TUESDAY May 23, 2023

Ji Kasi Apki Marzi (Montreal)
Nitu Sharma (with a supporting cast of 5 dancers/actors & a musician)
(In Hindi with French and English subtitles)
Ji Jasi Apki Marzihat is a monologue illustrating the mistreatment of a Muslim woman by society from a feminist point of view. The character, Sakina, was forced to marry a man she disliked. They had three children and her husband abused her. The artist attempts to demonstrate all the suffering and pain that a woman like her faces in society.



Nitu Sharma, a Montreal artist, has a passion for creative expression permitting her to go beyond traditional gender roles. Her creative journey began in 2008 when she joined a local theatre group. She aimed to combine her activist spirit with art in order to advocate for women and work for their empowerment. She has directed a myriad of plays and films that focus on the importance of social change and equality and has participated in many projects designed to raise awareness about social issues.

**************************************

Marusya Nikiforova: Ukraine’s legendary anarchist warrior (Montreal)
by Norman Nawrocki (Babushka Theatre), starring Mariya Hadubyak
(In English)

A true story based on the extraordinary life of a fearless and feared, bad ass, Ukrainian woman anarchist and feminist military leader, Marusya Nikiforova (1885–1919). She robbed banks, threw bombs, was imprisoned, escaped, attended military college in Paris, rode a horse, carried a pistol and a sabre, organized and led her own army to defend the Revolution in Ukraine against the German Army, Ukrainian Nationalists, the Czarist White Guard and ultimately the Bolsheviks during 1918-1919 before she was captured and executed with her husband. She also set up hospitals and schools, fed the poor, painted and planted gardens.

Norman Nawrocki (Babushka Theatre), is a Montreal playwright, director, actor, musician and author with Ukrainian and Polish roots. He has written over 20 plays including those about striking immigrant women workers, anti-fascist women and a series recounting the history of Ukrainian-Canadians (e.g., Women Strike! The Winnipeg General Strike 1919 –2019 (2019); Eviction? Dog’s Blood!! Nick Zynchuk & Montreal’s Red Plateau 1933 (2020); Run Nawrocki Run! Escape from Banff Prison (2021). His newest book is Red Squared Montreal (Black Rose Books, 2023). His family is Ukrainian/Polish.

Mariya Hadubyak is a Ukrainian actress from Boryslav. She emigrated to Canada in June 2022 and has been living in Montréal ever since. In Ukraine she performed with the ‘Boryslav People’s Drama Theater for Children and Youth’ – named after Peter Telyuk (дівка на виданні) – in plays like Door (Двері) and She’s on the Magazine Cover (Дівка на виданні). She has been performing with the Montreal Ukrainian theatre troupe ‘Stozhary’ (Bad Roads) here and in Ottawa. She is proud to represent on stage in this new production the most kick ass Ukranian woman ever.

Babushka Theatre is a Montreal theatre laboratory focussing on producing new Ukrainian-Canadian plays.

************************

CÍCLICAS: Resistiendo en la (de) (re) construcción (Montreal)
Colectiva Tribu
(In Spanish with French subtitles)
This play is composed of elements from the performers’ lives and their reflections concerning what it means to be a woman. It seeks to demonstrate the emotions felt by the performers, such as pain, oppression, injustice, solitude, fear, and to transform them using the collective force of the women in the group.

Colectiva Tribu is a self-managed group of women who are friends and feminists that was founded in 2018. In their creative work, the collective seeks to infiltrate public spaces using a multidisciplinary artistic approach, principally with performances. They also look for occasions to discuss their ideas.

CÍCLICAS: Resistiendo en la (de) (re) construcción (Montreal)
Colectiva Tribu
(En español con sobretítulos en francés)
Esta intervención consta de elementos biográficos de las integrantes del colectivo así como reflexiones personales sobre lo que significa ser mujer. Esta pieza busca resaltar las emociones que sienten estas mujeres como el dolor, la opresión, la injusticia, la soledad, el miedo, para desviarlas y transformarlas a través de la fuerza colectiva de las demás mujeres del grupo.

Colectiva Tribu es un grupo de mujeres, amigas y feministas fundado en 2018 de manera autogestionada y autoconvocada. El trabajo creativo del colectivo busca infiltrarse en el espacio público a través de la expresión artística multidisciplinar, pero principalmente a través de la performance. También buscamos abrir espacios de intercambio y encuentro.

WEDNESDAY MAY 24, 2023

‘J’accuze…! (France)
Refering to the Dreyfus Affair
Le Krizo Théâtre
(Performed in French with a bit of English)
For 12 years, the Dreyfrus affair tore France apart. In this immense scandal, the biggest of the 19th century, conspiracies and state affairs, miscarriages of justice and antisemitism are intertwined. In this great media and political circus, the farce was total. Thanks to the anarchist Bernard Lazare and the League of Human Rights, the famous innocent convict will be able to return to France. The Krizo Théâtre offers a humorous and masked version of this sensitive affair. An offbeat approach to an important historical event, with a touch of lightness and humor.

The Krizo Theatre Company from France was born out of the Struggle of Artists in 2003. Hence the play on words. It has staged fifteen shows and performed worldwide. Just before COVID-19, the troupe performed in Iran, Chile and Argentina, and in Togo during 2022.

https://krizotheatre.wixsite.com/krizo

*********************

Le Contr’un (Belgium)
Charly Magonza
(Performed in French)
How can servitude be voluntary? How can one have the desire to submit? In this play there is an astonishing dialogue with La Boétie. The actor takes us through the book,
Discourse of Voluntary Servitude, in an epic and somewhat unexpected crossing. A plunge into the heart of a striking thought.

Charly Magonza, a French actor and director based in Belgium, is a graduate of the Lassâad International Theater School. He has performed in theatre pieces like ‘‘Anna,’‘ ‘‘Si ce n’est toi,’‘ ‘‘Spasm #1,’‘ ‘‘Othello,’‘ ‘‘Monsieur Charlo,’‘ ‘‘Première” (laureate humor/solo SACD France, 2012) and in films (’‘Le trio sans fil,’‘ ‘‘Unit 42,’‘ ‘‘Match,” “Rebel,” etc.).

https://mondenscene.be/spectacles/le-contrun

*******************************************

THURSDAY MAY 25, 2023

A benefit show for the MIATF @ the Casa del Popolo, with:

• Kon-Fusion (Montreal)
Kon-Fusion makes you move to the sounds of cumbia, ska, funk, rock, all with its own voice! Ancestraland traditional rhythms blended to more modern grooves, instruments that transcend times, cultures and borders, socially implicated lyrics; all comes together creating a rich, solid and unique personality. Kon-Fusion’s own. Kon-Fusion is a politised music band based in Montreal with strong South American roots. We have a clear anti-capitalist / anti-imperialist position too. The message is in our lyrics, mostly in Spanish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D7hvBv2QGo

• Tempolotov (Sherbrooke)
Experimental punk noise with Eastern European accents featuring human puppets and poetry in a sinister and angry atmosphere. The texts are about social criticism, anarchism, feminism and environmental issues. Each musician plays a puppet accompanying the spoken, sung and shouted texts. The audience can hardly remain indifferent.
Created in British Columbia in 2019, Tempolotov was born from the need of its members to express an anger and a revolt against the guidelines imposed by today’s neo-capitalist society. Starting as a simple musical group, the large puppets and theatrical atmosphere developed and evolved through participation in multiple cabarets and multidisciplinary events.