The fest, which runs through June 19, heads into the home stretch this week with openings by two companies–the Netherlands’ Dogtroep in Camel Gossip III and Ireland’s Gate Theatre in Sean O’Casey’s Juno and the Paycock–and one solo artist, San Francisco monologuist Marga Gomez (in two pieces, Memory Tricks and Marga Gomez Is Pretty, Witty and Gay). These shows dovetail with closing performances by England’s Stephen Joseph Theatre (Alan Ayckbourn’s company) in Communicating Doors, Greece’s Attis Theatre in The Persians and The Kanon, and Canadian soloist Robert Lepage in Needles and Opium. Also on the agenda are various breakfast and lunch presentations, postshow discussions, and professional workshops.
The Kanon
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It’s surprising to realize that four previous international theater festivals never brought a Greek company to Chicago, given both the city’s large Greek population and Greece’s dominant position in the history of western drama. Remedying past sins of omission, Athens’ Attis Theatre arrives with two productions, one of which is this play by Vassilis Vassikehayoglou. Described as “a series of erotic conflicts and imaginary murder” in an ancient setting, it concerns a poet’s interaction with two of his fantasy creations. The trio’s game of sexual intrigue is accompanied by the music of the Kronos Quartet. Wellington Theater, 7:30 PM (opening). Performed in Greek with English translation available. $20-$25.
The Amsterdam-based Dogtroep, an ensemble of actors, musicians, sculptors, artists, and technicians, was formed in 1975 by a core of street performers; these days its specialty is whimsical, site-specific spectacles custom-made for the city they’re playing (previous Camel Gossips were presented in Glasgow and Amsterdam). That may be why this family-oriented production, at the newly opened Navy Pier Skyline Stage, is receiving a set of previews prior to a June 5 opening. Press materials refer to “the aesthetics of chaos” in the company’s work–take the name Dogtroep, a meaningless word that was printed by mistake in a program and took hold. Navy Pier Skyline Stage, 9 PM (preview). $21-$26.
Quebec performer-director Robert Lepage’s magical yet straightforward stagecraft and theatrical ingenuity were evident in his epic Dragon’s Trilogy, seen at past festivals; he’s back with this solo performance about love, art, and addiction, inspired by American jazz great Miles Davis (and his heroin habit) and opium-addicted French poet Jean Cocteau. Lepage asserts his own place in this august but troubled company when his alter ego in the piece checks into Sartre’s famous room in Paris’s Hotel de la Louisiane, and there indulges in his own obsession: his feelings for an estranged lover across the ocean, whom he desperately tries to reach. Vic Theatre, 7:30 PM. A discussion follows the performance. $17.50-$22.50.
Camel Gossip III
Communicating Doors
