Friday on My Mind: A Queen musical, a mini ska fest and a roller-skating bash
Friday on My Mind is a highly subjective, curated rundown of five of the cooler things happening in Montreal on the weekend.
We Will Rock You
Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. at Théâtre St-Denis
Steve Bolton is a big Queen fan and apparently he is far from the only Quebecer who really digs this iconic British rock band.
We Will Rock You, a brand-new Québécois adaptation of the hit jukebox musical that opened in London's West End in 2002, has already sold more than 25,000 tickets for its Quebec run. It continues at Théâtre St-Denis until May 18 and then moves down the highway to Théâtre Capitole in Quebec City, where it runs from June 20 to July 13. It will also be playing in the fall at Amphithéâtre Cogeco in Trois-Rivières and Théâtre du Casino du Lac-Leamy in Gatineau.
Bolton, who is the director of the show, has loved the band fronted by the late Freddie Mercury since he was a kid.
'I'm a classic-rock fan,' said Bolton, who has worked extensively as a choreographer and director, with the Cirque du Soleil and for numerous TV shows, including So You Think You Can Dance Canada. 'So it worked out that I got this opportunity, because I love classic rock. I grew up on Pink Floyd, Supertramp, Zeppelin, Queen, Genesis, you name it. With my dad, when I was growing up, that's all we listened to. Like Chris de Burgh and Gowan. On road trips, it was Pink Floyd.'
Annie Villeneuve portrays the Killer Queen in the show, and yes, she does belt out the Queen song that inspired her character's name. She said she's become a Queen fan because of the musical, admitting that she only discovered many of the deep-catalogue Queen tracks when she began working on the project.
'Every song has its own special particularity, often inspired by different musical genres,' said Villeneuve.
We Will Rock You features 25 Queen songs, including all of their biggest successes, notably Bohemian Rhapsody, Somebody to Love, Another One Bites the Dust, We Are the Champions, Under Pressure and Don't Stop Me Now.
Villeneuve's Killer Queen, as the name suggests, is the villain, 'a character who is so far from my own personality,' said Villeneuve. 'She's always raging and is super egotistical. It's really not me. But she's a character that's really fun to play.'
It's set in a world where music has been banned but there's a rebel group, the Bohemians, fighting to keep the musical spark alive.
'It's about the quest to not be drowned out by what's artificial,' said Bolton. 'It's to appreciate and not forget our past. It's to not forget music, to not forget things that make us feel.'
Roller skating
All weekend at Esplanade Tranquille
During the winter, ice skating's the thing at Esplanade Tranquille, the cool public space on Clark St. just above Ste-Catherine St. in the Quartier des spectacles. But with the warmer weather, it's time to ditch your ice skates and grab a pair of roller skates.
Saturday night at 7, it's Skating Back in the Eras, a roller dance party for skaters of all levels. There will be a performance by the students from the Skate With Marly roller dance school and lots of old-school music. On Sunday at 4 p.m. there will be a roller derby demonstration with the folks from Montréal Roller Derby. On Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m., there will be roller-skating lessons for beginners. Skates will be loaned out for free, but you are encouraged to bring your own protective gear.
Centre Greene carnival
Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. at Centre Greene
The Westmount community centre will be throwing a big 35th birthday bash Saturday, with arts, crafts, face painting, a silent auction, bake sale, line dancing and a Zumba session. Free entry.
Puces POP
Friday 3 to 7 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Église St-Denis
Head down to the church right by the Laurier métro station to check out POP Montreal's coolster artisanal fair and maybe snare your last-minute Mother's Day gifts. There will be booths selling jewelry, ceramics, body-care products, food, clothes and art. Free entrance.
Information: popmontreal.com
The Planet Smashers
Saturday at 7 p.m. at Théâtre Beanfield
Astonishingly enough, the Planet Smashers have been rocking their high-energy ska thing for over 30 years now. The Montreal band will be headlining a major punky ska bash Saturday at the place I still call the Corona Theatre, with fellow ska disciples Mustard Plug from Grand Rapids, Mich.; Big D and the Kids Table from Boston; and Faintest Idea from the U.K. So yeah, ska is alive and well (and this is a good thing!).
