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Lionheart
writer + performer
Diana Kolpak
director
John Turner
lighting design
Sharon DiGenova
set & costumes
Rashmi Baird
life, death, love and a lion...
Litty the lion tamer is trapped in a circus where the usual rules no longer apply. Unravelling time, old nightmares, lost loves, a roiling cauldron of memories: it will take more than a whip to bring these beasts to heel, especially when Death is ringmaster.
Sarisvati Productions' FemFest 2007
The Theatre Centre, Toronto, 2009
Controlled Cleverness
We can’t imagine more stylistically different works than Lionheart and Chaotica, a double bill of solo shows that ran last week as chaos | control at the Theatre Centre.
Thematically, though, the works were twins, about a woman sifting through her life and finding a means to move forward. Both clown-inspired but without a red nose in sight, the shows featured sharp performances by the authors. Both productions deserve a second outing.
Diana Kolpak’s Lionheart, directed by John Turner, follows lion tamer Litty as she recalls her past and current circus friends. It’s only at the moment of her death that Litty honestly faces her life. Written with heightened language and rich imagery, the piece has powerful theatricality as well, with moments of puppetry, fairy tale storytelling and bits of stage magic.
JON KAPLAN - NOW Magazine
photo © Kathleen Finlay