PuSh Festival - Stage Review

Show: Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner and the Farewell Speech

Company: chelfitsch

Director: Toshiki Okada

Cast: Taichi Yamagata, Riki Takeda, Mari Ando, Saho Ito, Kei Namba, Fumie Yokoo

Venue: Studio T, Goldcorp Centre for the Arts, 149 West Hastings Street.

Run: January 26th to 28th, 2012

Time: 65 minutes

In Japanese with Subtitles

Reviewed By Alex Hutt

A comparison that has been brought up several times over literature and stage is contrasting the mundane with the strange, and Toshiki Okada has found that combination perfectly in his play “Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner and the Farewell Speech.”

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The two women who have a sometimes rough relationship talk and while some of what they say is of some interest, the pace is simply soporific and the audience finds itself fighting yawns.

THEATRE REVIEW

Reviewed by James Karas

Athol Fugard’s The Road to Mecca, now playing at the American Airlines Theater in New York, has a slow start that does not pick up much, if any, speed until the second act. By the end of the performance you do realize the complexity of the play, the number of issues it raises and the interesting bits that have been revealed. But by then is almost too late to enjoy the performance. True you can think about and appreciate the depth of a play and the marvels of the production well after you have seen it, but it is difficult to give a performance much of a review if you were quite bored much of the time.

"I really enjoyed this unique theatrical experience, and the Vancouver Art Gallery served as the perfect venue for such a journey through ideas of place, history, and memory."

Performance Art Review

PuSh Festival 2012

Show: Guided Tour

Starring: Peter Reder

Venue: Vancouver Art Gallery

Run: January 25th to 29th, 2012

Reviewed by Tessa Perkins

You have probably been on many guided tours before in museums and galleries, but have you ever been on one where the focus wasn’t on the art or venue, but on the tour itself and the tour guide? That is what was so brilliant about Guided Tour. Reder took us on a tour of the Vancouver Art Gallery, but we weren’t there to look at the art, instead we learnt about the history of the building, discussed the meaning of “heritage,” and got a behind the scenes look at the gallery itself.

With a wonderful British sense of humour Reder began the tour by telling us that he recently read a book about how to be a good tour guide. He described how the book said to use the phrase “follow me” and to praise the audience and make them feel comfortable. Right from the beginning, this tour felt very casual and informal as he chatted to us and people from the audience were asked for their own ideas and opinions.

I really enjoyed one segment of the show where he talked about how he doesn’t think Britain really understands Canada. “We sort of think Canada is a decaf version of the US,” he explained, and he went on to say that at we at least share a couple of traits: “hatred of Americans and rioting.” Another great aspect of the tour was learning all about the history of the Vancouver Art Gallery building and it’s original function as a courthouse. Reder told us all about the architect who designed it and at the same time poked fun at the way historians like to claim they knew exactly what something would have been like.

Reder also discussed the origin of the word “heritage” and how it has taken on new meaning quite recently, now being used in all sorts of places – even a Banana Republic marketing campaign. This idea of how we perceive and experience history was a strong theme of the tour, and Reder also told us about the Angel of History that saw history as just one great catastrophe and wished she could go back and fix everything but at the same time knew there was nothing she could do.

As we toured the gallery, we went through private hallways and places the public wouldn’t normally have access to such as old courtrooms. My favourite stop on the tour was the only place in the building that still serves the same purpose as when the building was a courthouse: the library. The smell of old books was overwhelming as we entered the space, and the rolling ladders on the shelves around us were the original 1910 fixtures. While in the library we were treated to a discussion of how smell is associated with memory with reference to Proust’s A la recherche du temps perdu. 

We also made a stop to watch a slide show of photos from Reder’s past as he talked about the way photos create memories and serve a cultural purpose. He also discussed the gentrification of a London neighbourhood and his childhood vacations to cold, pebbly beaches. Then we descended down the large freight elevator into the basement to watch a short film about the Angel of History who searches to find meaning in history and sort out whether or not we are truly living in the present or continually stuck in the past.

I really enjoyed this unique theatrical experience, and the Vancouver Art Gallery served as the perfect venue for such a journey through ideas of place, history, and memory. Reder was able to craftily weave together stories of his own past connecting it through broad ideas and the history of the art gallery along with the personal experiences of all the audience members. All this along with a great sense of humour made for a truly lovely show.