32-Hour Perspectives presents A PERFECT PICTURE, 9-18 June 2016

Author: Christina - Published 2016-06-07 14:39 - (3477 Reads)

32-Hour Perspectives presents

A PERFECT PICTURE

A world premiere at the 2016 Montreal Saint-Ambroise Fringe Festival
9-18 June 2016
Written and performed by Laurent McCuaig-Pitre
Directed by Len Richman

http://www.montrealfringe.ca Phone 514-849-3378

Every once in a while, one comes across a story that becomes of great importance to the self and the collective. Every once in a while, one discovers an actor that has the innate ability to manifest that story. I found that story, its writer and the actor all in one package. A privilege, indeed. Collaboration is a meeting of hearts and minds. The partnership of script, actor and director is here in “A Perfect Picture” that tells the tragic story of a South African war photographer Kevin Carter, who in 1994, won the Pulitzer Prize for an iconic photo of the famine in Sudan. A photo of a vulture preying upon an emaciated toddler near the village of Ayod...

Based on the true story of his life, in A Perfect Picture, Kevin Carter confronts God, his inner Vulture and himself as he is shattered by the loss of his best-friend Ken and his last reasons to live. All stories deserve to be told, but some can be too difficult to hold. We examine the impact that image would have on the world through the impact that image had on that photojournalist’s life. The photograph was sold to The New York Times where it appeared for the first time on March 26, 1993 as ‘metaphor for Africa’s despair’. Practically overnight hundreds of people contacted the newspaper to ask whether the child had survived.

Documentary http://putlocker.is/watch-the-death-of-kevin-carter-casualty-of-the-bang-bang-club-online-free-putlocker.html

You are invited to share this unique production with us. Regards, Len Richman, Director

Preview Press Releases

A Perfect Picture

A young man comes on stage and shrieks. He is a vulture. He asks if we’re hungry. He has pizza boxes passed around, but they’re too light to contain pizza – it’s another cute Fringe gag, I figure. Ten to one they’ll contain a pack of condoms and a silly hat. He lets the tension build, his eyes twinkling playfully in the spotlight. He’s so engaging – we want him to entertain us. Open the boxes, he says, and we do. The room, for a moment goes completely silent – a rarity at the Fringe for All. The box contains a picture of a starving African child with a vulture watching over him. Who’s the vulture now, asks our entertainer. He basks for a moment in our silent confusion, then, amid nervous laughter and horrified gasps, he walks offstage. A Perfect Picture is a play about Kevin Carter, the Pulitzer-winning photographer who took the dreadful picture of the vulture and the child. From Montreal Rampage after Fringe-For-All 2016. Fringe for All 2016. Photo Rachel Levine.

A Perfect Picture

A Perfect Picture was the ultimate in tease. It’s around 7:30 p.m. at the Fringe For All, and I’m hungry because I haven’t had dinner and that was a mistake. Laurent McCuaig-Pitre gets on stage wearing a hooded cape and flaps his arms. “I’m a vulture,” he says. Then he tells us that pizza delivery is coming. Delivery people walk through Cafe Campus, dropping boxes on the tables, and we’re told not to open them. Seriously, I am ready to dig in. I don’t care what this show is about, he won me over. Just say when. And then… we’re told to open up. Oh, screw that. It’s a few photocopies of a photograph of a starving African child and a vulture inside. This little ruse infuriated me, but it also got my attention. If the show matches the ingenuity of this stunt, you’ll be glad to see it. Fringe For All 2016. Photo Rachel Levine

A Perfect Picture

A Perfect Picture was one of the more unforgettable moments of the evening, as a “vulture” whipped up much audience hilarity before delivering a shockingly dark punchline. Whether or not the play itself, based on a famously devastating Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph, will live up to it, this was a fantastically effective use of the two-minute window. Jim Burke, The Gazette after Fringe-For-All 2016

CRITICS' REVIEWS

A Perfect Picture is an abstract retelling of photojournalist, Kevin Carter, who was a member of the Bang Bang Club (a group of four young men who with their cameras, documented the final blood-soaked days of Apartheid). Well written and performed; Laurent McCuaig-Pitre is definitely a rising star. His chameleon-like transformations between the different characters and stages Kevin's life, and his engaging storytelling techniques indicates that super stardom is within his grasp – a true natural talent. Sylvain Richard

A Perfect Picture est un récit abstrait de photojournaliste, Kevin Carter, qui était un membre du Bang Bang Club (un groupe de quatre jeunes hommes qui, avec leurs caméras, ont documentées les derniers jours imbibés de sang de l'apartheid). Bien écrit et interprété; Laurent McCuaig-Pitre est certainement une étoile montante. Ses transformations chameleonic entre les différentes caractères et étapes de la vie de Kevin, et ses techniques de narration engagent indique que la célébrité super est à sa portée – un vrai talent nature!

Fringe Festival reviews. By CULTURE TEAM. Cultmontreal.com

Montreal’s Laurent McCuaig-Pitre is a name you’ll no doubt be hearing often as the young Dawson and Concordia grad is making waves in both English and French these days, winning the Kit Brennan Playwriting Award from Concordia for A Perfect Picture, his ambitious contribution to this year’s Fringe. In this solo performance, McCuaig-Pitre portrays Kevin Carter, a young war photographer who went on to win a Pulitzer Prize for his photo of a vulture waiting beside a severely emaciated young girl in famine-stricken Sudan in 1993. McCuaig-Pitre makes the vulture a character in the play, a creepy voice that vocalizes the darkness haunting the protagonist, who would commit suicide just a few months after winning the Pulitzer.

The storytelling gets under your skin and the acting is picture perfect as McCuaig-Pitre immerses the audience in the murky morality that surrounds Carter and his fellow members of the so-called Bang Bang Club of war photographers (one of whom was Carter’s best friend Ken Oosterbroek, shot to death by South African peacekeepers the same month Carter won his prize). The play touches on important debates about the role of photojournalism in times of war and tragedy and about the emotions it evokes. A Perfect Picture offers a sharp portrait that will stay with you long after the house lights have gone up. Peter Wheeland

FRINGE A-Z, Theatre (English)

A Perfect Picture blew me away! What a difficult life the photojournalist leads, capturing for us that unique moment that tells it all. Kevin Carter is played by Laurent McCuaig-Pitre in an amazing must-see performance. From the laughter generated by a boy telling what he wants to be when he grows up, to the fear sparked by the vulture, and the tears that reveal the photographer’s anguish, the play plunges the audience into the meaning of life. Kate McQueen

The whole audience was mesmerized by Laurent’s performance. You could hear a pin drop. Very impressive writing and Laurent’s acting was perfection. Kathy McDevitt

Venue

At the MAI (Montreal Arts Interculturels)
3680 Rue Jeanne-Mance, Montréal

Directions by transit:

Take the green line at Lionel Groulx direction Honoré Beaugrand. Get off at Place des Arts and take the 80 bus Parc Avenue. Get off at Avenue des Pins and Parc, turn right and walk to Jeanne-Mance. Turn right on Jeanne-Mance. It’s right there, heritage grey stone building.

Tickets

$12 Regular
$10 Seniors, Students, QDF

Order online

http://www.montrealfringe.ca
Phone 514-849-3378
Or at the door

Schedule

Thursday June 9th - 8:00 PM
Saturday, June 11th - 12:00 PM
Monday, June 13th - 6:00 PM
Tuesday, June 14th - 11: 30 PM
Friday, June 17th - 9:45 PM
Saturday, June 18th - 4:30 PM

Follow us on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/32htc
Twitter: @32HourTheatreCo
Instagram: @32htc

Article actions