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World Stage presents LOOKING FOR PAUL
April 27, 2016 @ 8:00 pm - April 30, 2016 @ 11:00 pm
$34World Stage 2016 continues with the Canadian premiere of Looking for Paul: Inez van Dam vs. the Buttplug Gnome, a big, messy avant-garde performance that questions the role of public art. Four performances only will be presented April 27-30 at the Harbourfront Centre Theatre in this genre-colliding work.
Inez van Dam lives and works in Rotterdam opposite the so-called “Buttplug Gnome,” a controversial sculpture by contemporary American artist Paul McCarthy. Her anger and aversion for this publicly funded art circuitously leads her to the Dutch-Flemish actors’ group Wunderbaum. They invite Van Dam to travel with them to Los Angeles to help her confront McCarthy and to create a new theatre piece documenting her journey and the artistic process. The resulting work explodes — sometimes very messily — in to a debate on aesthetics, politics and the meaning of public art in a forum that is wild, witty and rabidly unconcerned with decorum.
“Looking for Paul is a funny, smart and engaging work that both parodies and pays homage to our relationship to art and the artist who created it . . . in this case, infamous contemporary artist Paul McCarthy,” explains Artistic Director Tina Rasmussen.
Looking for Paul has garnered critical acclaim in the theatre world:
- “With boldness and humour, Wunderbaum reminds us that the only art worth making is that which disrupts, challenges and tests artists and audiences.” The Guardian (UK)
- “Easily the funniest and most audacious thin g I saw all year.” Out West Arts (Los Angeles)
- “It is a slick, clever production that should not be missed.” Broadway Baby (UK)
Special discussions will complement these Looking for Paul performances (free with ticket purchase):
- April 27: Pre-show Tea on Opening Night with Denise Cruz, one of World Stage’s Scholars-in-Residence from the University of Toronto.
- April 28: Post-show “talkshow” invites the audience to connect with the artists who will answer questions about the performance.
Since its inaugural season 30 years ago in 1986, World Stage continues to present groundbreaking contemporary performances from around the world. The 2016 season, curated by Artistic Director Tina Rasmussen, includes seven international theatre, dance and multidisciplinary performances from Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Palestine.
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