February 28/08 Café

Then you've got to find a space to rehearse and present your productions,
Or the love is all you've got! What?"

Hours of rehearsals at Kim's house: songs in the dining room, sonnets in the kitchen, scenes in the living room and sax in the hallway. And a peeing puppy underneath. The last Ouro Preto Cafe in all probability: busy from really early on, lots of new faces, a new rhythym in simultaneous performance delivery and the best for last (!) L'il Caezr Teazr with a stellar example of "TROUBLE!" call-answer ensemble support.

More ruminations and photos below from Ann Noël (Garry's mum), who attended her first Café during a visit from Berlin...

This was a new, but temporary venue for the monthly „theatre à la carte“ event staged by this talented and innovative group of actors, vocalists and musicians. I was not at any of the previous evenings at Mollyz Diner, but friends told me that this modern-looking coffee shop is a larger and less intimate space. Nevertheless one was well aware of what was going on at the tables in the vicinity of one’s own and the pace at which orders were being filled was quite extraordinary. Once it a while I was curious enough to get up to go and see what was being served up to the customers in other parts of the room and to take photographs of the interaction between the actors and their audience. People seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely.

Some of the things I observed were the following. A tired and dispirited waitress dressed in pink came and sat down at table next to mine to complain about her lot in life.

A guy in a black wig and dark glasses, strumming a guitar and accompanied by a saxophone player, did an Elvis impersonation.

A heartrending ballad was performed by a lanky youth wearing a scarlet sheath dress and a black leather necklace with spikes.

A quintet erected music stands and performed a classic Fluxus score by Emmett Williams, “A Four-Directional Song of Doubt”.

On my way back from visiting the washroom I saw a man hiding behind a tree, with a hand puppet emerging from the leaves, singing an operatic aria.

At one end of the counter a couple were carrying on a dialogue while manoeuvring a Playmobil princess and a prince across a tiny stage.

Another pair, accompanied by a keyboard sang a number from a musical by Stephen Sondheim.

A bearded bard softly recited Shakespeare’s 30th sonnet into my ear.

There were popular song solos, rants and raves, one-act plays, bedtime stories with cuddly toys and lots more to choose from on the menu. In another unforgettable scene involving cross-dressing, a hairy Katherine was wooed with considerable verve and ardour by a smooth-faced Petrucchio. I should have like to have seen and heard everything on the menu that night, but that is why one should attend Café DaPoPo evenings more than one time – it’s constantly changing. I have a bit farther to travel than some, but I’ll certainly try.

Ann Noël, Berlin, Germany