Tag Archives: Faye Dupras

Dec 10

Ethos of Old World fables: “A Story Beyond”

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Presented by Liars & Believers
Written by Jason Slavick and Rachel Wiese
Music and Lyrics by Nathan Leigh
Directed by Jason Slavick and Faye Dupras

Dec 6 – Dec 22, 2018
Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre
539 Tremont Street
Boston, MA 02116
Liars & Believers on Facebook

Review by Diana Lu 

(Boston, MA) A Story Beyond is a reimagined fable inspired by various European folklores. This new musical tells the story of a young girl, Maya, who makes a dangerous and fantastical journey to figure out how to save her village from a dark cloud that threatens to turn everyone she loves into lead. Maya’s story is told through puppets, shadow puppets, mask theatre, and a two-person band. Other folk tales are interwoven with the main plot like a Spokane. Continue reading →

May 10

Canary in the Mine: “Yellow Bird Chase”

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Photo by Chris McIntosh; the cast.

Presented by Liars and Believers
Conceived and Directed by Jason Slavick
Written by the LAB Ensemble
In Collaboration with Luminati led by Johnny Blazes

May 4th – 21st, 0217
Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts
527 Tremont Street
LAB on Facebook

Review by Danielle Rosvally

(Boston, MA) Every now and again, a piece comes along that’s so far out of the box it defies most reasonable explanation.  Liars & Believers has a history of creating such pieces, integrating clowning with storytelling and adventure in original works that thrill and excite. Yellow Bird Chase is a creative and vibrant exploration of the imagination.  For that, I found the piece a bit confused (and confusing). Continue reading →

May 21

Troubled Flight for “Icarus”

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With Austin Auh and Corianna Moffatt. Photo courtesy of Liars & Believers Facebook Page.

Presented by Liars & Believers
Directed by Faye Dupras

May 17 & 18, 2013 (Grab tickets while you can!)
Cambridge YMCA Theater in Central Square
Cambridge, MA
Liars & Believers Facebook Group

Gillian Daniels

Liars and Believers’ Icarus is a wobbly production, a Depression Era circus fable that limps when it pushes hard to soar.  Like a small bird, the show is both endearing but weak.  Its flourishes are strong: puppets, bluegrass, and robots.  The result gives the audience a series of intriguing set pieces but nothing that really coalesces into a grand story.

Jason Slavick packs a lot into the show, the separate parts fluid and vibrant.  The lead-up to the play itself includes burlesque and music, giving the centerpiece, Minnie Minoseczeck’s Menagerie of Marvels, a vaudevillean glamour.  The trimmings for the circus are convincing, complete with posters promising a minotaur and a flying woman, Penny (Corianna Moffatt). Continue reading →

May 16

Liars & Believers to Put on “Icarus”

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Presented by Liars & Believers
Directed by Faye Dupras

May 17 & 18, 2013 (Grab tickets while you can!)
Cambridge YMCA Theater in Central Square
Cambridge, MA
Liars & Believers Facebook Group

by Gillian Daniels

(Cambridge) This weekend, local Boston-area theater group Liars & Believers will be putting on its new show, Icarus.  It will be at the Cambridge YMCA Theater in Central Square this weekend only on May 17th and 18th.

Described as a show about poverty and transcendence, this American-bred tale uses the Great Depression as a backdrop as we follow Minnie Minoseczeck’s Menagerie of Marvels.  The play is written and directed by Jason Slavick with original music and lyrics by Nathan Leigh. Included in the production is puppetry, designed and directed by Faye Dupras.

The myth of Icarus is well known in the Western literary canon, a fable to illustrate the crippling nature of success.  A boy, given wings made from feathers and wax, is given the ability to fly.  Once airborne, Icarus flies so close to the sun, the wax that holds his wings together melts.  He plummets into the sea, a metaphor for the deadly foolishness of egotism and youth.

Liars & Believers is a mainly experimental troupe, one that prides itself on integrating different artistic pursuits into unique, chimera-like productions.  Their shows often include dance, song, aerial gymnastics, spoken text, and numerous interdisciplinary forms. Previous efforts this year include Lunar Labyrinth, a show loosely based on a short story by Neil Gaiman. Lunar Labyrinth combined and rejoiced in different storytelling methods, knotting its plot and themes into dreamy contortions.  Icarus promises to be a show in a similar mold.