Alexander Colle, Contributor
Featured image courtesy of Torrential Theatre
What comes to mind when thinking of hidden gems at York? Is it an obscure study room with a beautiful view of the campus? How about a hidden café deep within the depths of your college? What about a clean bathroom that is claimed all to yourself on a daily basis?
I can happily say that I make use of these locations around the university. Having said this, they are certainly not the first things that come to my mind when I think of hidden gems at York. My hidden gem is much more consequential and perhaps even life-changing. My gem is so criminally underappreciated and underrated that if it were to disappear, anyone who is not associated with it wouldn’t even know it left.
My gem is York’s independent theatre scene. You might not have known that dozens of theatre companies have seen their launch here at York. These companies are completely student-made and are truly independent from any institution, such as York itself. Amazingly, these companies get their funding from the shallow pockets of the students that lead them. If you know where to look, you’ll see these students rehearsing late at night in one of York’s studios. Or perhaps you’ll see them in college dining halls in the middle of the summer. Maybe, in desperate situations, you’ll see them in the middle of York’s hallways. Between each company, pieces range in theme and style. One of these companies, Epigraph Collective, aims to create devised pieces of theatre with an emphasis on movement combined with text. “We are cerebral and sexual, mysterious and explicit,” states their Facebook page. Then They Fight Theatre, another York-based company, “is a group of underdogs supporting the work of underproduced, underestimated, and unexpected theatre artists in Canada,” according to their Facebook page.
And then there’s Torrential Theatre. Torrential Theatre specializes in multimedia theatre and incorporates all fine arts elements (photography, visual arts, design, performance, dance, music, and videography) into a live performance. In doing so, the performance becomes a different experience than traditional theatre since the audience is placed into an intimate setting where they are actively part of the performance. In one week, Torrential Theatre will be presenting their first production, Woyzeck in Wonderland. Woyzeck in Wonderland tells the 19th century story of Woyzeck by Georg Büchner, through the world of Alice in Wonderland. Through the use of multimedia, this piece explores issues of mistreated mental health in society, as the impoverished Franz Woyzeck attempts to make sense of the world around him. The show makes the connection between mental illness and drug culture, and how extreme a case can become if mistreated.
The performance will take place in Eleanor Winters Art Gallery, located in Winters College. Showtimes are March 10 and 11 at 8:00 p.m., and March 12 at 2:00 p.m. Entrance is by donation at the door. Torrential Theatre appreciates a recommended donation of $5.
Through this performance, Torrential Theatre hopes to give a chance for the York community to be exposed to non-traditional styles of theatre. If you’re not a fine arts student but are itching to see something other than Netflix and cheap-humoured Vine clips, Woyzeck in Wonderland is your chance to try new and exciting pieces of art. Or you could go back to binge-watching Orange is the New Black for the seventh time.
Suit yourself.
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