Game of Thrones Exhibit at TIFF

This year for March Break, the Bell Lightbox held a free exhibit promoting the HBO mini-series "The Game of Thrones", based on the eventual 7 part fantasy novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire" by George R.R. Martin (he has written up to book 5).

I devoured the first gripping novel as part of my book club and then proceeded to read the next two in the series before I got bogged down by too many new characters and an increasingly difficult to follow plot.   Having to wait so long (5+ years each) between  books 4 and 5 didn't help in keeping the interest alive.  But I still get a thrill when I think about the catch phrase from the books:  “When you play a game of thrones,  you win or you die.”  And Martin definitely lives up to that promise!

   The exhibit featured photos, props, costumes and memorabilia from the show as well as a screening of a "Making Of ... " documentary, all for the purpose of promoting the start of Season 2 on April 1.   Much of the show is based on digital images from Season 1, which are readily available on the internet.  This made it less exciting than if more physical items had been on display.  But since TIFF continues its policy of not allowing photos to be taking while viewing their exhibits, at least this provides me with something to remember the show by.

Other than the photos, costumes worn by characters including Catelyn Tully Stark, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen were presented.  Other paraphernalia included banners of the coat of arms from each of the major families, swords, bows and arrows, goblets, the dragon egg (What's a good fantasy without a dragon or two?).   The HBO series has  perfectly cast each major character as they each exactly reflect my imagination of what he or she would look like.  Peter Dinklage seems to have cornered the market on dwarf roles and it is gratifying to see him win the Emmy and Golden Globe for playing the complex and devious Tyrion Lannister.

 It was clear from the photos and the documentary what a huge scaled production this mini-series is in terms of cast, sets and locations.  The series is shot in Ireland, Malta, Croatia and Iceland to depict scenes varying from looming castles, battlement fields, hot dry deserts and icy winter wastelands.  It was especially exciting to recognize at a glance that some walled fortress scenes were filmed in Dubrovnik, where we have visited and stood on those same walls.

 The highlight of TIFF exhibit was the "Iron Throne", the symbol of the coveted prize being battled for throughout the novels.  While it was quick to get into the show, the lineup to have your photo taken on the throne was lengthy, and included one especially enthusiastic "fanboy" who came dressed (or semi-dressed) in tributary attire including loin cloth and arm bands.  He especially stood out since it was chilly outside so all the other people in line were bundled up in winter coats.

As you exited the exhibit, staff handed out free popcorn coupons and a DVD to the first episode of Season 1 of the mini-series.  This was a great promotion of the next season and seemed to do its job of driving up the anticipation for it.

National Home Show and Canada Blooms

The National Home Show is hosted at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place and for the same admission, you also get access to the Canada Blooms Garden Show.   The Home Show is great for people hoping to do renovations but also fun to attend just to check out new innovations for the home and garden.   It was at this event years ago, that we found the company Closet Re-Organizer who featured an amazing "roll-up" bed which we now have installed in our condo den.   A significant improvement on the Murphy bed which leaves a wall of dead space when the bed is folded up, the roll-up bed retracts vertically upwards behind a hutch design of your choosing.  Ours includes wooden cupboards for pillows and linens, a TV stand and glass cabinets with pot-lights for displaying stemware and nicknacks.

The first thing that caught my eye this year was the latest incarnations of massage chairs, which have taken the art of massage and relaxation to the next level.  Going into a full horizontal recline, these chairs envelope your entire body, pulsating and kneading not only the back and neck but also the arms, legs, and soles of the feet.  Some of the chairs feature a body sensor that detects and molds to the shape of your body for a deeper, more powerful rub.  There were so many different vendors selling these chairs that if I had the time, I could have spent the entire visit just moving from one to another getting free demos.

 Other items that caught my fancy included custom shaped wooden shutters,  pull-up shades with stenciled patterns embossed on them, a huge stove/oven that includes two separate heating compartments and a rotisserie chicken attachment, decorative wash basins of different materials and designs, a bright red leather reclining chair with built in cup holder, and a pool table that converts into an elegant dining table.

