Opus Mundi Festival, April 24 – May 4, 2008
The Pearl Company presents its first Opus Mundi Festival, a Multi-Disciplinary Artistic Convergence, featuring a program of music, art, theatricality and creativity, over 12 days (April 25 to May 4) at The Pearl Company, 16 Steven Street at King William, Hamilton.
Our first Opus Mundi Festival, a Multi-Disciplinary Artistic Convergence at The Pearl Company, starts this Thursday, April 25th and ends May 4th. The festival features a wide range of events, with performers from many cultures in both the gallery and the theatre.
Film, music, theatre, dance, visual art and dub poetry are all part of the mix.
We start on April 24 with an exhibition of works by local immigrant artists, and an evening of Guatemalan films: When Mountains Tremble and A Haunted Land.
Our theatre component includes a child-friendly double bill (April 27 – 30): a puppet show, Carlos and his Five Reasons, and a Sudanese folk tale, Mother Bull, written by Yahia Elawad, a well-known Sudanese playwright, actor, director, poet, and Gary Santucci. On Sunday, May 3 at 2:00 p.m, Catherine Silverglen presents her hilarious and heart-wrenching one-woman show, Busted, about her journey with breast cancer.
There’s a wide variety of world music. Gary Santucci is heard both as a solo guitarist and as part of Zarabanda, the Pearl Company’s resident world beat ensemble. Other musical events include a sitar concert with Neeraj Prem, Bashir Ismail playing the oud, classical guitarist Kaz Simaitis, the Light of the East ensemble, and Hamilton’s energetic Klezmer band, A Touch of Klez.
Saturday night, April 26, there is a vigil in support of Guatemalan political renewal, featuring guitarist Pedro Montejo. The vigil commemorates the murder of Bishop Juan Gerardi, who headed an inquiry into the political crimes of the preceding government of Guatemala.
There are two appearances of Rose Gowling’s dada dance company, April 27 and 29. Saturday, May 3, the evening spot is taken by Hamilton’s king of dub, Klyde Broox and friends.
The festival is devoted to bringing established local artists together with the excellent artists from other counties who have recently made their home in Hamilton. “Hamilton is on the way to becoming a crossroads for world cultures; we need to embrace this and present it to audiences, so that the new becomes part of our shared experience.”
See www.opusmundifestival.ca
