COMA UNPLUGGED (2011)



School News release

Press release, Talisman Fundraiser

Communiqué de presse, Levée de fonds

Press release, Coma Unplugged

Communiqué de presse, Coma Unplugged

Personal testamonials

"Coma Unplugged is an engaging show that successfully achieves a fine balance between entertainment and reflection: on a mini-budget in a little-known venue, time at Coma Unplugged was better-spent than at some of the more renowned French theaters in Montreal that offer bleakly tragic, unbalanced productions. Talisman's production proves that a text "full of meaning" can be fun to see! With a beautiful very relevant set."
--Anouk Looten, Board of Directors APASQ, Montreal.

"I loved it. Smart play, bold production, Funny, weird, big good energy. Fantastic sound design (all design elements, actually) Strong directorial hand. Congratulations."
--Kim McCaw, Equity Councilor, Edmonton.

Reviews

Thanks to Pat Case for his review 'Time to wake up: Talisman Theatre's new production is "hilarious and poignant"' in The Concordian, October 26: "ArchamBaudoin deftly handles the embittered Daniel... Braganza summons Marjorie's desperation, rage and frustrated love with ease, burning brilliantly... Glover gives a flawless performance as a doting, talkative mother... Chimwemwe Miller gives a solid performance... The hilarity of Donovan Reiter's character belies a wounded, frustrated divorcee... Perhaps most notable is the elaborate set designed by Lyne Paquette. ...Coma Unplugged is a contemporary jewel." (More...)

Thanks to Marilou Craft for her review in PLEIN ESPACE, October 26: "L'équipe de Talisman Theatre propose somme toute une production respectueuse de la vision de l'auteur. Tremblay suggérait que l'action se déroule dans l'appartement de Daniel, un décor « pas réaliste, plutôt cubiste, surréaliste en point de fuite, post-traumatique, petitement apocalyptique », proposition que l'équipe de concepteurs respecte à la lettre. Le décor, une structure imposante et anarchique, permet des entrées en scène surprenantes et comiquement inusitées. Le détail des accessoires et des costumes est réjouissant, travaillé avec le souci évident de créer un univers « cohérent avec l'inconscient de Daniel Martin », selon la sommation de l'auteur." (More...)

Thanks to Cecile Mouly for her review on Citeeze Montreal, October 25: "A first-class cast drives us through a multiplicity of emotions. ...Éloi Archambaudin plays Daniel exquisitely. ...Pierre Michel Tremblay's English translation has been beautifully written by Micheline Chevrier." (More...)

Thanks to Anna Fuerstenberg for her review in Rover, October 25: "The acting was flawless. Eloi Archambaudoin was riveting as Daniel. ...Glenda Braganza was spectacular as Marjorie and her performance made the play come alive. ...Susan Glover gets comedy, and ...was manic to within an inch of credibility and understood with great instinct the need for 'set up and delivery'. ...Chimwemwe Miller had the thankless part of Ishouad, the Twarek [sic] warrior, but his physical presence was enormously charming and worth watching. ...Donovan Reiter ... played his macho gazpacho part with great energy. ...The set was terrific ...Furthermore, the lighting and sound were great and the costumes worked very well. ...Talisman should be congratulated for their efforts, especially on the fantastic cast." (More...)

Thanks to Chris Liu for his review in the McGill Tribune, October 24: "It's a terrible thing to watch a mind go to waste. Yet Pierre-Michel Tremblay's Coma Unplugged makes it so infectiously fun... Talisman Theatre's latest production is proof that when you mix a sharply written script with a cast whose energy knows no bounds, magic occurs. [...] Coma Unplugged makes the most out of its discombobulation. The voyage through Daniel's fracturing mind is one fraught with side-splitting laughter and deep introspection: in other words, a perfect night out." (More...)