One of the fun parts of wandering around any type of show like this is to pick up free give-aways and samples.  At the Keurig drink dispenser booth, they were brewing both hot coffees varieties as well as iced drinks including iced french vanilla lattes and lemonade iced tea.  Some kitchen cabinetry booths were displaying built in espresso and cappuccino makers.  Other booths were giving away bags and pens and candy.  The most amusing and cheesy handout was the company that provided divorce services who were doling out free packets of Kleenex.

Outdoor garden furniture exhibits displayed deck shade structure options in a variety of styles including free standing umbrellas, coverings shaped like a pop-up tent or a lean-to and beautiful wooden lattice gazebos.  Unfortunately none of them would fit on our terrace.

 Adjacent to the Home Show, the Canada Blooms exhibit was a flora wonderland.  Glorious, vibrant plants and flowers of all varieties were on display, proving the horticultural prowess of their gardeners. They were also used to make beautiful arrangements and creative art forms ranging from miniatures not much bigger than my thumb, to huge floor to ceiling sculptures.

As much as I enjoyed the Home Show, the Canada Blooms display was the highlight for me.  Shown together, they made for a very entertaining afternoon.

2012 Oscar Movies

I love the Oscars.  Until recently, I've made it a yearly ritual to watch all the Best Picture nominated movies, and try to catch as many other categories as I can.  This sometimes made for a very depressing experience, since the Academy (rumoured to be made up of a bunch of old white males) seemed to always pick the "wrist-slittingly" depressing movies, or the huge epic dramas that were often extremely long, sometimes very stodgy and boring, and more likely than not was a period piece that involved a war (The Thin Red Line, Out of Africa, The Last Emperor come to mind).

I finally gave up on my tradition when the Academy decided (in what I think is a money-grab scheme) to increase the number of Best Picture candidates from 5 to 10.  In my opinion, this just diminishes the prestige of being selected  and 10 movies are just too many to watch in the short period of time between the nomination announcement and the actual televised show.

This year has been surprising and unusual in that there are not 5 and not 10, but 9 nominated Best Pictures.  Apparently there is a criteria for being chosen after all.  Each candidate needs to receive at least a certain percentage of first place votes, and not enough movies filled the bill.  Not only that but this year there has been a unusual proportion of feel good movies meant solely to entertain and not necessarily to weigh you down with its deep dark message.   Of the movies I've selected to watch before the Oscars, here are my favourites in order of preference, selected purely based on how much I personally enjoyed them.

1. The Artist
2. Hugo
3. Midnight in Paris
4. Incredibly Close and Extremely Loud
5. Moneyball
6. The Help

Through either lack of time or interest, I have forgone War Horse (the stereotypical Academy pick), The Tree of Life and The Descendants (not on DVD yet).  In order to have any sort of vested interest in watching the Oscars and sitting through all those acceptance speeches, I still try to watch at least one movie from as many categories as I can get to.  Therefore Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, Bridesmaids, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Beginners, Rango, Anonymous all add to my Oscar watching tally.

For Best Foreign Film, national pride (and availability) prompted me to go see the pick from Canada ("Monsieur Lazhar") playing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.  Set in an elementary school in Quebec, it evaluates the impact of a sudden death on a grade 6 class and their teacher's attempts to help them mourn through communication, despite pressures from his superiors to suppress the taboo subject.  The teacher has his own back story that makes him aptly qualified to deal with this topic. This is a quiet, somber, touching movie with humourous moments and natural, non- precocious children, unlike the ones found in typical Hollywood movies.  I'm not sure this small, intimate film will hold up against its competition, which includes a Holocaust thriller "In Darkness" which seems right up the Academy's alley.

