On Stage

by EMILY RAINE
and MARITES CARINO

Scapegoat Theatre’s production of Euripides’ The Bacchae.

Fall theatre season is in full swing, and the city’s stages are packed to the rafters with dance, musical and theatre shows.

THEATRE
While Centaur’s August, An Afternoon in the Country and the Segal’s bombastic production of Guys and Dolls are still going strong, two new shows opened this week in Montreal, and both continue their run ’til Oct. 20.

Director Emma Tibaldo and the Talisman theatre company’s production of The Medea Effect debuts this tense, psychological drama in Montreal. The play follows Ada and Hugo, an actress and a director respectively, to her audition for a part in Euripedes’ Medea, and the meditation on trauma, loss and forgetting that results stems their encounter. Théâtre La Chapelle (3700 St-Dominique), 8 p.m.

Meanwhile, the Centaur is staging a new translation of Euripides’ The Bacchae, a tragedy about the gods smacking down human hubris. The new translation comes from Andreas Apergis and Joseph Shragge, the same people who translated the script for Centaur’s award-winning production of Medea last year. This take on a literal classic sets the piece in early 19th-century America during the Second Great Awakening religious revival, but it retains elements from Greek drama such as the chorus. Centaur Theatre (453 St-François-Xavier), see the website for showtimes.

For something a little lighter, check out the one-night-only show by local comedy heavyweights Robby Hoffman, Dan Bingham, Phil Dubrovsky and K. Trevor Wilson, Comedy in Biblical Proportions, as they riff on the greatest-selling book of all time. Oct. 13, Théâtre Ste-Catherine (264 Ste-Catherine E.), 8 p.m., $12

Finally, big ups to new local theatre company inFurnace, who are officially a thing now, following their wildly successful crowdfunding campaign. They’re committed to producing professional theatre for young adults, with plans to stage one recent Canadian script per season. (ER)

DANCE

It’s a packed weekend in dance, with performances from all over the place. First up, Tel Aviv-based dancer, choreographer and community activist Arkadi Zaides is making a stop in Montreal with his work Quiet, which has already caused a stir around the world. The quartet, in which Zaides dances, oscillates between tension, compassion, fear and sadness. The dancers of Palestinian and Israeli roots perform Zaides’ highly physical, award-winning piece, created in 2009. Tickets are going fast. Oct. 12 and 13, 8 p.m., MAI (3680 Jeanne-Mance)

Then, don’t forget the launch of the new season for Les Grands Ballets with Jiˇrí Kylián’s full-length ballet Kaguyahime: The Moon Princess. The Czech choreographer gives us his take on the Japanese legend, and sets it to a score by composer Maki Ishii performed by kodo percussionists. Before each performance, join in a talk about the piece at 7:30 p.m. The Canadian premiere runs through Oct. 27, 8 p.m. at Place des Arts (Salle Wilfrid Pelletier). Visit grandsballets.com for details.

From out west, choreographer Crystal Pite and her company Kidd Pivot are also in town, taking inspiration from Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Her newest work for seven dancers, The Tempest Replica, debuts at Agora de la Danse (840 Cherrier) this weekend and uses projections and a cinematic approach. After the Friday show, Pite shares her thoughts and ideas behind the piece. Oct. 11-12, 8 p.m.; Oct. 13, 4 p.m. (MC)