Mavis Gallant has spent a life time doing what many writers can only dream of – living in Paris and consistently crafting some of the finest short stories in the English language that have been published for six decades in the New Yorker. Reading Going Ashore, the thirty or so recently published short stories that Gallant wrote early in her remarkable career, not only demonstrates how durable her work has always been, but also serves as a reminder of just  how important  the art of the short story remains to those who make their living as writers.  In a digital age that threatens the survival of newspapers and mass circulation magazines, renders the novel impotent and makes biography almost irrelevant, the short story might be the last salvation for those who care about literate expression. Alan HustakWed, 06 May 2009 04:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/537http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/537Former Pulse News anchorman Bill Haugland, who retired three years ago as one of Montreal’s most familiar and trusted  faces on television  will undoubtedly add to his considerable fan base with his first novel, Mobile 9.Alan HustakWed, 06 May 2009 03:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/514http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/514Sexuality is turned up full throttle in The Centaur’s lavish production of Age of Arousal, a stylish, often outrageous and sometimes tedious take on how women relate to one another, and how a man can poison that relationship.  Linda Griffith’s feminist play about a group of sexually repressed  “new age” women in Victorian London, is inspired by George Gissing’s The Odd Woman, the 19th century novel which deals with the fate of emancipated women in a male-dominated society...Alidor AucoinThu, 09 Apr 2009 06:00:00 -0400http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/515http://www.themetropolitain.ca/articles/view/515John Lennon and Yoko Ono created a brand of fame 40 years ago that remains strikingly contemporary – shades of which can be seen in both the earnest activism of U2’s Bono to the self-obsessed flashbulb frenzy surrounding today’s vapid starlets...Jessica MurphyThu, 09 Apr 2009 05:00:00 -0400