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Theatrical Extravaganza Daily Arts Alert ... by Cathleen Bond Wednesday, Jan. 17 On our third day of our weeklong theatrical adventure, let's stop in Toronto and meet a very promising new playwright, who's already had a somewhat harrowing past:
"When young people get sick, there's a very different kind of feel to it," says Adam Pettle. Well Pettle is tackling cancer again, only this time with a gambling edge. Zadie's Shoes (currently on the boards at The Factory Theatre Lab) is all about Benjamin, a guy with a gambling jones, plus a girlfriend who's got cancer. The girlfriend's at the end of traditional treatment options. She's scratched together every penny she can to hop a plane to a Mexico for alternative treatments. It's time for the plane to taxi, but the money's gone. Benjamin has blown all the cash at the track. What's Benjamin going to do? As a last resort he heads over to his friendly neighbourhood synagogue, meets a gambling prophet who puts forward some challenging questions about "the nature of luck and the power of faith." The reviews of Zadie's Shoes have been good. The Globe and Mail's Kate Taylor (who seems to like nothing with the exception of Soulpepper Productions), says that the play is "a tidily structured and carefully balanced script that offers a pert little study of a grand old theme: the relationship between fate and free will. It lacks the maturity to give its characters and their dilemmas enduring depth, but it is also notably brave in not offering them a pat answer." Did I mention Pettle had a grandfather who lost his shoes gambling? Keep your eyes open for Adam Pettle. Those in the know call him the next Jason Sherman. I think this might be a horse to watch.
Zadie's Shoes Until February 4th Written by Adam Pettle, directed by Jackie Maxwell; starring Jordan Pettle, Kelli Fox and Paul Soles (416)504-9971
Anyway, when it comes to promoting their own business, the province is getting snappier about providing English-language translation of its pages. In the old days of the 'Net, even for tourism matters, French was the dominant force and English pages were hasty and incomplete afterthoughts. The latest sign that the sovereignty movement may be toning down its demands and getting with the 21st century is a new website devoted to a virtual reality tour of Old Montreal. In addition to the usual tourism info, there are detailed pages on the architectural history of the old city. Annmarie Adams, an associate professor at McGill University's school of architecture, wrote in The Gazette that the site is "a fabulous addition to our 21st-century city, both virtual and real. The price is right, the distances are short and the information is first-class." Check it out yourself: Fine Tuning: Did you ever wonder how crash test dummies, those remarkably anthropomorphic lookalikes, came into existence? Tonight on The Nature of Things, Suzuki and the gang look into "The Secret Life Of The Crash Test Dummy." To get to the bottom of the mystery they'll be "using remarkable archive footage and expert testimony," plus look at the original design of the life-saving dummy as well as question what further use these figures may hold for the future. 9 p.m. on CBC TV.
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 Updated each weekday by Cathleen Bond ... bookmark this page and come back for the latest news, reviews and gossip on the Canadian arts scene. RECENT FEATURES: More from our year-end review: >> Public Art >> Film >> Digital >> Visual Art >> Literature >> Dance >> Architecture >> Music and Opera >> TV or not TV
>> Kid Stuff: Toy displays for Christmas at Canada's museums >> Bruce Mau: Big designs in LifeStyle >> Robert Service: Musical tribute to a Canadian hero >> Circle of Trees: Art and nature come full circle >> Atwood: The critics and The Blind Assassin >> Public Art: Who decides what art will fill our civic spaces and expand our imagination? >> Public Art: Who decides what art will fill our civic spaces and expand our imagination? >> Mags & Zines: A review of the best in Canadian arts publications. >> Digital Art: Clickable Cancon, a quick tour of the latest in digital art. >>
Cancon Quiz >> Iron Road: The Arts & Culture forum follows the creation of a new Canadian opera >> Interview: Carole McDowell tells us how she and artist Helen Lucas made the transition from gallery walls to the www gallery. >> Public Library in Peril How should libraries be transformed to meet future needs of Canadians? >> Culture
at the Crossroads >> Web
Wizard
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Adam Pettle (a rising star in the Canadian theatre scene) knows something
about risk. When he was 21 he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. During the
operation one of his vocal cords was severed, leaving him with a distinctive
rasp. Now Pettle's 27, but his brush with cancer has left a mark. One of his
earlier plays, Therac 25, is the story of a couple of twentysomethings who
meet in the basement of a cancer treatment centre. During three weeks of
radiation and chemo, they fall in love.
Virtual Tour of Old Montreal: I get a kick out of watching how the Quebec government applies its language
law to cyberspace businesses. Not only do Quebec-based entrepreneurs have to
create their websites to conform to Netscape and Explorer browsers, but they
are also supposed to create them in English and French languages, even if
their site is aimed at mainly a English-speaking or global audience. The
latest to be charged was some small operator trying to sell maple syrup to
out-of-province customers.
Twenty clicks through Canadian culture: Test your memory, from Anne
of Green Gables to Shift.