Another quick way to cover multiple movies within a couple of lessor known categories is to watch the Oscar nominated Live and Animated Shorts, again shown at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.  Canada is represented in 2 of the 5 animated shorts.  Unfortunately I found them both to be slow and dull, both in terms of animation and plot.  Dimanche is about a boy's Sunday activities in small town Quebec, consisting of going to Church, playing at the railroad tracks, and Sunday dinner at relatives.  Wild Life is about a "ne're-do-well" Englishman, sent off to the Canadian Prairies in the early 1900s to make a life for himself as a rancher.  Although he writes letters home pretending otherwise, he finds the life harsh and isolating and finally succumbs to the bitter winter climate.

My opinion of these two films was possibly influenced by the fact that they were the first 2 shorts shown, at a time when I was still full from dinner and sleepy.  Or possibly I am so indoctrinated to expect the whimsical animations of Pixar and Disney with their wide-eyed characters and vibrant colours that I just can't appreciate the sophistication of these simpler, more intimate National Film Board offerings.  Regardless, I enjoyed the next three animated shorts much more.

 The Morning Stroll is a quirky film that shows three similar sequences from different times - the past, the present and the future.  In each case a chicken waddles down the street, passes a pedestrian who does a double-take, then proceeds up a flight of stairs, knocks (pecks) on a door and enters.  This charming film with its cool jazzy score brings new context to the age-old question "Why did the chicken cross the road?".

La Luna, by Pixar, tells the tale of a young boy out for the first time with his father and grandfather to help out with their very unusual job.  They clean the shooting stars off the moon.  The initial few seconds show the boy in the boat, emulating the stance and gestures of his two role models.  Once on the moon, the two men with different work styles each try to influence the boy, who eventually finds his own method.  This is a beautifully drawn, heart warming tale with the perfect money shot at the end.

Finally, the unanimous crowd favourite at our viewing was The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore, which is a celebration of books and the those who love them.   Avid reader Morris is tossed in the air by a tornado (ala Wizard of Oz) and blown away into a world of flying, dancing books.  One book in particular is personified by its Humpty Dumpty diagrams, which cleverly convey its emotions and communications with Morris through the use of "flip-book animation".

Morris becomes friend and custodian to the books, tenderly caring for them, "feeding and dressing them", mending them when they are "ill", giving them purpose by reading their stories, and finding them good homes with other book lovers.  The film switches to black and white during the tornado scene and later to depict the people before they are paired with books, after which they light up in vibrant colours.  This wonderful animated short's tribute to the power of books and stories reminds me of another one called "The Joy of Books" which was filmed at Toronto's own Type Books.

As good as the animated shorts were this year, I enjoyed the live action shorts even more.  Each one was a complete movie in its own right, with rich interesting plots that sucked you in for the brief period of time that it lasted.  Again surprisingly, there were four comedies and only one drama.  This must be the year for light-hearted movies!

Pentacost is about a mischevious altar boy in a Catholic parish in Ireland who is banned from watching his beloved soccer team play after he pulls a prank during a service.  Given one chance to redeem himself for an important mass led by the archbishop, the pressure is on .. will he come through?  The final scene makes you gasp and laugh at the same time.

 Time Freak is hilarious from start to finish.  A nerdy scientist has invented a time machine (shown with extremely low tech special effects which just adds to the humour).  He uses it to repeatedly go back into his recent past in order to finally come up with the perfect retorts to win an argument with a dry cleaner, to properly woo a love interest, and hide his invention from a nosy friend.

Tuba Atlantic is a weird Norwegian film about an eccentric old man diagnosed with cancer and given 6 days left to live.  Living alone in his ocean side shack, he battles seagulls with a machine gun and is estranged from his brother.  A teenaged girl training to be an "Angel of Death" arrives to support him in his final days.  She helps him fulfill his last wish, which is to reconcile with his brother.  They do this by resurrecting and fixing a giant tuba built by the two brothers as children, that is supposed to make a sound vibration so loud it will be heard across the ocean where his brother lives.