Thanks to Bernard Wheeley for his Review on Voir.ca 23 octobre 2011: "'Am I a failure?' Voilà la question existentielle à laquelle doit répondre Daniel Martin (Éloi ArchamBaudoin) avant de décider de revenir ou non à la Vie. ...Je m'en voudrais de passer sous silence la superbe prestation D'Éloi ArchamBaudoin. ...Ayant vu les deux versions de « Coma Unplugged », je peux affirmer que celle-ci m'a davantage amené au coeur du drame. J'ai bien apprécié. On peut le dire sans crainte, « this show is not a failure »." (More...)

Thanks to Estelle Rosen, @estellemontreal, for her Review 'Into The Head of Another', October 22, in The Charlebois Post (Canada): "Director Zach Fraser sees breaking the boundaries of reality as an opportunity to present a story both comic and potentially tragic. [...] A reflective play with more depth than we would initially expect - humourous with an underlying edge - touches on meaningful issues without hitting you over the head with a message. [...] Kudos to Éloi ArchamBaudoin for eloquently embodying the role of Daniel Martin." (More...)

Thanks to Al Lafrance for his Review on Bloody Underrated 21 octobre 2011: "From the moment I walked into the room, I loved what I saw. Lyne Paquette did a great job with this set... This space was used incredibly well throughout the play... Oh, did I forget to mention that? I got hit in the throat with a baseball during this play, and I still loved it. That's gotta say something about the quality of the performance, no?... They put on a great show, brought huge amounts of energy to the room, and made this 95 minute play feel like it took place in about 20. ...Tickets are 25$... and they're definitely worth every penny. This is one of my favourite plays of the year, easily, and I hope you all go see it." (More...)

Thanks to @gcharlebois and @CharPoCanada for their Tweets: "Review: Coma Unplugged, gorgeous play with magnificent lead actor"; "Review: (Montreal) Coma Unplugged - brilliant lead actor in this mix of reality, dreams and imagination".

Thanks to Richard Dagenais of Global's Focus Montreal for his interview which airs at 5:30 pm on October 22: "Montreal's Talisman Theatre is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a performance of 'Coma Unplugged', translated from the original French production written by Pierre-Michel Tremblay. Director Zach Fraser and actor Eloi ArchamBaudoin talk about the show." (More...)

Thanks to Pat Donnelly for her review 'Coma Unplugged reaches higher consciousness' in The Gazette, October 22: "Fraser and company have tuned in to Tremblay's wacky wavelength in a way that makes Coma Unplugged hilarious as well as timely, intelligent and provocative. [...] At about one hour and 45 minutes, Coma Unplugged could use some trimming. But make no mistake: Talisman Theatre has a hit on its hands. Get your tickets now." (More...)

Thanks to Rachelle Glait of the Segal Centre for her kind comments on Facebook: "Saw the play last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. Haven't stopped thinking about it. Terrific performances!"

Thanks to Jeanette Kelly (JK) of CBC Radio One's Daybreak (with host Mike Finnerty [MF]) for her interview with Zach Fraser (October 21, at 6:50 am): "ZF: You could say that there are different aesthetics that are explored often in French versus in English, and in particular, Pierre-Michel Tremblay's writing... he's very fantastical. It's surreal in a way. ...MF: Reimagining the male mid-life crisis... a lot of that happens in Quebec actually. ...JK: Absolutely. Young male mid-life crisis. A kind of Occupy Wall Street mid-life crisis." (More...)

Thanks to @QuebecDramaFed QDF's Tweet: "Just saw @TheatreTalisman 's Coma, unplugged. Really cool show! Lots of laughs, thoughtful design, strong cast. Go, you'll enjoy till Oct 29".

Thanks to Amandla's Afrah Aden October 2O interview with Chimwemwe Miller (1:22 min into the clip). "He will appear in the play Coma Unplugged, as Ishouad the mysterious Touareg warrior. Coma Unplugged delves into controversial subjects including cultural appropriation and stereotypes of Africans." (More...)

Thanks to Estelle Rosen, CharPo and Stephanie Breton for their October 10 interview with Chimwemwe Miller who stars as Ishouad in Coma Unplugged. (More...)

