APRIL 20 2007

A MESSAGE FROM RON

Tony Nardi (no relation to my wife Daniela) is a Canadian actor. A great actor. His Two Letters, which Tony wrote, is a stunning work of art. It is a brilliant piece of theatre; a tour de force of acting; and a bull's-eye's bull's-eye on the arts in Canada.

On Monday April 23, Tony is presenting the first of Two Letters in Toronto. On Tuesday April 24, he is presenting the second. Both performances are in The Upper Library at Massey College on the University of Toronto downtown campus. Showtime is 7 p.m. Admission: free.

If you love theatre; if you care about the arts; if you love great acting; if you've been needing entertainment that satisfies the mind as well as the emotions: do not miss this show. Details: www.twoletters.ca

To close this special edition of my newsletter, let me share with you the words of John Fraser, the celebrated author and Master of Massey College:

"A couple of months ago I went to the most unusual theatre event I have
attended ­ ever. It featured no sets, no costumes and an actor reading
from his laptop, for two hours (with one short break), two nights in a
row. Madness, I hear you say! That was certainly what I thought,
especially in my heritage capacity as a former theatre critic at the
Globe and Mail. But I went because I have a daughter deeply involved in
theatre who thought it was important and because I wanted to see how bad
 a bad idea could be.

"Big surprise! It turned out to be the theatre event of my lifetime.
Totally gripping, touching, a little terrifying, alternately depressing
and exhilarating. My daughter was also right. You had the definitive
impression, as the whole event unfolded, of being in on something
important: an underground rumble surfacing with angry might.

"A very fine, award-winning Toronto actor named Tony Nardi  got very, very
angry in the fall of 2005. What had set him off was a banal television
script that went beyond satirical stereotyping into a territory defined as
deeply dumb but not less deeply offensive. This was coupled with two
offensive theatre reviews of a production of a commedia dell-arte play
by Carlo Goldoni entitled The Amorous Servant.

"Nardi, according to Michael Posner of The Globe, then proceeded to create
an indictment of Canada's performing arts, or at least those aspects of
it he knows best. At the heart of his broad critique is the claim that
Canada¹s English-language theatre is largely irrelevant ­ populated by
mediocre directors and a talented but cowed pool of actors who have become
compliant pawns, afraid to challenge the system for fear of losing work.

"I have invited Tony Nardi to take shelter for two nights in Massey
College. Anyone who wants to come and witness this extraordinary effort is
free to do so, to walk out ,or stay and be-- like me --enthralled. The
evening is part rant, part acting tour-de-force, part comedy,  part
tragedy, part life story. I will be there both nights and look forward to
welcoming anyone else who may want to come. No RSVP needed. This is an
event. Just turn up if you care to."

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