(Complete schedule included in this release)
TORONTO, December 11, 2008 – A highly popular and critically acclaimed World Stage 08:09 season continues at Harbourfront Centre in February 2009, with more inspiring and thought provoking interdisciplinary works and performances. Audiences can expect a hand-picked selection of the best performing arts from around the world, with ground-breaking creations from South Africa, Belgium, Brazil, Lebanon, the United Kingdom, as well as incredible Canadian productions.
Tickets are $15-30 (unless otherwise noted) for all performances, available through the Harbourfront Centre box office by phone at 416-973-4000, or by visiting www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldstage
*MEDIA NOTE: World Stage images and media kits available at: http://old.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldstagemedia/
Harbourfront Centre’s dedication to providing audiences with unrivalled works of theatre, dance, music and multi-media has made World Stage the epicentre of Toronto’s contemporary performing arts landscape. The current World Stage season runs through May 2009, with works that challenge audiences and push the boundaries of performance, while remaining accessible and engaging.
World Stage returns with 4 works in February, starting with the Harbourfront Centre commissioned world premiere of Dance Marathon from Toronto-based collective bluemouth inc., a duration-based and interactive performance event inspired by the physically gruelling spectator sport of Depression-era North America. Pleiades Theatre brings the theatrical masterpiece and epic love story Shakuntala, from 5th century Indian playwright Kalidasa, to a Canadian stage for the first time. MoPo Productions stages the international triumph Tshepang, a haunting and uplifting theatrical masterpiece of redemption from South African playwright Lara Foot Newton, and the renowned Tim Etchells and the Belgian company Victoria bring That Night Follows Day, a play with child actors but written for adults, that features 16 children between 8 and 14 years of age.
In March, stage and screen actress Rebecca Northan turns to an audience member for her saucy and sexy Blind Date, a cabaret-style performance piece, and Brazil’s most popular dance troupe Grupo Corpo ignites World Stage with their trademark intensity and two masterful works: Breu and Seven or Eight Pieces for a Ballet.
In April, Lebanese actor, director and playwright Rabih Mroué showcases a personal archive and travels through a history and landscape of Lebanon, to investigate how we remember and understand events and occurrences from the past in Make Me Stop Smoking: A Presentation of Ideas Under Study (in partnership with Images Festival 2009). The world premiere of AfterImage from Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland, commissioned by Harbourfront Centre, also lands in April and centres around a family created and devastated by an accidental electrocution and unexpected adoption.
The month of May belongs to Stan’s Cafe (UK) as they close World Stage with two works: the startling and evocative theatrical presentation The Cleansing of Constance Brown and the mind-boggling Of All The People In All The World, a visual performance and installation that uses 15 tonnes of rice - one grain for every person in the Americas - to represent various human statistics.
For information on all performances visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com/worldstage
Harbourfront Centre’s World Stage 08:09 Season
Multidisciplinary
Dance Marathon - bluemouth inc. (Canada/USA)
World Premiere
Part of Fresh Ground new works, Harbourfront Centre’s National Commissioning Programme
February 4 - 7, Enwave Theatre
Theatre
Shakuntala - Pleiades Theatre in association with Harbourfront Centre (Toronto)
February 5 - 15, Fleck Dance Theatre
Theatre
Tshepang - Mopo Productions (South Africa)
February 18 - 21, Studio Theatre
Theatre
That Night Follows Day - Tim Etchells and Victoria (Belgium)
Canadian premiere (In Dutch with English surtitles)
February 25 - 28, Fleck Dance Theatre
Theatre
Blind Date - Rebecca Northan (Canada)
March 3 - 7, Brigantine Room
Dance
Breu & Seven or Eight Pieces for a Ballet - Grupo Corpo (Brazil)
March 24 - 28, Fleck Dance Theatre
Multidisciplinary
Make Me Stop Smoking: A Presentation of Ideas Under Study - Rabih Mroué (Lebanon)
In Partnership with Images Festival 2009
April 3 & 4, Studio Theatre
Theatre
AfterImage - Artistic Fraud (Newfoundland)
Part of Fresh Ground new works, Harbourfront Centre’s National Commissioning Programme
World Premiere
April 16 - 26, Enwave Theatre
Theatre
The Cleansing of Constance Brown - Stan’s Cafe (UK)
May 5 - 9, Enwave Theatre
Visual Performance and Installation
Of All The People In All The World - Stan’s Cafe (UK)
May 13 - 24, York Quay Centre
Admission is free
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Media contact: Cary Mignault | 416-973-4655 | cmignault@harbourfrontcentre.com