THE TALE OF A TOWN – QUEEN WEST created and performed by Lisa Marie DiLiberto, directed by Varrick Grimes. Presented by Theatre Passe Muraille and FIXT POINT at Passe Muraile Mainspace (16 Ryerson). Previews Wednesday (September 14), opens September 15 and runs to October 9, Tuesday-Sunday 7:30 pm. $20-$25, previews $15. 416-504-7529. See listing.
The building where Lisa Marie DiLiberto debuted Tale Of A Town – Queen West back in May 2010 no longer exists. So when she was given the chance to remount the show with Theatre Passe Muraille, she, just like many of the real-life artists, activists and small business owners that her eclectic history documents, had to relocate.
Like last time, the show starts with DiLiberto leading a walking tour from Passe Muraille along Queen to the main performance space. The last version unfolded in an old wood-and-brick building at the eastern edge of the Queen West fire lot this time the tour portion ends half a block further west in a large new loft space above the rebuilt Duke’s Cycle.
“Because the show is site specific, the location affects the story we tell,” says DiLiberto. “Last time we were in this really old building, so it was easy to imagine that the main character, Jane, a vintage clothing store owner, had been there for 30 years and was being forced out for new condos. Now we’re in a brand-new building, so instead of Jane getting ready to move, she’s visiting this new loft for the first time, and finds out they’ve taken her name and story without permission and used them to brand part of the new building.”
This shift in the story reflects actual changes rippling through the area – namely, the disruptive and violent homogenizing effects of corporate investment and development. Ironically, the show opens the same day as the massive new Loblaws and Winners at Queen and Portland.
“I feel strongly about preserving our neighbourhoods and the unique qualities of each one of them,” says DiLiberto.
To this end, the show offers glimpses – told in story, song, and movement – of Queen West over the past three decades, from its roots as a boozy home for struggling musicians (like the Cameron House’s Handsome Ned) to its rise as a hip cultural destination in the 90s (thanks in part to the success of MuchMusic and Citytv).
The patchwork performance, which plays out like a living scrapbook, is based on hours of interviews that DiLiberto and her team conducted with residents past and present.
“We were able to interview some new people we weren’t able to get last time, and also to redo some old interviews so they could be used in really specific parts of the show. So when Jane has flashbacks, the audience will hear clips of actual interviews.”
But Queen West isn’t the only neighbourhood to get the Tale Of A Town treatment. DiLiberto’s done shows in Parkdale, Corktown and St. Catharines, and more are in the works.
“Phase one of making a Tale Of A Town is gathering interviews and creating a performance installation where the public can share stories and feedback,” she explains.
“Phase two is mounting a site-specific production, which we’re doing now. We’re hoping phase three will be the creation of an online digital archive where people can look at all the source material, listen to all the interviews and contribute their own tales. Our goal is to kick-start this collective community memory-making all over Canada.”
DiLiberto’s more immediate plan is to get people to notice and appreciate the older, smaller and unique aspects of all neighbourhoods, which are disappearing everywhere thanks to the spread of cookie-cutter big-box stores.
“We want people to look at their own neighbourhoods in a different way, and think hard about what they would look like if everything were the same. When we close a place down, we also shut down a whole memory.”
Interview Clips
More on DiLiberto’s other Tale of a Town projects:
The spread of big-box retailers in Canada:
stage@nowtoronto.com
