Tuesday, November 16, 2010

A busy week for the arts in Niagara!

It's a good thing I am off on vacation this week, as there is simply so much to do in and around Niagara this month in general, and this week in particular. First of all, let's get to the Clerical Chefs dinner Sunday evening at the synagogue I wrote about on the weekend...

It was a marvellous affair, with good food, lots of familiar faces, and some pretty interesting music from the B'Nai Israel Melody Makers. No, I didn't dance the Hora on Sunday night, but most everyone else did, and that was fun to watch. At times in resembled a sort of ring-dance, and at other times, a sort of Jewish conga line. But everyone had a great time, and I am, in fact, returning to B'Nai Israel Synagogue in the morning for a guided tour of the actual house of worship, which I am particularly interested to see.

Now, on to this week proper. If you have not yet booked your tickets for the first production of Lyndesfarne Theatre Projects' new season, you have until this weekend to catch Steven Berkoff's marvellously witty and devilishly clever Shakespeare's Villains. It runs Wednesday through Sunday at the Sullivan Mahoney Courthouse Theatre in downtown St. Catharines, and if you go, you will not be disappointed. I attended the opening a couple of weekends ago, and Ric Reid, the lone actor in this one-act tour de force performance, gives us a compelling look at several familiar - and some not-so-familiar - of Shakespeare's villains. Don't worry if Shakespeare's actual plays don't interest you; this play certainly will. It is an amazing performance and a great start to Lyndesfarne's season, and I know for a fact tickets are readily available for the remainder of the performances. Call the box office at 905-938-1222 for tickets.

Two events this Friday evening will interest arts lovers in Niagara: first, The Gallery Players present a musical celebration of the new CD by the Eybler Quartet with Jane Booth playing Backofen and Mozart. The disc is just out on the Analekta label, and autographed CDs will be available at the event for purchase, or you can simply order a copy through my website, www.finemusic.ca. If you go, the launch party takes place at Robertson Hall at the Niagara Folk Arts Multicultural Centre at 85 Church Street in downtown St. Catharines. Admission is $ 10 unless you are a Gallery Players subscriber, in which case admission is free.

The second event Friday evening takes place at The Market at Brock University, with doors opening at 8 pm for the eleventh annual wearable art show known as Strutt. Benefitting the Niagara Artists Centre, this has developed into the largest wearable art show in Canada, which is really quite something. You never know what - or whom - you'll see there; but we can guarantee you'll see some pretty amazing wearable art developed locally at the show, which gets underway at 9 pm. General admission is $ 30; NAC members and students pay $ 20 and those on Curator's Row pay $ 50. They say to wear what you dare, so that leaves things open to all sorts of possibilities! For tickets, call the Brock Centre for the Arts boxoffice at 905-688-5550, ext. 3257.

Enjoy the week in the Arts!

November 16th, 2010.

No comments: