Awright!  There’s lots to get through on this week’s FOOFARAH, and I’ve been drinking for a while now already, so let’s get truckin’, shall we?  As ever, first things are first:

IN THEATRES THIS WEEK: 

DEATH AND THE MAIDEN at the Gladstone Theatre, from Plosive Productions.  Your last week to catch this killer thriller starring Chris Ralph, Genevieve Sirois and Paul Rainville.  Don’t be a chump, check it out!

BEYOND A JOKE from Ottawa Little Theatre.  A nice, goofy farce about a pile of dead bodies in a quiet English village.  Funnier than that makes it sound.  Last week also, so get out there!

KING LEAR at the National Arts Centre.  The much anticipated Aboriginal casting of Billy Shakes’ epic gets a full-tilt treatment… grand cast, gorgeous costumes, just a great big spectacle.

ROMEO AND JULIET from the Kanata Players, at the Ron Maslin Playhouse.  A new telling of Billy’s tragic classic, starring a few of my fav’rit young actors.  I’m finally making my way out to Kanata for this one, you should too!

POUTINE MASALA at the Mainline Theatre.  Okay, this one’s a Montreal show, and..why?  Well, it’s because I was actually supposed to go and review this show on Wednesday, having been invited on my first out-of-town gig ever.  But alas, I’m unable to secure the needed time off of drudgery, boo.  So, I just wanted to drop a shoutout, and hopefully any MTL gangsters reading this will check it out for me.  It sounds fanTAStic.

And most excitingly…

THE 14th ANNUAL YOUTH INFRINGEMENT FESTIVAL at Arts Court!  May is turning into a real cool little pre-Fringe festival month…first the Extremely Short Play Festival, then SubDevision, and now the (ironically) oldest one of the three, Youth Infringement!  Seven shows over five days, all from local youths who are giddy and excited about creating theatre.  Do I NEED to spell out the reasons why we in the community need to support this festival (and yes, OTTAWA CITIZEN, I mean you too…you want to be a part of the community, don’t you?  Like a GOOD Citizen?)?  The participating shows are BEST LEFT UNSAID by Colin Giles, BLIND DATE by Matt Hertendy, HYDRANGEA by Kyle Cunningham, JUDGEMENT DAY by John Ryan, LONG DIVISION by Kyle Cunningham (again), PLEASE SAVE THE QUEEN by Maggie Matian, and THE RESTAURANT by Lucas Armstrong.  I’ll be there for sure on tomorrow’s opening night..will I see you there??  You’d better have a good excuse if I don’t!  In the meantime, since it’s kinda summer-y outside, here’s a tune you won’t get out of your head for a few weeks, courtesy of my pal Chris in Korea.  You’re welcome.

AFTERGLOW:  Have I raved about SUBDEVISION enough yet?  Yes, I suppose I have, mostly Here, but it was well deserved.  That opening night at St.Pauls was maybe the most numinous (look it up) experience I’ve had in theatre since Emily Pearlman’s living room (you should have BEEN there!).  I was too busy with other shows to catch it a second time, but I was sorely tempted, believe you me.  I did, however, crash the final afterparty at the Novotel bar after the third night of the fest, and I’m SO glad I did.  So many amazing people there, and they were all…how can I put this?…Willing to speak to me!  I know that probably shouldn’t still amaze me like it does, but it kinda does!   I didn’t stay late, but I loved every second of that night, talking with some of the most dee-liteful and inspiring peeps I ever did know.  Slowly, EVER slowly, I’m starting to feel like I belong in this community…it’s a good feeling, I have to say.  Though I still have lots of work to do, and miles to go before I sleep.

Props, by the by, to Globe and Mail dude Kelly Nestruck for dropping in on SubDevision AND the afterparty that night, and even tweeting favourably about it afterwards.  That puts him well ahead of 99% of our local media (although I hear Patrick Langston also made it to the shows that night, so bloody good on him, too…even if the Ottawa Citizen still has its newspaperly head in the sand concerning the arts in Ottawa).  But lets not get into THAT particular kettle of fish again this week…instead, let’s celebrate the arts by showcasing one of the greatest meetings of theatre and music in human history…MOTORHEAD’s guest appearance on THE YOUNG ONES:

ONE MONTH TO GO:  I’ve been crazy busy with the blog lately.  It’s pretty much a full-time second job now, and not a waking hour of my life goes by without me thinking about either it or theatre in general.  Which is just how I like it.  But I’ve been SO busy, I just realized I’ve hardly had any time to get excited about FRINGE!  And today marks the one-month point…that’s how long we have until the Ottawa Fringe Festival launches its 16th incarnation, and by God, there’s work to be done!

