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The Rideau Project, part of the Magnetic North theatre festival,offered a great opportunity to get your sneaks on, get outside and see some theatre off the beaten path (in some cases,literally) in a walking tour of six different plays all performed throughout Ottawa’s downtown core. Each of the six plays was very different from each other, but each was a fabulous show case for local playwrights, directors, actors and theatre practitioners. Each of the plays was written specifically for the site on which it was performed. The sites varied greatly from a public courtyard in the Byward Market to the lobby of the Conference Centre to the vault under the old jailhouse.

The intrepid group of about 25 audience members tromped through the downtown core in ourattractive crossing-guard-esque orange sashes (which complemented all outfits) used to identify each group of audience members.As this was an outdoor theatre experience we took in the ambient downtown noise along with the theatre: we heard birds chirping and traffic noise and watched as passersby and cyclists wandered through the action on “stage”.

My favourite piece of the three-hour evening was written by local one-man-theatrical wonder Pierre Brault and performed in an old vault under the Ottawa jailhouse. We all crammed in atiny dank jail cell and were witness to the last moments in a man’s life, literally plunged into complete darkness at the top of the show. It was an intensely intimate, moving and powerful look at faith and humanity. The entire play was beautifully written and executed and the experience intensified by the fact that we were within mere feet of the theatrical action.

Taking theatre out of a building and away from ticket stubs, coat checks, ushers and programs reminds you of what theatre is at the core: performers and an audience.This experience challenged me to think differently about being an audience member.I needed to work a bit harder—to walk, to stand, to sit on an uncomfortable little stool or cold concrete step. I wasn’t allowed to be complacent and thus felt like I had more of a stake in the entire experience. Audience, performers and festival organizers—we were all in this kooky experiment together and it was the kind of exhilarating communal experience that theatre should be.

Many thanks to Mike Thompson for joining me with his video camera to capture the experience.

Tags: Bloggers, NAC

This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 7:09 am and is filed under Theatre. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.