The Shore is an Irish movie and the only one starring a known actor, Ciarán Hinds who has been in many mainstream American movies.  He plays Joe, returning to his childhood town after many years to face the girl that he left behind, and the best friend who ended up marrying her.  Misunderstandings ensue until the final reunion.  This is a sweet gentle comedy that holds more chuckles than roaring laughter.

Raju is the only drama of the nominees and unexpectedly, it was my favourite even though I usually prefer comedies.  This tense film is a German/India collaboration which seems like a strange combination.  A German couple travel to India to "adopt" a boy who then disappears a couple of days after they receive him.  A frantic search results in some dark revelations and a moral dilemma.

Didn't get a chance to watch any documentaries, but I think I'm ready for the 2012 Oscars.  Can't wait for Billy Crystal's return as host.

Theatre: Mirvish 2012 Season

 David Mirvish presented his 2012 season in style, starting off by showing a black and white film clip in which the Ed Mirvish Theatre is swept up by a tornado.  As it spins in the air, past shows such as Les Mis, Phantom of the Opera, Private Lives, and War Horse floated by the window.  Then as he proceeded to announce the new shows one by one, he came out dressed as a Lion, then a Scarecrow, then a Tin man and finally brought a little white terrier onto the stage.  By that point, only the culturally illiterate would not have realized that "The Wizard of Oz" was going to be one of the new shows.

A new musical version of The Wizard of Oz is being staged, with an expanded story and new songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.  It was noted that the beloved movie has not been successful in its transition to stage in the past because there were not enough songs to support the major characters like the Witch and the Wizard, and there was no intro or the proverbial "11'O Clock" number.  All that will be rectified with the new production.  Dorothy came out to sing "Over the Rainbow" initially holding onto Toto, but he barked so incessantly that he had to be removed from the stage.  There are rumours that the Canadian Dorothy will be cast in a reality show like they did for the Sound of Music.  In that show, they ushered out the cast-off would-be Marias to the singing of "So Long, Farewell".. I wonder if they would sing "Ding, dong the Witch is Dead" on this new show?

By the time the smoke cleared on the season's lineup, it was revealed that all six shows in the subscription series would be musicals.  This is surprising since Mirvish usually provides a more eclectic mix that includes dramas and comedies.  My theory is that he is trying to compete with Dancap who scored some major musicals lately including the Tony award winners from 2010 and 2008 (Memphis,  In The Heights) and nominees including American Idiot and Next to Normal.  While I'm personally thrilled since I LOVE musicals, David Mirvish needs to be careful that he doesn't annoy his subscription base who may be expecting more variety in their theatre experience.

 This year Mirvish won the Tony award jackpot with the 2011 winner Book of Mormon, a collaboration by the creators of South Park and Robert Lopez, the writer of Avenue Q.  Lopez showed a film clip of the Broadway production, then described how he met Trey Parker and Matt Stone and found out that like himself, they also had the idea about making a musical comedy about Mormons.  I've heard the soundtrack for Book of Mormon, and I can say that prudes who disapprove of the type of language or topics discussed in South Park should stay away!

Similarly video was used to present the next two musicals.  Backbeat is based on the early days of the formation of the Beatles.  I'm concerned about whether I will be able to understand the strong Liverpool accents (which strangely don't show up when the Beatles sing) and wish there were subtitles for heavily-accented English shows.  I remember with dread a previous Mirvish show called The Harder They Come where the Jamaican accents were so thick and the idioms used so foreign that Mirvish held a members talk beforehand to educate patrons on the storyline and the lingo.. and still I had no idea what was being happening throughout the first act (we left before the second half).

 La Cage Aux Folles was appropriately introduced by a brash, sassy transvestite (with long beautiful legs, just like the actors from Priscilla Queen of the Desert).  George Hamilton will play the gay father who tries to hide his effeminate drag queen lover from the ultra-conservative parents of his son's fiancee.  Hamilton and his costar Christopher Sieber filmed a video conference to promote La Cage Aux Folles and their quick banter and chemistry bodes well for the show.

