Emperor reviewed by Jon Kaplan (NOW)

Twitches and Itches Theatre is a Toronto-based company that works on adapting folk tales from around the world.

Three actors. Two folktales. One crown. Emperor adapts a pair of fireside folktales from the island of Majorca into a twisting, exhilarating new play about crooked monarchs, the extent of greed, and the power wielded by kind, honest peasants.

Twitches and Itches Theatre Presents:
Emperor by Colin Bruce Anthes
Directed by Roselie Williamson
With Music by Tom DiMartino
Featuring Aaron Rothermund, Glyn Bowerman, Colin Bruce Anthes
Stage Managed by Holly Lloyd
Set and Costumes by Bryan Hall and Holly Lloyd

Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace April 6-10, 2010

Emperor rules
The energy generated by the three performers in Emperor, a work by young company Twitches & Itches, was enough to lift the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace off the ground by a couple of inches.
Or so it felt in the short piece, adapted by Colin Bruce Anthes from a pair of Majorcan folktales.
Under director Roselie Williamson, the trio played the titular character (Anthes) and his younger relatives, the prince (Aaron Rothermund) and the less clever Pedro (Glyn Bowerman). Stories involving Pedro bookended a longer section in which the emperor and the prince played cat-and-mouse over who would inherit the throne.
The Pedro material proved the more theatrical. The innocent if bungling Pedro, “dim as midnight,” always ignored common sense, mistaking a statue for a man and making a bargain with buzzing flies. The three actors played various human, animal and insect characters with comic zest.
The middle section, packed with too much narrative and stylistically relying on telling rather than showing, didn’t have the same audience draw. Still, Anthes and Rothermund metaphorically circled each other with some elegant parries and thrusts.
Review by

Jon Kaplan
NOW MAGAZINE


Twitches and Itches Theatre
THE EMPEROR FUNDRAISER

A Glamorous Night of Wine, Chocolate Fondue, Steamwhistle Beer, Silent Auction Items and Performances By:

Allison Hogg & Sarah Tompson “I Don’t See Why Not” (Improv)
Zita Nayardy (Dance)
Cristina Taborda (Music)
Ryan G. Hinds (Music)

Please join us on March 13, 2010 from 8:00pm-12:00am Midnight at hub14 for a night of entertainment and fun, in an effort to raise funds for our upcoming production of EMPEROR, playing at TPM’s Backspace from April 6-10, 2010.

Cost is $10 and includes a drink ticket, food, and a chance to see some amazing performances.

All proceeds will go towards the theatre company to help cover the costs of the production thus far.
We are grateful to all and any who can come! If you would like to donate to the company but cannot make the fundraiser, please message us on facebook.