A Cat Kidd/Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre co-production
Hyena Subpoena
Written by Catherine Kidd
Directed by Alison Darcy
October 13–29, 2011
If I could be a hybrid species, here’s what I would be
A creature who’s one-half hyena, and one-half me
And should I be called to testify upon my own behalf,
I’ll take the stand, and be sworn in, then laugh and laugh and laugh
- Mona Morse
Cat Kidd productions and Scapegoat Carnivale Theatre are thrilled to co-present Hyena Subpoena, a new solo multi-media creation by one of Canada’s most highly regarded writer/spoken word artists, Catherine Kidd, and directed by Alison Darcy. Set in a campsite in South Africa’s famed Kruger Park, the show is composed of eight interlinked stories told by activist and poet Mona Morse, who has fled civilization for the bushveld. The postcards she sends home claim that she’s transformed herself into a hyena.
Each story is told from the humored perspective of hindsight, where Morse matches a traumatic event from her past (being bullied by her high school lacrosse team, being institutionalized, squatting in Vancouver) with a creature she encounters in the present—a hyena, a lion, an antelope, an elephant—whose qualities become emblematic of significant rites of passage.
After a six-year international tour with her award-winning solo-show Sea Peach, Kidd published her first novel, but has now returned to her signature performance style, hybridizing poetic rhythm and rhyme with traditional prose narrative, to enhance the inherent musicality of language and create a heightened, magical perspective of reality. The found space, Les Ateliers Jean Brillant, will be transformed under the production design of Jody Burkholder, and audio environments blending sampled animal/environmental sounds with original loops and rhythms by Kidd’s long-time collaborator Dj Jacky Murda (Barcelona), and African wildlife video footage collected by Geoff Agombar.
In the tradition of the Künstlerroman, Morse’s stories implicitly chafe against the skewed values of her society. Her stories concern social conflicts shared by humans and non-humans alike—such as those between freedom and security, individual and collective, predator and prey, civilized and savage. At their root, these stories question the nature of personhood, and what it means to be granted the status of “person”.
“Our city’s newest superstar… a knockout…This Kidd is pure gold.”
(Montreal Gazette)
“[Kidd's show] should win you over with its reflections on life, love, and the lessons animals teach us … slight but dominating this ‘goddess of beats’ transfixes with her adult blend of Dr. Seuss and Aesop’s Fables.” (The Scotsman, Edinburgh)
“Clearly one of Canada’s most talented wordsmiths.”
(Broken Pencil)
“Catherine Kidd’s performance style makes me think of Dr. Seuss meets Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom meets David Suzuki meets Vaudeville meets Patti Smith. Yeah, it is that good. It’s a musical theatre crash course in punk rock zoology.” (T.L. Cowan, Calgary International Spoken Word Festival)
Written and performed by Catherine Kidd
Directed by Alison Darcy
A Cat Kidd/Scapegoat Carnivale Co-production
October 13-16, 20-23, 27-29 at 8:00 pm
Les Ateliers Jean Brillant (Next to Lionel Groulx Metro)
View map: http://goo.gl/u1vaG
Tickets $15 in advance (or $20 at the Door)
Visit www.catkidd.com/hyena-subpoena to purchase yours today!
Questions? Contact hyenasubpoena@gmail.com