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Pat Donnelly 10 hours ago
Bad news for Kathy Reichs fans. The forensic murder mystery author isn't at the Salon du Livre this year. Which is surprising. Over the years she has become one of the fixtures of the Salon, drawing huge lineups of autograph-seeking fans. In general, having done a Friday evening browse of Montreal's huge francophone book fair at Place Bonaventure, I'd say attendance seems to be down a bit and the star quotient seems abnormally low. All the usual local authors, like Michel Tremblay , Marie Laberge, Yves Beauchemin, Monique Leroux, Micheline Lachance , and Dany Laferrière (who recently won the Prix Medicis and the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal for his L'Énigme du retour ), and teen-lit sensation India Desjardins , were there. And celebrities like rock chanteuse Diane Dufresne and impresario René Angelil are due to put in appearances today (Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009) to push books written by others. But this year's Salon is short on international ...
Pat Donnelly 2 days ago
SALON DU LIVRE DE MONTRÉAL Montreal's annual mega book fair began yesterday at Place Bonaventure . And, sad to say, I haven't yet found time to pay a visit, although I did write a brief intro story for today's paper pointing out that it may be possible to see the likes of celeb-chaser Ian Halperin and his buddy, former prostitute Nathalie McLennan , at the Salon, hawking the French versions of their books. McLennan, you may recall, contributed to Halperin's muckraking book on Cirque du Soleil owner Guy Laliberté by claiming to having once spent an adventurous night in Laliberté's company, along with another woman of her profession. To make things even more surreal at the Salon, in addition to hundreds of authors of the most boring books imaginable as well as those, like Michel Tremblay and Yann Martel , who have penned works of true literary and/or commercial merit, René Angélil will put in some book-signing time there, on Saturday, between 2:30 p.m. ...
Pat Donnelly 3 days ago
While visiting the Segal Centre today during the media call for Educating Rita I ran into Paul Hopkins , artistic director, of Repercussion Theatre . He was preparing to do a student matinee performance in the Segal Studio of Shakespeare Unplugged , the two-person collage of key Shakespearean scenes that he performs along with Jennifer Morehouse . He and Morehouse will be doing the same show at the Hudson Village Theatre this weekend, on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. Tickets are $23. I've seen Shakespeare Unplugged before and enjoyed it. These two experienced professionals work together well. Also recommended for Shakespeare fans this weekend is a Dawson College student production of Her Infinite Variety , a showcase of Shakespeare's female characters, from Juliet to Lady Macbeth, in a collection of scenes adapted by Victor Knight and Fred Ward . Knight directs. The show opens tonight (Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009). The run ends Nov. 28. Shows are at 8 ...
Pat Donnelly 4 days ago
GOVERNOR GENERAL'S LITERARY AWARDS 2009 Covering the Governor General's Literary Awards is a unique experience. Although the ceremony is usually, well, very ceremonial, there are always a few winners who use the acceptance speech format to say something memorable. Kate Pullinger , who won out over the iconic Alice Munro in the fiction category with her Mistress of Nothing , delighted everyone by confessing to being a McGill University dropout, having partied a little too hard during her student days. M.G. Vassanji sounded pleased to have won in the non-fiction category for his first non-fiction book. Even though his novels (even the Giller Prize winning ones) have as yet to crack the GG game, He admitted that his book, A Place Within: Rediscovering India , was a memoir that was really all about him (and his visit to his ancestral homeland). Poetry winner David Zieroth pointed out the the fly drawing on the cover of his winning volume, The Fly in Autumn , was ...
Pat Donnelly 8 days ago
New York's famous Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular in Montreal this weekend at the Bell Centre . With the emphasis on the word spectacular. It's candy-cane eye candy, an arena-sized Christmas card come to life. There's synchronized, high-kick dancing of vaudevillian tradition, a magically multiplying Santa Claus , singers who perform medleys of familiar carols. It's the kind of show that makes you forget you're a grownup. The way that lineup of toy soldiers collapses, one by one, until the last one lands on the pillow is mesmerizing. The virtual tour of New York City on a double-decker bus with the city passing by on a giant LED screen is awe-inspiring. The million Santa's trick, also accomplished with computer graphics on screen, is a jaw-dropper. And the tiny ballerina and dancing bears in the first Nutcracker Suite number are adorable with a capital A. The Rockettes can do no wrong. Within the dance world they are a dying breed which makes virtue ...
