Theatre Smith-Gilmour Presents An Original Production Of  METAMORPHOSES 2023

A bold, mime-inspired reimagining of a canonical literary text, THEATRE SMITH-GILMOUR has announced its original, audacious production of METAMORPHOSES 2023, adapted from the legendary epic poem by Ovid for the stage and directed by Michele Smith. This extraordinary work of art features several talented performers, including Rob Feetham, Dean Gilmour, Daniel Richard Henkel, Neena Jayarajan, and Sukruti Tirupattur, Presented at Crow's Theatre, March 21 to April 9, 2023.

Inspired by the 8 AD epic poem by Ovid, Metamorphoses, Theatre Smith-Gilmour have created a bold and contemporary adaptation, taking inspiration from post mime that incorporates spoken words. At the centre of their adaptation, is a dialogue between European Mime and Bharatanatyam Dance Style (which uses codified South Asian Mime).

"Many of Ovid's stories, that we have picked, paint the landscape of a cruel world that could very well be our world today: a world of man's entitlement and woman's rage. In Ovid the victims of rape ask the Gods, "Change me! Make me a man! Let me never be vulnerable again." And it happens. I love his philosophy of life as a long wave of transformations, no death, no birth, no beginning and no end, but an endless possibility to transform, to flee, to never be pinned down to one identity. It's about resilience and survival." Michele Smith-Gilmour, Co-Founder, Theatre Smith-Gilmour

Michele Smith (director / co-artistic director of Theatre Smith-Gilmour) most recently directed and co-adapted Les Miserables and As I Lay Dying, which took the company to the main space of the National Arts Centre, the PuSh Festival/Arts Club in Vancouver and the High Performance Rodeo in Calgary. She is proud of her 10 years of teaching acting at Humber College. She loved working with Indigenous Dancer Aria Evans mentoring her for her show Prevailing Voices. These are a few projects and mentorships that make her very proud to work with artists in the Toronto arts community. Michele received her Master's Degree in French Literature from the University of Aix-en-Provence in 1975 and studied at L'Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France from 1976-78. Over the last 42 years, as co-artistic director of Theatre Smith-Gilmour, she has created, directed, produced and performed in 44 Productions in Toronto and has toured 11 countries around the world. Michele won 5 Dora Awards for her work on Chekhov's shorts and Chekhov longs. She co-directed and co-wrote Death Married My Daughter. She directed and co-wrote Ralph and Lina, which earned 4 Dora Award nominations. She co-directed and co-wrote SPENT with Dean Gilmour, Adam Paolozza and Ravi Jain, which received 3 Dora nominations. She performed at the Meyerhold Theatre in Moscow, Russia when Theatre Smith-Gilmour was invited to the 2007 Chekhov International Theatre Festival.

Dean Gilmour (performer / co-artistic director of Theatre Smith-Gilmour) has created, directed, and performed in 44 Theatre Smith-Gilmour productions and has performed his work in Toronto, across Canada and in 11 countries around the world. Dean received 2 Dora Awards for best director, 2 for best actor, 2 for best production and 1 for best new play for his work in Chekhov's shorts and Chekhov longs...In the Ravine. Dean taught Clown, Bouffon and Neutral Mask at Humber College for 17 years and he is proud to have challenged and inspired hundreds of young actors. He is Professor Adjunct at York University and has been invited to teach his work at Native Earth, The National Theatre School, George Brown College, University of Alberta, Ryerson University, Shanghai Drama Academy, Upper Canada College, Cawthra Park Secondary School and the Native Theatre School among others.

The work is brought to life through the talents of several exceptional stage performers, including Rob Feetham, a Dora Nominated (What Dream It Was, Ahuri Theatre) actor, comedian, and podcaster, selected Credits include: Tale of a Town (Fixt Point), Voix de Ville Extravagonzo (Niagara Arts Centre, Suitcase In Point), and Italian Mime Suicide (Bad New Days); Daniel Richard Henkel, whose selected credits include: Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night at Alehouse Theatre; Neena Jayarajan is an independent dance theatre artist with extensive experience in Bharatanatyam and Odissi dance techniques. Neena sits on the board of CADA West and The Dance Current Magazine; and Sukruti Tirupattur, an accomplished dancer from Bengaluru, India and came to Toronto in 2019. She has worked with Arangham Dance Theater, Chennai, and has engaged with Jamii Esplanade as a performer. Sukruti has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has represented India as a cultural diplomat to Malawi with Vyuti Dance Company, Bengaluru.

The show also features Lighting Design by 3 time Dora Award winner Simon Rossiter. This is his 4th collaboration with Dean and Michele. He has created more that 250 original designs for many dance and theatre companies including Ballet am Rhein, the National Ballet of Canada, Soulpepper Theatre, Toronto Dance, Citadel + Compagnie among others. Costume/Set is Designed by emerging artist Tiana Kralj.

Dean Gilmour and Michele Smith met in 1978 while studying at the School of Jacques Lecoq in Paris, France. In 1980, they formed Theatre Smith-Gilmour and for the last 42 years they have devoted themselves to telling stories that are unsentimental and 'naïve.' Since 1980, Theatre Smith-Gilmour has created 44 shows, 18 of which were original plays. They have toured across Canada several times and to festivals in Moscow, China, France, Germany, Holland, Italy, London, Brighton, Edinburgh, Thessaloniki, Serbia, Romania, Moldova, Taiwan, Denmark, and Hong Kong. Their work has been nominated for 40 Dora Mavor Moore Awards (winning 9 times). In Montreal they won the MECCA award for best ensemble for Chekhov's shorts. They have been nominated for 2 Sterling Awards in Edmonton, two Chalmers' Best Canadian Play Awards for The Greenbird and Chekhov's shorts. During the pandemic TSG continued their work adapting new stories from Ovid's Metamorphoses, creating 3 short films with Juniper Island Productions (Dedaelus and Icarus; Orpheus and Eurydice; Eryschiton) and 1 with videographer Lyon Smith (Hercules).

METAMORPHOSES 2023:

When: March 21 - April 9 (Mondays dark). Weekend and Wednesday matinees at 1:30pm
Opening Night: Friday, March 24, 2023 at 7:30pm
Closing Day: Sunday, April 9, 2023 at 1:30pm
Previews: Tuesday, March 21, Wednesday, March 22 and Thursday, March 24 at 7:30pm
Where: Guloien Theatre (Crow's Theatre) 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto
Price: Tickets ranging from $28 - $90. Lmited PWYC dates available. To purchase tickets, please visit https://tickets.crowstheatre.com/

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