Clown meets the blues by way of ’30s Berlin cabaret with a little detour through Las Vegas in blue, an interactive solo musical written and performed by Diana Kolpak, at Courtenay’s Artful: the Gallery on Feb. 11.
blue is a sassy, sophisticated, poignant and rollicking fusion of theatre, cabaret, clown, fortune-telling and music. Former mermaid turned lounge singer Sally Siren is your guide on this odyssey, singing her heart out while accompanying herself on her fabulous toy piano. The audience charts its own course, choosing a playlist from 16 original songs. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes hilarious — but always presented with pizzazz — Sally’s musical numbers reveal love in all its passionate complexity.
A recent transplant to the Comox Valley, Kolpak is a performer, director and writer who spent over 25 years honing her theatrical clowning skills in Toronto and was the first-ever Canadian invited to perform at clownin - an international festival of women clowns in Vienna. www.dianakolpak.ca
blue has been performed at the Toronto Festival of Clowns, the Dark Crop Festival (Cambridge, ON), In The Soil Festival (Ste. Catharines, ON), The Textile Museum of Canada and on a pirate ship in Toronto Harbour. The show is intended for adults, with some audience participation and mature content. Running time is 60 minutes.
The director is David Benjamin Tomlinson.
Artful: the Gallery is at 526C Cumberland Rd. in Courtenay. Shows are at 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11.
Tickets are $20 for adults, and $18 for seniors and students.
Purchase tickets at whetstone-productions.yapsody.com