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llF'I'EII IIIIIIRS Jeff Miller (John Proctor) was outstanding as the man whose life becomes slowly unraveled. The transition that inches him towards his fate was masterfully subtle, never choppy or contrived. Set in a post-apocalyptic time frame, their adaptation (according to director Rod Carley) of the Salem witch trials parallels the hysteria surrounding AIDS just as Miller used it to expose the hypocrisy of the McCarthy hearings back in the 1950's. With 17 different parts on stage, at least a dozen of the characters are given some weight in one of the five scenes and' it, quite frankly, seems unfair to single out a few actors or actresses as is our habit. By the same token, it's unfair that we feel we're in this position so... The lead, John Proctor, is forced to the brink as he finds himself the only sane man in a world of fervent religious standards, which seeks out agents of Lucifer on the claims of teenage girls who are having 'visions'. Eventually, he is forced to defend himself within the new order's system and has to choose between death or life without honor. Simply excellent. Theatre Etobicoke's latest production, Arthur Miller's The Crucible, takes a power- ful play, couples it with a huge and insanely talented ensemble (the likes of which they'll never see in one spot again) and delivers the most gripping drama I've ever seen them produce. Artists can be a funny lot M.C. Escher's pictures are basically mind games - enter- taining and fun. You can't just glance at an Escher. He draws you in. He confuses you by presenting realistic-appearing ob- jects in a new and surprising way. Like the teller of jokes, he puts together two or more unrelated things. Space becomes solid; fish become birds; stairs never end. He suspends the rules of logic. We can almost hear him say, "Gotcha! " Theatre Etobicoke shines with a stunning 'Crucible' There are some wonderful, bizarre portraits done by Archi.. moldo which on close examination turn out to be entirely made up of fish or vegetables. Salvador Dali is a good exam- ple of an artist who spent his whole life putting us on. His autobiography, as well as his lifestyle, reveal him as a con- summate clown. Even the great Michaelangelo is said to have played a last- ing joke on those who criticized his work by painting them as the damned in Hell in his famous Vatican mural, "The Last Judgment." Humor usually arises out of surprise or shock. It often is based on putting together two totally disparate and unrelated ideas. It involves leaps sideways from the linear patterns of thought. Humor goes from A to C via Q rather than via B. It is tremendously creative. Much art which we find confusing or puzzling is so because we study it seriously. People ask, "But what is it supposed to be?" or say "I don't understand modern art." How often have you failed to understand a joke but laughed anyway? In our society, it is not OK not to "get" a joke. It is OK not to understand art. Unfortunately, these attitudes interfere with our having fun with art. Many of the world's greatest artists - Goya, Daumier, Toulouse-Lautrec __ used humor to poke fun at certain members of society: lawyers, judges, and politicians, just as our cartoonists poke fun at our own political figures. Have you seen Charles Pachter's painting of the Queen in a Mountie uniform, riding a moose? Paula bi, jesus (Abigail) is tRiatiii8Blrb,ijt,F,irt'jit,','t,"rs TV siier',iiiytcby .. 'f "o f V 7 es/cl: ' , ti' ’ sq»; f - r';k's, ugk"KC""' ie' _ 'ts" ' c,? _ '~ 'se', is ' i5NIN?E l ‘ w Pr' "e . %\‘,\-($‘f£ aisW"5,i',,tt'sit':',':s'si),'_ T My? N _N _i,:Jjt(,'F" A "irgic2.', , = ,. ' .2551: _,.r fr:: _.'rrif.r', a?” '%'sWi N W- s" kNts) " N N C . "s' *2 _T'PP" T TW' ‘N \3: " P may; ' _ h, _ i (XE. "Y,Ti 3‘55 st 12*? 'Fe-iii, I Ilpun . » ; “.221.- a considerable talent. She would have to be given what it takes for any one character in this play to hold sway over the audience. She had us transfixed several times. Finally, J. Paul Turnbull (Reverend Hale) made a strong impression in his debut with the group. In the role of the man caught bet- Elizabeth Proctor (Gabrielle Le Forestier) comforts husband, John (Jeff Miller), the only sane man left in a world gone religiously fanatic. Photo by Don Redmond ween his profession's dictates in that society and the nagg- ing suspicion that he's on the wrong side, Turnbull skillful- ly eased his way into our sympathy. I would dearly love to keep mentioning names but we have space restraints. Beautifully done, people. I Don Redmond Van Gogh's intense, tortured works do not suggest any sense of humor but he does show a strong sense of irony. Nagged by his landlady to paint her daughters who pestered and plagued him unceasingly, he finally agreed. Nowhere will you find two little girls who have such a look of evil and malice on their faces. Picasso loved to play. He once took a child's toy car and in- corporated it into a sculpture; a car became a monkey face. Another Spanish artist, Joan Miro, once described his work as “taking a line for a walk." His painting called "Man Fish- ing" is almost a cartoon. If you take time to look, it will make you smile. Another Spaniard, Goya, painted the Royal Family of Spain elegantly dressed but with vacant and vacuous faces. They paid him for it, unaware of the irony and ridicule. Daumier, a French satirical artist, did some wonderful carica- tures of lawyers and government officials. Marcel Duchamp ridiculed the pretentiousness of art by exhibiting as art objects a bicycle wheel and a urinal. Art critics spoke solemnly of the "significance" of such work. Duchamp has the last laugh as he fools the critics with a rude gesture. Let's laugh with these artists and learn to enjoy art. D by Marty CATHERiNE O'BRiEN SEEiNq Thinqs The City of York Public Library will host a free weekend of Haiku, a form of Japanese poetry, at the Weston branch, 2 King St. Haiku will be presented in Japanese, English and French on Saturday, March 12 from 10 a.m. to Ip.m. and 3:30-5 p.m., and Sunday from 1:15-5 p.m. There will also be short lec- tures and discussions about Haiku, with free admission. For more information contact James Deahl at 653-6179. Haiku coming to Weston library 'wf'str'tA:?'reP'wf_ePs5'tt4strst<tPsw_teePs3ratePtt-5rt+t- For reservations: 241-2327, 1946 Weston Rd. Humber Valley Villager VillAqER__ Advenrisiuq... l MAkES ir pERfecrly clEAR! 2259 Bloor St. W. 767-2942 021" Remote with MTS Stereo . 1 20 channel broadcast/cable tuning "square corner Hi-cone screen OXL-100 performance at a budget price osolid state tuning with separate knobs for UH FA/H F channels '3T9Y Fast service to all TV makes. Bring in Your portables for bigger savings. Antennae service and (-1 installation. V757 MARCH PRICE BREAK 'S49Y HOSICK March 1988 TELEVISION 1844 Jane St. 243-1071 FPR500 Page15