presented by Theatre Ad Infinitum in association with Why Not Theatre
February 22 to March 4, 2012 at Factory Studio Theatre
(Preview on February 21)
Last year we wowed Toronto audiences with Theatre Ad Infinitum’s The Odyssey, and this year we’re proud to be bringing them back!
The UK’s multiple award-winning Theatre Ad Infinitum’ Canadian premiere of The Big Smoke, a one-woman a cappella performance by Amy Nostbakken, co-written by Nostbakken and director Nir Paldi.
In a courageous physical performance with a completely original text and score sung a cappella, Amy Nostbakken’s nuanced voice tells the story of a brilliant young artist from Toronto given the opportunity of a lifetime: a solo exhibit at London’s Tate Modern.
Inspired by the lives of Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, this poetic waltz with death won The Big Smoke an Argus Angel Award at the 2011 Brighton Festival Fringe, and Nostbakken was nominated for Best Female Performer in the Latest Awards by Brighton’s Latest 7 magazine. It premiered to rave reviews at the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, leading to a national tour of Britain in spring/summer 2011 that included stops in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Oxford and Leeds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8UnMwAMEQA
“I was convinced I’d seen something special: a one-woman play about the sudden onset of depression, and a story delivered entirely in song. I was captivated for an hour by Amy Nostbakken’s warbled narrative, and clapped and whooped accordingly at the end… This play was excellent.”
Tom Lamont, The Observer (The Guardian, UK)
“I search for the words to describe it as it takes such an extraordinary form – a riveting melange of in-character monologue, storytelling, torch song, performance poetry, and experimental vocal score… ultimately we are held by the extraordinary performance skills of Amy Nostbakken.”
Dorothy Max Prior, Total Theatre Magazine (UK)
Tickets are available via www.factorytheatre.ca, by email at boxoffice@factorytheatre.ca, by phone at 416-504-9971, or at the door.
More info can be found at www.theatreadinfinitum.com