I Send You This Cadmium Red

Reviewed by Paula Citron
October 18, 2011

I Send You This Cadmium Red
Canadian Stage/Art of Time Ensemble
Letters by John Berger and John Christie
Read by Julian Richings and John Fitzgerald Jay
Directed by Daniel Brooks
Music by Gavin Bryars
Conducted by Andrew Burashko
Soudain l’hiver dernier
Choreographed by James Kudelka
Performed by Michael Sean Marye and Luke Garwood
Berkeley Street Theatre Downstairs
Oct. 10 to 22, 2011

I Send You This Cadmium Red is the lovely show that is a collaboration between Canadian Stage and Andrew Burashko’s Art of Time Ensemble.

I have continually said that Matthew Jocelyn, artistic director of Canadian Stage, puts together the most stimulating seasons in Canada, and this show is a case in point.

I Send You This Cadmium Red is a staged reading of letters between John Berger and John Christie about colour. The two men, both writers and artists, decided to write these letters to each other, and the show features actors Julian Richings and John Fitzgerald Jay reading the letters, over music by English composer Gavin Bryars. The intriguing visuals are by Bruce Alcock, and the subtle direction by Daniel Brooks.

The opener is James Kudelka’s haunting duet Soudain l’hiver dernier, performed by dancers Michael Sean Marye and Luke Garwood, which was originally inspired by the A.I.D.S. epidemic.

It’s a run-don’t-walk.

I Send You This Cadmium Red continues at Berkeley Street Theatre until Oct. 22.