After all those taped introductions of the shows, we finally got some live performances for the final two musicals (which, other than wanting to find out first hand what was in the new season, is the main reason to attend this announcement).

The first was Sister Act, based on the Whoopi Goldberg movie.  The cast was on hand to perform a couple of song and dance numbers.  I did not find these songs to be very memorable so I'm hoping for more from the rest of the show.

Finally, there will be a brand new musical premiering in Toronto, based on the movie 1992  Honeymoon in Vegas.  The only thing I remember about this movie is Nicolas Cage jumping out of a plane with a bunch of flying Elvises.  The composer (Jason Robert Brown) came out to sing a couple of the songs, describing the plot leading up to each.  After hearing only a few notes from the first song, I was able to identify him as  the same one who wrote "The Last Five Years", since he more or less repeated bars of melody from that musical.  Finally Tony Danza appeared to sing his big number from the show.  I guess he represented the "big named celebrity" for this season.

 I was already in musical heaven but there was more!  Two bonus shows are being offered and again, they are musicals!  Now even I'm thinking that Mirvish has a one-track mind this year.  Bloodless, directed by Colm Wilkinson, has a dark Sweeney Todd-esque plot, score and lyrics including a deliciously morbid song called "He's Better Off Dead" which was performed on stage.   The second is Flashdance, based on the 1983 movie about the female welder who wants to be a ballerina.  Although it didn't happen during this preview performance, we are promised that in the live show, the star will indeed be doused with water like in the movie... suddenly the males in the audience were interested!  I'm actually more excited about the bonus musicals than some of the ones within the subscription - but maybe that's the whole point, since it prompted me to buy more shows.  Well played, David Mirvish!

Library Talks: Canterbury Tales

Over the past year, I've started to appreciate the vast and varied programs that are held at the various branches of the Toronto Public Library.  These include book club events where the author comes to talk about their book, as well as lectures and talks on selected books or writers.  Last year, for "Keep Toronto Reading" month, I read the featured book "Midnight at the Dragon Cafe" and attended a book club meeting hosted by the author Judy Fong Bates.  I sat in on a discussion about the cartoon series Tintin by a noted Tintin-ologist who traced the origins of creator Hergé's inspirations. Seduced by the chance to see famous Canadian author Michael Ondaatje speak, I showed up for a discussion about transforming his book Diversado into a stage play.  Unfortunately I did not have time to read even a synopsis let alone the book, so this made for a very confusing and unsatisfying experience - at very least, I should have read the Wikipedia summary.

Just recently, an English professor from the University of Toronto, specializing in medieval literature, came to our local Deer Park branch to talk about Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.  If you've ever tried to read the Canterbury Tales, you will know that this is not an easy read.  The "English" language of the 14th century bears little resemblance to the words we use in modern times.  Sentences like "And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;" make you reassess the complexity of reading Shakespeare.

Having learned my lesson from the Ondaatje experience, I did my research before attending this session.  I read the SparkNotes about this "framed story" where the 29 participants of a pilgrammage to Canterbury are requested by their host to tell several tales, with the best one winning a free meal from the other travelers.

Professor David Klausner was a dynamic speaker who was obviously passionate about his topic.  He broke down the talk into 3 parts, describing Chaucer the man, the poet, and the character within Canterbury Tales.

He gave a detailed biography on Chaucer, much of which was inferred since little was written down in those days.  Chaucer was probably educated in the prestigous St. Paul's Cathedral School (based on his excellent linguistic skills and knowledge of classic literature), served as a footman to royalty and proceeded to have a close relationship to the British monarchy throughout his life.  He worked officially in many roles as an administrator (tax collector, manager of royal estates), but also translated literary works into English.  At one point, he may have been the official poet laureate to the crown. 

In Canterbury Tales, (as well as other works such as "Book of the Duchess"), Chaucer wrote himself in as a character (in this case the narrator), usually depicted as a bumbling fool for comedic effect.