Thanks to The Suburban, 7 October 2011, for their article 'Staging a Coma' on Coma Unplugged (page 13). (More...)

Thanks to Pat Donnelly for the mention in The Gazette, September 21: "Another presentation that grabbed attention was that of Talisman Theatre, which will present Coma Unplugged, by Pierre-Michel Tremblay, from Oct. 20 to 29 at the Conservatoire d'art dramatique et de musique. Susan Glover played meddling mama while Éloi ArchamBaudoin handed out date bars. Hilarious." More...

Thanks to Neil Boyce for his mention of Coma Unplugged in the MIRROR's 'Fall Arts Preview', 15 September 2011. (More...)

THE FLOOD THEREAFTER (2010)



 Thanks to Maurice Podbrey for his heart-warming praise for THE FLOOD THEREAFTER: "The whole production was delightful - a thoroughly enchanting evening. The playwright has achieved something rarely seen in the English language theate - a story told in magical terms and brilliantly excecuted by the director and designers and the performers. My sincere thanks to all." (More...)

Thanks to Walter J. Lyng of The Suburban for his interview with Emma Tibaldo, the Director: "Few fairy tales are inspired by small town strip clubs but when playwright Sarah Berthiaume was on a recent road trip, this is exactly what happened. ...Despite being a fantasy on the surface, Tibaldo says the aim of the play is to deal with real world issues. "[I'm trying to] begin a conversation about what stripping means to women, to the world, to men and how we deal with it," she says." (More...)

Thanks to Thea of orcasound for her descriptive review: "The set, designed by Lyne Paquette was extremely interesting visually. On its own, it looks like the broken hull of a shipwreck, with the different pieces representing different locations in town. The floor was scattered with kelp-like 'wigs' that Homer's wife, Penelope (Felicia Shulman) was often working on in the background, and that June would pose with when she stripped." (More...)

Thanks to Val Cardinal of The Concordian for her insightful and eloquent review of THE FLOOD THEREAFTER: "Production company Talisman Theatre specializes in bringing Québécois theatre to the anglophone stage. The show is more risqué than most English productions, and definitely not for those shocked by nudity, both male and female. However, the nudity is never gratuitous and unnecessary; it emphasizes the themes of the mystical show, which is well worth a look." (More...)

Thanks to Bernard Wheeley for his kind words on THE FLOOD THEREAFTER: "Je reviens du spectacle 'The Flood Thereafter' ému, touché par cette fable de Sarah Berthiaume magnifiquement bien traduite par Nadine Desrochers, qui a eu l'intelligence de laisser, ici et là, du français dans les moments les plus touchants. J'y ai vu trois superbes comédiennes : Amélia Sargisson, Catherine Colvey (magique) et Felicia Shulman. Les comédiens masculins ont également bien joués." (More...)

Thanks to Kent Stetson had these words to say about THE FLOOD THEREAFTER (October 15): "What's the syndrome where people faint in front of great paintings? You knocked me completely off-kilter. Again. Beautiful direction... note/tone/colour perfect. Great lighting. And fabulous seaweed. Loved the human/bird/fish/ship-rib set." (More...)

Kent received the 2001 Governor General's Literary Award for The Harps of God and was appointed to the Order Of Canada in July 2007.

Thanks to Amie of Midnight Poutine for her great review of THE FLOOD THEREAFTER (October 16): "It may take a long time for this story to feel like a fairy tale, but once the magic kicks in you'll be held in a mermaid's snares until the end." (More...)

Thanks to the Robyn Fadden of The Hour for including THE FLOOD THEREAFTER in The Hour's Hit List: "Twisted fairytale meets feminist theory in a fishing village on the lower St-Lawrence River where all the women have been driven away, in Talisman Theatre's The Flood Thereafter..."