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Ottawa Citizen
2 days ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Almonte and District High School presented an enchanting production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Article content Hannah Castillo, Lead Critic Holy Trinity Catholic High School Article content We all know the story of the boy who lived, but the next chapter doesn't belong to him. The magic of Hogwarts returned in Almonte and District High School's enchanting and moving production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: High School Edition. Article content Article content Taking place 19 years after the Harry Potter series, the Cursed Child follows Harry Potter's son, Albus, and Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius. The two form a special friendship as they struggle to make a name for themselves in spite of their fathers' legacies. As they attempt to rewrite history, they not only confront the dark secrets of the wizarding world, but also confront the emotional challenges that come with family and friendship in this magical story. Article content The role of Albus was played to perfection by Cole Stevenson. Stevenson featured a great British accent that remained consistent at all times. With the use of remarkable voice intonations and natural delivery, Stevenson gave an emotional performance where sadness, anger, and frustration resonated through the stage. Stevenson had an exceptional dynamic with all other characters on stage, most noticeably with Mycah Olson who played Scorpius. While Albus and Scorpius became friends, Stevenson and Olson built a heart-warming relationship on stage that featured understanding, conflict, and resolution. The pair's outstanding connection powered the show, bringing both laughter and emotion. As Scorpius, Olson had a strong sense of character and a wide emotional range. With humorous line delivery and comedic timing, Olson brought light-heartedness, but was also able to convey sorrow through an exceptional voice and expressive mannerisms. Article content Article content Article content Jack Lockhart took to the stage fabulously in the role of Harry Potter. With a strong stage presence, Lockhart showed true character development and portrayed significant emotion when bonding with Albus, going from an awkward and overbearing dad, to an understanding and supportive father. In the role of Delphi Diggory, the talented Marjorie Mennie unveiled the plot with an amazing change of character. Mennie's facial expressions, emotions, and voice intonations drastically differed when revealing the true nature of Delphi, adding a lot of magic to the show. Another remarkable performance was Jade Lodge in the role of Professor McGonagall, who with an outstanding Scottish accent, never failed to bring laughter by lecturing both past and present students. The Hogwarts Students did an impeccable job running around the school and making the busy environment come to life, making the show even more entertaining and realistic.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
A cracking good read
Oology: the study — and the cherishing — of bird eggs. The Impossible Thing is largely stock mystery thriller, yet unconventionally centred on a bunch of rabid oologists, spanning decades and decades. British mystery-writer Belinda Bauer here switches gears rather dramatically from her usual trilogy fare featuring small towns beset by far too many clever, terrifying murderers inevitably entrapped by humble heroes, and opts instead to test the limits of wrapping a 'thriller' around characters — historical and contemporary — who behave in quite crazed ways because they over-value birds' eggs, in the extreme. Jay Brooks photo Belinda Bauer was named to the Booker Prize long list for her 2018 novel, Snap. The breathless opening scene of this precious egg caper plops us into the point-of-view of an apparently good-guy sniper, utterly in the middle of chasing an obviously dastardly black hat named Matthew Barr. This hook has the scant details and the onus-on-the-reader feel of a desperately clever Cold War spy caper. It chucks in murky waves of movement, absolutely nothing of dialogue nor explanations, and a big dose of our guy's driven, nigh-maniacal inner thoughts. We quickly get our man, Matthew, and pin him down so that we might pontificate at him and his gross ideology. And here we first encounter our oological MacGuffin. Why have we been chasing Matthew as if the safety of the free world depended on our valorous efforts? Because Matthew had stolen some eggs. Cut immediately to the historical set-piece as we are flung back to the 1920s. Here, we meet and follow lovely teenage Celie Sheppard and her charmingly, painfully oafish, (Of Mice and Men's) Lennie-style friend, Robert. These two are the opposite of dastardly — they are mismatched, quaint and endearing, with a touch of pathetic. The reader can't help but adore them as they do the most unusual thing: hulking Robert ties one end of a heavy rope around himself and the other to a frighteningly makeshift sitting contraption for wee Celie, and he delicately, lovingly (you can see it coming from oh-so-afar) lowers her down through 'The Crack,' a devilishly beckoning fissure in a blood-curdling overhang that teeters atop the cliffs that survey the chilling, blustering North Sea. Why is sweet Robert dangling his beloved Celie's fragile life? Because beneath that overhang nest hundreds of guillemots. At least once a year, these otherwise ordinary seabirds settle under that dramatically protective ledge to lay their eggs, one per guillemot couple. They're beautifully coloured eggs, extraordinary in their peculiar variations of hue — no two eggs are precisely the same colour, nor sport the same intricate patterns. These snowflake eggs therefore are ridiculously valuable and insanely coveted — by keen, studious oologists, to be sure, but also by far-too-wealthy, early 