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Culture Stage

Coming back for seconds

RIDE THE CYCLONE by Jacob Richmond and Brooke Maxwell, directed by Britt Small and Richmond (Atomic Vaudeville/Acting Up Stage/Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson). Previews November 10, opens November 14 and runs to December 3. Pwyc-$35. 416-504-7529. See listings.

MATCHBOX MACBETH by Shakespeare and the company, directed by Matthew Thomas Walker (Litmus). At a secret location. Opens October 13 and runs to October 30, Thursday-Sunday 7 and 9 pm. $15. litmustheatre.com. See listings.


Remounting hot shows isn’t just about turning a tidy profit – certainly not in the case of indie theatre.

It’s more about turning audiences on to entertaining, powerful works and, in the process, tweaking and improving the first version.

The revival of two sellout productions, Atomic Vaudeville’s Ride The Cyclone and Litmus Theatre’s Matchbox Macbeth, is sure to wow audiences with their cleverness, passion and outright theatricality.

Presented by Theatre Passe Muraille in collaboration with Acting Up Stage Company, Ride The Cyclone brings the Victoria-based Atomic Vaudeville back to Passe Muraille, where it won a series of awards in SummerWorks 2010 with a musical tale of a teenage chamber choir who, all killed on a roller coaster ride, get to sing their last solos before dying.

Think of Glee with sharper edges.

“We had such a short run in SummerWorks,” says Britt Small, who directs with Jacob Richmond, “and there’s still an audience that wants to see the show. We’ve done it three times in Victoria, and it sold out last time.”

Filled with tunes (by Richmond and Brooke Maxwell) that run the gamut from soul to pop and from show tunes to hymns, the production tours to Vancouver and Whitehorse before arriving in Toronto.

“We’ve changed a few things,” offers Small. “For one, we’ve had to recast one role, and Jacob, who writes for specific performers, has shifted the character to accommodate the new actor’s ballet background. We’ve also added new songs and choreography.”

How does she keep the show fresh?

“Because we spend so much time on choreography and music – the tunes are tricky four-part harmonies – I feel that every time we do the show, we’re revealing new layers. There’s so much life in these teens that we can tease out.”

In comparison, Matchbox Macbeth – as its name implies – is a tiny production. In fact, it’s just big enough to fit into its backyard shed venue. With only 15 seats per show, it’s the smallest version of Shakespeare’s tragedy you’re likely to see.

And, for my money, one of the best.

Devised by director Matthew Thomas Walker and performers Claire Wynveen, Adriano Sobretodo Jr., Jamie Maczko and Rob Renda – all of whom come from the theatre program at York – the show grew from Walker, Wynveen and Sobretodo’s thoughts about what kind of show to mount in the latter’s backyard building.

“We joked about doing Macbeth, but then the idea became serious,” recalls Walker. “Most shows begin with a script and then other things are built on it here, we started stripping away what was stored in the shed, what wasn’t appropriate for Macbeth, until we found the show we wanted to do.”

The production is partly a walkabout: the audience meets at a street corner and is guided to the venue, the performance starting on the way. Maczko plays the title character, with the other three as everyone else, including the witches.

“The creation was like no other process we’ve ever done,” offers the director. “Until the audience was around us” – the actors work within touching distance of viewers – “we didn’t know what we had.

“Now, coming back to it, we can evaluate it differently. Last year we were intuitive, going with our gut. Now we can be more articulate about what we’ve done, realizing why something works or rejecting something that didn’t feel right earlier. We can narrow in and clarify the material.

“It’s an ideal collective-creation process. We have the raw material to play with, have given it a year’s breather and now can shape it a little more.”

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