In the introduction, Chaucer the narrator describes the "palmers", who come from various occupations and economic classes (including a knight, a miller, a cook, and multiple religious characters such as nuns, a monk, a friar). Through these character portraits, and through the stories that each person tells, Chaucer the poet provides biting, critical commentary on the English society of the 14th century, especially directing his disdain towards the Church.   In many cases the personality of the storyteller is cleverly reflected as well in his tale.  A monk who is described as a bore tells such a monotonous story that he is urged to stop.


In discussing Canterbury Tales and profiling a couple of the pilgrims, Professor Klausner read passages from it, in a lilting English accent, forcing us to listen carefully to try to pick up the obscure Medieval terminology.

Chaucer couched his criticism in sarcasm as he described the Prioress, a highly ranked nun in a priory.  He "praises" her refinement and good table manners, and describes her expensive wardrobe and jewelry, her use of French (but not the French "of the court") and love of animals.  What he does not mention is any sense of humble piety and while he calls her "charitable", her story belies this characterization.  The Prioress tells the nastiest, anti-Semitic tale about Jews murdering Christian children and being punished through torturous means.
 

Chaucer's depiction of the "Wife of Bath" is wickedly humourous.  A lusty, portly woman, she has been married five times although it is hinted that she has had many affairs.  She met her fifth husband, a much younger, handsome man, at the funeral of her fourth.  She expounds the benefits of having the wife hold the upper hand in a marriage (which she obviously does in all of hers).  Her story supports this premise - a Knight who rapes the queen's handmaiden is sent out in punishment to find out what women want most.  An ugly hag agrees to tell him if he promises to marry her.  It turns out women want control of their marriages and their own lives (I could have told you that!).  The hag then gives him a choice.  She can be beautiful and unfaithful to him or remain ugly and faithful.  Learning the lesson, he allows her to choose what is best and she rewards him by being both beautiful and faithful (husbands, are you listening?)


Professor Klausner spoke for almost 2 hours non-stop but the animated, interesting way in which he approached his topics kept us fascinated for the entire period.  In lesser hands, this could have been a very long and tedious talk.  Instead I learned so much about Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, 14th Century England and the literature of that time.

Upcoming talks that I've registered for include discussions on Shakespeare's Henry V and Macbeth, in context of their stagings at the Stratford festival.  There will also be a talk by this year's Giller Prize winner Esi Edugyan on her book Half-Blood Blues. 

These library events are a great way to gain interesting insight into literature.  It's too bad I've come to appreciate them just as Mayor Ford is trying to cut the library budget.  Hopefully he has been thwarted by the Margaret Atwood debacle and we will be able to continue to benefit from future programs.

Theatre: Blue Dragon at Royal Alexandra

The Mirvish subscription series usually contains an eclectic set shows ranging from crowd-pleasing musicals to dramas to comedies, from traveling shows that previously played elsewhere, to up and coming shows that are previewing in Toronto en-route to Broadway or London.  Every once in a while, David Mirvish likes to throw in a obscure, artistically challenging or downright weird show that only appeals to a limited audience - Slava's Snowshow with a bunch of pantomiming Russian clowns, Henry IV and V with all the characters dressed as 1920s mobsters so you can't tell who is playing which part, or the fully subtitled Korean opera "The Last Empress", just to name a few.   So when I saw the advertisement for Robert LePage's new play "The Blue Dragon", which would be performed in French and Mandarin as well as heavily accented English, featuring Chinese Opera dancing, I thought "here we go again!"

Instead I was pleasantly surprised to watch a touchingly humourous drama about Pierre, an ex-Quebecois art dealer in his 50s, running a gallery in Shanghai's Moganshan art district.  Pierre juggles his rekindled friendship with a former Canadian lover Claire, who is in China to adopt a baby and his current relationship with a young, talented Chinese artist named Xiao Ling, who captures candid photos of herself during raw, emotional moments and uses them to create large self portraits.

