Pandemonium on Granville Island: 'The Black Rider'

Vancouver's fourth annual PuSh Performing Arts festival drew to a close on Sunday. A celebration of innovative and independent music, theatre, and dance, the festival was overflowing with great performances... and if you're like me, you missed a ton of standout shows. However, one of PuSh's 2008 highlights is seeing an extended run at the Granville Island Stage. Catch it tonight, tomorrow or Saturday as your last chance at the festival's offering of experimental theatre.

First performed to sold-out audiences in Vancouver at PuSh 2005, The Black Rider: The Casting of the Magic Bullets is a dark, adventurous musical created by Tom Waits, William S. Burroughs and Robert Wilson. This avante-garde "musical fable", which had its German debut in 1990, was revived ten years ago to critical acclaim in Edmonton, of all places, by the November Theatre... the show went on to have a hugely successful run at the New York Fringe.

Although I was born in Calgary, trained to dismiss all things Edmonton, my love for the literature of William S. Burroughs and the music of Tom Waits ensured that this was one event I could not pass up. After seeing the show in all its chaotic glory, I must firmly recommend that you do the same. More after the jump...

The story of "The Black Rider" is based on a classic German folktale, a simple fable about a man who makes a deal with the devil (named Peg Leg, in the production) in order to win the heart of a woman. The story is an excuse for the presentation of Waits' and Burroughs' unique prose and song, as filtered through the daring theatrical design of the November Theatre. The forces combine in an emotional avalanche that left our audience with mouths agape, shaking alternately from laughter and fear. A rumination on addiction, love, duty, and truth, the musical speaks volumes to the general human condition.

The direction and design of "The Black Rider" is an exercise in perfect control. The simple red and black backgrounds set the stage for intense shadow play throughout, as the various performers warp and combine their bodies in multiple ways; expressing the complex, unsettling emotions that feed the play. The carnivalesque white face paint and plain black robes of the actors work by allowing the small cast to take on multiple roles; of human, animal, and spirit, as the narrative makes fluid shifts in time and setting. The minimalism forces audience identification: the viewer is left to project him or herself onto the white-faced demons on parade. The universality of this moral meditation, despite its magic bullets and puzzlingly timeless Germanesque setting, is made powerfully obvious by The November Theater's audacious staging.

Overshadowing even the quality of the production's make-up, stage and costume design is the amazing control of movement. From miming marionette-like control of each other's limbs to gymnastic displays of combined bodies, one feels as if they're witnessing some kind of ballet in hell. The highly stylized non-realist choreography is heavily rooted in German Expressionism, and is like nothing you'll have witnessed in Canadian theater. It all culminates in the most convincing ultra-slow-motion death scene I've seen on stage...

My review itself is a testament to how well this Edmonton group pulls it off: all this praise without even touching on the music or script, in a production written by William S. Burroughs and featuring original tunes by Tom Waits... two legendary hipster heroes.

The album is cherished with cult-fervor by Waits fans, but rarely is there an opportunity to see "The Black Rider" actually performed. The music successfully blends the traditions of musical theater with Waits' uniquely grizzled jazz-rock style, all filtered through the circus-hell theme of the production. The accompanying jazz trio, dressed in costume and occasionally joining the action, set the perfect mood throughout; one of dark, sensual tension -- occasionally diving into complete chaos. The lyrics are typically abstract, and form a perfect counterpart to Burrough's surreal, steam-of-conscious spoken text and dialog. It's dark, its hilarious, its like nothing else, and it completely works.

Critics agree that the show demands to be seen, The Straight says "it's like consenting to rough sex... it may bruise you, but you will like it," while Only promises you'll "shit yourself with terror and awe." Although I left the theatre with skin unbruised and pants unsoiled, I was also completely convinced. Do anything you can to score tickets to this rarely performed gem, a darkly enthralling mash-up of artistic genius. Dealing with Satan shouldn't be necessary, but I'd expect these final three performances to sell out, so buy your tickets in advance.

Shows are on Thursday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm. Tickets and details available at the Arts Club Theatre Company, where you can also check out a few clips from the show.

The Granville Island Stage is located at 1585 Johnston Street on, of course, Granville Island.