20th-century British male snobs. Dainty Celie and lumbering Robert eke their way through their harsh existence by, just once a year, poaching one of those prized eggs. Jump back to the present and we meet two differently charming, very young men (although, again, the charm is purchased mostly by grand awkwardness): Patrick and Nick. Nick has a tag, one that just about captures this whole book: he's known as Weird Nick. We never really learn why, but nonetheless must agree wholeheartedly — this fellow was bestowed with an apt epithet. In any case, stashed up in the attic of Nick's mother's house is one of these vital eggs that a century ago Celie and Robert had so frightfully and fatefully retrieved. Immediately and inevitably it is stolen before poor Nick realizes the nature of the thing he was just about roosting on — and the prolonged chase scene is on. Two teenage buds who bonded over Call of Duty fling themselves into a real-life sortie, bumbling their way over harrowing hill and through daunting dale to get that darned egg back. The Impossible Thing You end up with spectacularly colourful, spectacularly invaluable 1920s eggs and the conflicting quests not only for ownership of them but also for some kind of philosophical comprehension of their essential meaning driving a — let's be honest, weirdly — gripping scramble across divergent time and rural place. It's a lot. Yet somehow, it works. In some spades. In 2018, Bauer was unexpectedly longlisted for the Booker Prize for her eighth novel, Snap. Bauer's books are hardly rarefied literature. Still, they are sporadically sprinkled with exquisite moments of diction and syntax, moments that catch one's breath, even as they are so fleeting. One can only imagine that the sum of such moments in Snap achieved some sort of critical mass that garnered Bauer the celebratory nod. Good. The Impossible Thing (Bauer's 10th book) will not likely repeat the feat. (Again: it's about frantically, irrationally chasing bird eggs.) But it oozes the charm of its quirky props and their dogged pursuers — eggs, and the oologists who adore them so. Laurence Broadhurst teaches English and religion at St. Paul's High School in Winnipeg.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
David Attenborough's ‘Ocean' is a brutal, beautiful wakeup call from the sea
NICE, France (AP) — An ominous chain unspools through the water. Then comes chaos. A churning cloud of mud erupts as a net plows the seafloor, wrenching rays, fish and a squid from their home in a violent swirl of destruction. This is industrial bottom trawling. It's not CGI. It's real. And it's legal. 'Ocean With David Attenborough' is a brutal reminder of how little we see and how much is at stake. The film is both a sweeping celebration of marine life and a stark exposé of the forces pushing the ocean toward collapse. The British naturalist and broadcaster, now 99, anchors the film with a deeply personal reflection: 'After living for nearly a hundred years on this planet, I now understand that the most important place on Earth is not on land, but at sea.' The film traces Attenborough's lifetime — an era of unprecedented ocean discovery — through the lush beauty of coral reefs, kelp forests and deep-sea wanderers, captured in breathtaking, revelatory ways. But this is not the Attenborough film we grew up with. As the environment unravels, so too has the tone of his storytelling. 'Ocean' is more urgent, more unflinching. Never-before-seen footage of mass coral bleaching, dwindling fish stocks and industrial-scale exploitation reveals just how vulnerable the sea has become. The film's power lies not only in what it shows, but in how rarely such destruction is witnessed. 'I think we've got to the point where we've changed so much of the natural world that it's almost remiss if you don't show it,' co-director Colin Butfield said. 'Nobody's ever professionally filmed bottom trawling before. And yet it's happening practically everywhere.' The practice is not only legal, he adds, but often subsidized. 'For too long, everything in the ocean has been invisible,' Butfield said. 'Most people picture fishing as small boats heading out from a local harbor. They're not picturing factories at sea scraping the seabed.' In one harrowing scene, mounds of unwanted catch are dumped back into the sea already dead. About 10 million tons (9 million metrics tonnes) of marine life are caught and discarded each year as bycatch. In some bottom trawl fisheries, discards make up more than half the haul. Still, 'Ocean' is no eulogy. Its final act offers a stirring glimpse of what recovery can look like: kelp forests rebounding under protection, vast marine reserves teeming with life and the world's largest albatross colony thriving in Hawaii's Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. These aren't fantasies; they're evidence of what the ocean can become again, if given the chance. Timed to World Oceans Day and the U.N. Ocean Conference in Nice, the film arrives amid a growing global push to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 — a goal endorsed by more than 190 countries. But today, just 2.7% of the ocean is effectively protected from harmful industrial activity. The film's message is clear: The laws of today are failing the seas. So-called 'protected' areas often aren't. And banning destructive practices like bottom trawling is not just feasible — it's imperative. As always, Attenborough is a voice of moral clarity. 'This could be the moment of change,' he says. 'Ocean' gives us the reason to believe — and the evidence to demand — that it must be. Wednesdays Columnist Jen Zoratti looks at what's next in arts, life and pop culture. 'Ocean' premieres Saturday on National Geographic in the U.S. and streams globally on Disney+ and Hulu beginning Sunday. ___ Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram @ahammergram. ___ The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP's environmental coverage, visit