Pierre and Claire converse in sur-titled French while Pierre and Xiao Ling talk to each other in (surprisingly fluent sounding on Pierre's part) Mandarin.  I did not mind reading the translations at all and ironically found it most difficult to understand when Claire and Xiao Ling spoke to each other in heavily accented English.  These various languages added authenticity to the interactions - in contrast to some plays or movies where foreigners sound inexplicably American or British.

  Chinese customs, language and culture are highlighted throughout the show to ground the locale of the story.  The aforementioned Chinese Opera scene with the white-faced ribbon dancer was thrown in more for mood and effect and did not really contribute to the plot.  Similarly a quick scene showing Pierre cycling through Shanghai is inter-cut with what seems like an excerpt from the famous revolutionary dance "The East is Red".   The actress who plays Xiao Ling performs all the dance numbers.  There is a quick movie clip of ancient Chinese warlords at battle that turns into a commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken, showing how China is rapidly changing and becoming more capitalistic.

 At the beginning of the play, Pierre writes some Chinese calligraphy on a tableau and his resultant strokes are reflected on the screen.  He describes how the symbol for "One" ( a horizontal line) is the starting point for most words and how a few more strokes can form a woman or stone or tree, and how multiple tree symbols becomes forest.   He philosophizes about his own name "Pierre Lamontagne", whose French translations are the words Stone and Mountain.  He describes himself as "a rolling stone that gathers no moss", never staying in one place long enough to be tied down.  His surname is a reflection of his father's character - sturdy, strong, but stern, unmovable, unemotional.

This one act play has a compelling story line that slowly flushes out each character's back story and hidden motivations.  Each one is flawed but with enough redeeming qualities to make you care and root for him.  There are no cartoon heros or villians in this story, just realistically portrayed people trying to get by.

But what takes it to the next level of artistry is the amazing set design and staging.  Through innovative use of lighting, video and minature models, you are transported to the bustling Shanghai airport, travelling on an airplane through a lightening storm, riding on a high speed train through the Chinese valleys, cycling along the Bund while watching the boats in the habour and the skyline of Pudong in the background.   As Pierre describes meeting Xiao Ling at a tattoo parlour where she etched the Blue Dragon tattoo on his back, a large video image of the Dragon is superimposed on the screen over his body and then the representation of a huge tattoo needle appears to continue etching the image.

Pierre's two-tiered loft with the sparse furniture and the pull-up trap door to access the second floor is influenced by Herge's Tintin and the Blue Lotus.  The Dragon motif on the wall with the blue and white urn beside is a close replica of the cover of that book - the only thing missing is Tintin peeking out of the urn.  Robert LePage has indicated in an interview that his play was inspired by this Tintin comics.

At one point, Xiao Ling tells Claire an ancient fable about the three gorges of the Yangtze River and how, depending on which gorge is chosen, a different fate will occur.  Later, Xiao Ling symbolically and Claire literally tosses something into the water, as if to test their fates.  The play ends in a very clever and delightful manner by referencing this story and playing out three possible outcomes for our protagonists.

 I thoroughly enjoyed watching this play despite coming into it with wary skepticism.  It made it extra special to watch for Rich and I, since we had just travelled to Shanghai recently.  We visited the depicted locations such as the Moganshan artist commune (nicknamed "M50") and the harbour by the Bund so there was a sense of familiarity and recognition as each scene played out.

Theatre: Chess the Musical

 Long before Mamma Mia became a hit, the songwriters of the Swedish group ABBA first dabbled in musical theatre with Chess (lyrics by Tim Rice), inspired by the cold war East vs West rivalry between Russian Boris Spassky and American Bobby Fischer.  Initially performed in 1986, the complex plot line and lyrics have undergone multiple revisions.   I first saw this musical in the late 80s at a Denver Colorado dinner theatre and fell in love with the songs.   The most recent version was staged at the Princess of Wales as part of the 2011 Mirvish theatre subscription series.