Thanks to MJ Stone for the praise for THE FLOOD THEREAFTER in The Hour (16 October): "Post-modern and poetic, Sarah Berthiaume has weaved an oddly compelling and maddening scenario that is as murky and bold as the wildest fisherman's tale. Much of the play's intent is revealed between the lines and the ta-da moment, when everything suddenly made sense, didn't hit me until hours after." (More...)

Thanks to Christine Long of CTV for the clip of THE FLOOD THEREAFTER that the station screened (October 16): "The Flood Thereafter adds class to small-town strip bars when it equates the dancers with mermaids and how both know how to entrance a man."

Thanks to Yves Rousseau of Le Quatrième for his excellent review of THE FLOOD THEREAFTER: "Avec le Déluge après, Sarah Berthiaume interroge de mythologie la féminine identité, dans une iconoclaste tragicomédie métaphorique et poétique bien d'aujourd'hui." (More...)

Thanks to Evelyn Reid of the Montreal Theatre Guide for her thoughtful review of THE FLOOD THEREAFTER (October 16): "[It] is way out there as a modern-day fairytale, delightfully so, opting out of the usual cookie-cutter good versus evil ideology typical of the folktale genre." (More...)

Thanks to Pat Donnelly (again!) for her half-page review of THE FLOOD THEREAFTER in The Gazette, and to Pierre Obendrauf of The Gazette for the excellent video! "This reviewer is not a fan of staged poetry, with exceptions made for the likes of William Shakespeare, Dylan Thomas and Carson McCullers. Few writers can write a good play and good poetry at the same time. Berthiaume, a recent theatre school graduate, has certainly made a game try. She has a flair for imagery and lyricism." (More...)

Thanks to Pat Donnelly for her piece on THE FLOOD THEREAFTER in the Montreal Gazette on opening day (October 15th). "Talisman Theatre was born to build bridges. Its mandate is to introduce new French-language Quebec plays to anglophone audiences via translation." (More...)

Thanks to Alex Woolcott for his review of the opening night of THE FLOOD THEREAFTER in Rover Arts: "The play is reminiscent of a Shakespearian romance--those strange plays that exist somewhere between comedy and tragedy--and so it is appropriate that the text seesaws between heightened poetic language and rougher, more colloquial prose." (More...)

ROCK, PAPER, JACKKNIFE... (2009)



 "Recently, I took a group of my theatre students to see 'Rock, Paper, Jackknife....' This play presents us a difficult, disturbing and beautifully poetic text, as Perreault attempts to create a new hybrid language for her characters to traverse the labyrinth of their dysfunction. In the discussing the play in the subsequent week in class, the students grappled with how the author is asking us to question the very nature of language, and--even though the play was set in a nebulous time and place--she is making a comment on a volatile political and cultural topic that affects each of my students' daily lives. I was once again struck how vital a medium theatre is to our society."
--Andrew Cuk, faculty member of the Department of Theatre and Music at John Abbott College.

"Over 32 days following the arrival of the stowaways, everyone descends deeper and deeper into Arctic hell, within a beautifully designed, corrugated metal shack that doubles as a classroom and a living space. ...the performaces are admirably ernest and energetic. Manning and Davis, in particular, are often riveting."
--Pat Donnely, The Gazette, Montreal.

"'Rock, Paper, Jackknife...' ...will have you twisting in your seat as playwright Marilyn Perreault explores the perversion of the human mind and the extremes it is capable of ...the play has a profound message about solitude and the human mind. Originally written in French, the play is masterfully translated by Nadine Desrochers and well directed by Emma Tibaldo."
--Enrico Quilico, The Concordian, Montreal.

"This is a play which goes to a very dark place in human experience and it resonates with the worst and most savage results there. It is an edgy and very postmodern work which challenges the audience to follow the drama down to its horrible conclusion. It was Lord of the Flies on ice with alcohol and glue sniffing thrown into the mix."
--Anna Fuerstenberg, Rover Arts, Montreal.

