Odyssey Theatre - Theatre In The Park

"Odyssey is...not afraid of taking risks, and has over the years produced some of this city's most invigorating, expansive theatre pieces." Tom McSorley, CBC Radio 1

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The Raven is about the inescapable human journey that takes us from naïve tranquility through the dark and shadowed recesses of the soul where we face our weaknesses, where illusions are shattered, where death is confronted, out of which is born a deeper humanity, a renewed creative vitality.

Laurie Steven and Lib Spry created an original adaptation of Carlo Gozzi's Commedia masterpiece, The Raven. The Raven explores the love and conflict of two brothers and their quest for a mythical raven princess. Through this exploration Gozzi playfully probes the obsessions and passions of the human heart and he questions the justice of destiny.

Gozzi's play falls in the genre of the grotesque: he weaves comedy and tragedy, the mundane and the transcendent; he ruptures the dramatic illusion of reality with references that question the relationship between theatre and truth; he creates a dark and fatalistic world that casts a futile light on human endeavour, yet makes you delight in the whimsical journey through this world.

The production combines medieval movement with a contemporary sensibility, and the patterned movement of the choreography reflects the geometric conception of the whole. Louise Lapointe's extraordinary puppets, create fate's dark world of wizards and demons that infiltrate the world of the kingdom, were inspired by alchemical symbols, the medieval counterpoint to Christian thought.

ODYSSEY - THE RAVEN

Directed by Laurie Steven

Adaptation by Laurie Steven and Lib Spry

Choreography: Robin Patterson
Designer: Art Penson
Mask Design and Construction: Karen Rodd
Puppet Design and Construction: Louise Lapointe
Composer and Musician: John Armstrong
Lighting Designer: Ron Ward

Cast: Brendan McClarty, Kyle Horton, Nathalie Baroud, Alix Sideris, Brendan McClarty, Paul Griffin, Andrew Morphew, Jordan Hancey, David Marta, Mary Shearman, Cassandra Silver, Lawren Taylor

Stage Manager: Stéfanie Séguin
Assistant Stage Manager: Sally Crate
Stage Musician: Anthea Jackson

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Reviews:

"The Raven is a very syncretic performance. The adaptation has captured [the] shifts in theatrical style and levels of language. It unfolds on Art Penson's very sophisticated set which opens to create imaginary spaces for Louise Lapointe's exquisite fairy tale puppet creatures."
Alvina Ruprecht, CBC Radio 1

"The production is smooth, visually stunning and hugely entertaining. This production is a visual feast."
Barbara Crook, Ottawa Citizen

Photos: (top) Puppet by Louise Lapoint;
(bottom) Brendan McClartey, Andrew Morphew.