In this latest production, Chess opens at the World Chess Championships in Merano Italy with the reigning champion, arrogant American Freddy Trumper playing against Russian challenger Anatoly Sergievsky.   A love quandrangle is formed when Anatoly falls in love with Freddy's coach and former lover Florence, and decides to defect to England to be with her, leaving behind his wife Svetlana and children in Russia.  The game of chess is used as a not too subtle metaphor for the political intrigue and maneuvering that ensues as the Russians try to get Anatoly back and the Americans have their own agenda.  They play on his guilt at "having left his wife to face the music alone", and offer to free Florence's Hungarian father who they claim is not dead as she thought but actually being held as a political prisoner.

The set, costumes and choreography made for visually stunning if somewhat overwrought staging as the chorus were dressed as black or white chess pieces, and also doubled as the on-stage musicians.  It was impressive to watch the chess pieces sing, play horn and string instruments and perform complicated dance moves (sometimes flat on their backs) all at the same time.

 Some of the chess pieces, and in particular the arbitrator of the match were dressed in tight leather with bare chests exposed, giving them a "Village People meet S&M" feel. The arbitrator's look was distracting with his long black coat that seemed stolen from Keanu Reeves' Matrix character.  He should have looked distinguished and authoritative but ended up looking smarmy and sleazy.  In addition the choreography for some of the earlier songs introducing the chess pieces and the chess scene were overtly and extraneously sexual.  This diluted the impact for the one song where the sexuality actually fit and was necessary for the story - the hit song One Night in Bangkok about  the decadence and prostitution scene in Bangkok Thailand.

 The floor of the set is configured like a chess board to further push the analogy of the players as human chess pieces in the game of propaganda and politics.  As each set of adversaries or lovers interact, the chess squares light up to accentuate the drama and excitement of the encounter.  By contrast, the actual chess match itself was choreographed in a deathly slow manner.  Each opponent stared at the board forever before making the simplest move including the standard opening gambit.  Perhaps this was meant to ratchet up the tension and importance of the match but it just seemed silly.  I wanted to shout out "make a move already .. you call yourself a chess master?!?!"

There are some great songs in Chess including soaring ballads like Anthem ("My land's only borders lie around my heart"), heartbreakers such as I Know Him So Well ("In the end he needs a little bit more than me, more security ..") and Pity the Child ("Pity the child, but not forever, not if he stays that way..." ), and catchy beat-pounding tunes like One Night in Bangkok ("... makes a hard man humble, Not much between despair and ecstasy") and The Arbiter ("I am the arbiter and I know the score ... From square one I'll be watching all 64").

However Tim Rice overreaches, especially in the new songs added to the latest production.  It's one thing to write sophisticated lyrics that are sung quickly (ala Stephen Sondheim). But when these words convey important complicated plot points, with many people singing different lyrics at the same time, and to top it off, some songs are sung with heavy Russian accents and use complex chess terminology .. well, it's going to get confusing!   In the song "Soviet Machine", there are the lyrics "Not the score, the witless core of commentators are debating; Come admit, who gives a shit for Elo rating".  These words are so ironic since how many people even know what Elo rating means (a method for calculating the relative skill levels of players in chess - I had to google).  Even the pages of written synopsis in the program don't help much when you can't hear what is being sung.

I still love the musical Chess but I wish they would stop tinkering with the plot since it doesn't seem to help.  In the various versions that have been staged,  they've changed the ending of the big chess rematch (sometimes the Russian wins, sometimes the American wins, in this production the Russian turned British plays another Russian!)  In every case, Anatoly makes the big sacrifice to leave Florence and return to Russia so that she can have her father back.  However they cut out an important piece of dialogue between Florence and the American CIA agent that would have clarified the story.  The result is a piecemeal ending that goes from one huge ballad to another without any fluidity.  I much preferred the plot from the first time I watched this.