Sooner than you imagine, I’ll be launching into my third annual FRINGE-COMA, doing my level best to write about every last damn Fringe show I can see, and trying to stay alive through the process.  But, I feel the need to step it up a notch this year…no slacking like in previous entries, yeah?  So I  have a couple of announcements/pleas to make public here and now, because there ain’t no more time to lose!

1 – Do you have an upcoming Fringe show in Ottawa?  Do you have any special media, photos, videos, etcetera, that bloggery types like me might use in our writeups of your show?  Do you want some extra attention, media, shoutouts or, dare I suggest it, interviews?  Then what are you waiting for?  Give your old pal the Visitor a call, and I’ll see what I can do!  I have some down time coming between now and Fringe, as the regular theatre seasons fade out, and I’d like to spend it ruthlessly promoting upcoming Fringe productions (not to mention prepping for active Fringe-reviewing itself).  Send whatever media stuff you have to visitor.tba@gmail.com, and I’ll do my best to get it onto the blog.  Let’s make this year the biggest Ottawa Fringe turnout EVER.

2 – Since I seem to be writing checks my body has little chance of cashing, let’s keep going…this year, I want to review EVERY Fringe show.  And, okay, that’s impossible for just me (although technically, this year it IS possible to see every show, thanks to some mathematical magic from the Man of Mans), which means, I need recruits!  I’m sick of those high-and-mighty Fully Fringed muckity-mucks lording it over me!  Help me beat them at their own game, and join Team Visitorium this Fringe!   Do you love theatre, and are able to write?  Are you full of beans and jam?    Can you manage positivity in a review, even IF you didn’t love the show (And do you understand the difference there?)?  Will you work for no pay (I can’t even swing you tickets), but merely for the sweet recompense that is BUCKETS OF GLORY??  Writing for the Visitorium is pretty much like writing for Fully Fringed, only WAY FUCKING COOLER.  I’m totally serious, I have a cape and everything.  Drop a comment, let me know if you’d be interested in writing a guest-review or two during the Fringe, and mayhap I can make this idiot scheme of mine reach fruition!  It will TOTALLY help if I already know you somehow, as Winston fears strangers.  By the way, I ADORE Fully Fringed, this is simply healthy sparring between friendly competitors going on here.

But seriously, I’m going to fucking BURY them.  Here’s some go-go dancers!

I’m running out of stuff now…I’m still trying to ignore all those mad things I just wrote that are going to result in WAY more work for me (positive, be positive!)  Although I would like to express my sincere hopes that everyone enjoyed themselves at the 1st ever Ottawa ComicCon this weekend, while I was STUCK AT GOD-DAMNED WORK the whole time.  Screw you, work, I’m gonna go see The Avengers again this week (maybe or maybe not for the third time) in protest.  Also, I’m working on a plan for a theatre event based on a comic book, among other things.  I’ll keep you posted.  It only gets bigger from here on in, folks.  Peace, love and soul,

The Visitor (and Winston)
EMERGENCY POSTSCRIPT!  I just got in my e-mail a special missive from the good folks at the Gladstone Theatre, who have gone and sneakily announced their upcoming Season…but this time, a FULL ON YEAR, not just a Winter or Spring or what not.  It’s late, but I thought I’d update the Foof and share the glad tidings with you:

STONES IN HIS POCKETS by Mary Jones, from 730 Productions, Sept 7-29.

HOW IT WORKS by Daniel MacIvor, from Plosive Productions, Oct 5-20

NOVEMBER by David Mamet, from 730 Productions, Nov 21-Dec 8

MIRACLE ON 34th STREET: THE RADIO SHOW, from Plosive Productions, Dec 14-23

DR.HORRIBLE based on Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, from Black Sheep Theatre, Jan 16-Feb 2 (Sidebar…FUCK yeah.)

BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR by John Gray, from Plosive Productions, Feb 8-23.

ABSURD PERSON SINGULAR by Alan Ayckbourn, from 730 Productions, Mar 5-23

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW by Wm.Shakespeare, from Bear and Company, April 19-May 4.

Right, that’s the last special surprise before bedtime…I’m off again (possibly to rewatch Dr.Horrible, for some odd reason…)  Get excited, Ottawa, good things just keep on coming!