"The world is full of people who spend their time quietly doing amazing things. ...Emma Tibaldo is one of these subtle superheroes. ...Leaping building-sized themes is what theatre does best, but 'Rock, Paper, Jackknife...' goes even further. The script stretches language itself by twisting grammar and using words in unconventional ways. The result is a more visceral and innocent form of expression. ...All in a day's work for Tibaldo and her Talisman sidekicks."
--Brett Hooton, The Hour, Montreal.

DOWN DANGEROUS PASSES ROAD (2008)



 "Talisman Theatre won the Anglophone Theatre Prix de la critique award of the 2008-2009 season for its production of Michel-Marc Bouchard's Down Dangerous Passes Road, directed by Emma Tibaldo at Théâtre La Chapelle. It prevailed over Wajdi Mouawad's Scorched and Bryden MacDonald's With Baited Breath, both seen at Centaur Theatre."
--Pat Donnely, The Gazette, Montreal.

"Dans la catégorie Théâtre anglophone, le Prix de la critique est remis à DOWN DANGEROUS PASSES ROAD de Michel Marc Bouchard (traduction Linda Gaboriau), dans une mise en scène de Emma Tibaldo, une production du Talisman Theatre. D'une appréciable sobriété, ce spectacle s'appuyait avant tout sur le jeu de l'acteur. Graham Cuthbertson, Marcelo Arroyo et Patrick Costello ont livré des interprétations sensibles et nuancées. Dans une scénographie aussi dépouillée qu'évocatrice, le moindre de leurs déplacements était chargé de sens. En se mesurant dans la langue de Shakespeare aux auteurs francophones contemporains du Québec, et qui plus est avec doigté, le Talisman Theatre pourrait bien contribuer à réunir les deux solitudes."
--Christian Saint-Pierre, président AQCT.

"As automobile accident plays go, Michel Marc Bouchard's 'Down Dangerous Passes Road' rises above, into the ethereal. And the Talisman Theatre production of this poetic work, translated into English by Linda Gaboriau... does an admirable job of bridging the cultural gap that often hinders French-language Quebec plays from making a smooth transition into English [...] With this kind of play, less is more when it comes to staging. Lyne Paquette's set, which consists of giant sheets of parchment, with words scrawled in longhand, is just right. These 'pages' serve as screens for cinematic images that enhance the intense dramatic confrontations. In some ways this modest effort outshines the original French production... [...] Director Emma Tibaldo has delivered a meaningful introduction to a lesser work by the playwright..."
--Pat Donnely, The Gazette, Montreal.

"Watching the clash of two very different theatre aesthetics--both the highs and the lows--makes for a fascinating 90 minutes. [...] Director Emma Tibaldo is most at ease with the naturalist elements offered by the text. The actors are riveted to each other, devouring their linesand spitting them back out with tremendous energy. [...] It won't be giving away the ending to report that 'Down Dangerous Passes Road' is a cri de coeur for the sacred superiority of art, because at some level, that's what most contemporary Quebecois plays are about. Talisman's attack is boldand imaginative. Watching the dueling aesthetics, one has the feeling the effort of translation is in equal measure hopeless and essential, and therefore, quite a good reason for doing theatre"
--Marianne Ackerman, Rover Arts, Montreal.

THAT WOMAN (2007)



 "Directed by Emma Tibaldo, the production unites a group of talented veterans under the umbrella of Talisman Theatre, a cooperative formed to put on Quebec plays in Montreal not yet seen in English. Good news indeed, and it comes not a moment too soon to help fill a gap in the pure-laine anglo playgoing experience"
--Mat Radz, The Gazette, Montreal.

"[D]ozens of new French plays come out each year, and then there's all the stuff from past years that never got picked up for English language production. That's where 'That Woman' and Talisman productions come in. As indie theatre companies go, this one is fairly high-powered. It was started by hot young director Emma Tibaldo and fellow NTS graduate, designer Lyne Paquette"
--Amy Barratt, Mirror, Montreal.

For comments or information :
talisman(at)talisman-theatre dot com
Page last updated on 04-06-2011



























 

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