Calendar view, upcoming events
June 5th, 2019
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Selected Posts
The ‘News’ Category
June 5th, 2019
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CLICK HERE to view Events for the next two weeks – in date order.
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private event, Wed April 24
March 16th, 2019
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December 2018, January 2019, in London, England
December 18th, 2018
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Artword Artbar closed to Feb 6, 2019
December 10th, 2018
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Steel City Jazz Festival 2018, Heather Bambrick Quartet, Wed Oct 24
September 20th, 2018
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Steel City Jazz Festival, 2018. Wednesday October 24, 8:00 pm. Smordin Law Artist-in-Residence Series – Heather Bambrick Quartet. Join vocalist Heather Bambrick (JUNO / ECMA Nominee) and her all-star quartet (Adrean Farrugia, Ross MacIntyre, and Colleen Allen) for this show that will be musical, funny, and highly entertaining. https://www.heatherbambrick.ca/
Artword Artbar, $15/$10 for students.
https://steelcityjazzfest.com/
Water Bear: songwriters Tom Dusome & Alex T. Wed Oct 10
August 16th, 2018
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Wednesday October 10, 2018, 8 pm, $10/pwyc. Our friends Water Bear (songwriters Tom Dusome & Alex T.) are back. “We write songs about resistance, resilience, and home.”
https://waterbear.bandcamp.com
Plus a guest set by The Do-Gooders: Dan Murray guitar/vocals,
Stu Gritter guitar/vocals, and Geoff Ball guitar/vocals.
closed for August, back Sept 12
August 1st, 2018
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closed July 12 for Fringe rehearsals
June 27th, 2018
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closed Wed&Thur, May 9&10, for private function
April 10th, 2018
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closed Easter weekend Mar 28 to April 1
March 1st, 2018
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Hamilton Fringe AGM, Tues Mar 27 at 7 pm
February 27th, 2018
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Tuesday March 27, 2018, 7 to 10 pm. The Annual General Meeting of the Hamilton Fringe Festival.
closed Wed Mar 14 and Wed Mar 21 for private events
February 20th, 2018
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closed Dec 17/2017 to Feb 2/2018
December 14th, 2017
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‘Langston Hughes vs. Joe McCarthy’ should be touring the country: review by Doreen Nicoll
July 20th, 2017
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Review by Doreen Nicoll on rabble.ca
‘Langston Hughes vs. Joe McCarthy’ should be touring the country
Doreen Nicoll, July 30, 2017
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/change-gonna-come/2017/07/langston-hughes-vs-joe-mccarthy-should-be-touring-country
There’s no doubt about it, history is cyclical. Those well versed in history see the proverbial writing on the wall. Unfortunately, those who choose to remain ignorant, or perhaps worse, those who believe they are untouchable, can set the world on a path that is well worn, all too familiar, and often dangerous.
July 29th, the curtain went down for the final time on the Hamilton Fringe production Langston Hughes vs. Joe McCarthy: Is Poetry Subversive? Set at the height of McCarthyism when, as director Ronald Weihs writes in his director’s statement, “There was a massive effort underway in the United State to communicate a crude vision of ‘The American Way,’ and to brand ideas ‘Un-American.’ People were taught to be frightened of their own thoughts, to repress them or keep them hidden.”
During the 1920’s and 30’s, Harlem became a beacon of hope for freedom of expression to African American scholars and artists. This newfound voice was demanding civil liberties and political rights. Hughes was an integral part of the Harlem Renaissance which gave birth to jazz poetry. It was this poetry that would make Hughes a person of interest.
On March 24, 1953 James Mercer Langston Hughes, African American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist was called before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. And so the play begins.
Republican Senator Everett Dirksen and attorney Roy Cohn originally interrogated Hughes, but Weihs successfully embodies the men in one domineering character. The interrogator, clearly Hughes’s intellectual inferior, tries unsuccessfully to get Hughes to admit his poems contain subversive political messages. Read more…
“A fine play, well staged, with a powerful message” review by Brian Morton, Langston Hughes vs Joe McCarthy
July 19th, 2017
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REVIEW: ‘LANGSTON HUGHES VS. JOE MCCARTHY’
at the 2017 Hamilton Fringe Festival
Ron Weihs’ play, ‘Langston Hughes vs Joe McCarthy,’ now gets a full production as part of the 2017 Hamilton Fringe Festival. This two man play digs deeply into a very dark period of American History that remains shameful to us today, although with the polarization and division in the United States in the era of Donald Trump, its relevancy is clear.
The script itself is based upon actual testimony given when Harlem poet Langston Hughes was called to testify before Congress during the Communist ‘witch hunts’ of the early 1950s. Read more…
“A real gem” Review by Lyla Miklos: Langston Hughes vs Joe McCarthy
July 19th, 2017
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“…a truly enchanting hour showcasing some of Hughes’ moving, political, and still frighteningly relevant poetry.”
2017 HAMILTON FRINGE FESTIVAL MINI REVIEW FROM CENTRE STAGE WITH LYLA MIKLOS ON 101.5 FM THE HAWK
This Fringe show was a real gem and a pleasant surprise. Writer/Director Ronald Weihs takes us back to 1953 when Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes was summoned by infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy to speak to the Senate Committee on Investigations. Combining projected pictures from the era, jazz music, movement and two amazing actors Weihs transports his audience into both a frightening and inspiring time and place. A time and place that reminds us of the fragility of our democracies as we still so easily allow ideological demagogues to take away our collective powers.
What makes this production really sing is when Learie Mc Nicolls brings to life the words of Langston Hughes. More than once the audience would burst into spontaneous applause at the end of one his powerful recitations. Not only did his voice bounce off the walls, but his feet and body were bouncing and moving all over the stage. Mc Nicolls was utterly captivating to experience and witness in this fully realized performance. The counter point to his poignant energy was the brittle intensity that Howard Jerome brought to his role as the nefarious McCarthy. Read more…
“Acting powerhouse” Review by Lori Littleton, Langston Hughes vs Joe McCarthy
July 19th, 2017
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“top-notch actors and a unique, artful structure”
Jul 24, 2017, by Lori Littleton, Hamilton Spectator
Langston Hughes vs Joe McCarthy
Artword Artbar, 15 Colbourne St. — July 25-27 at 9 p.m., and July 28-29 at 8:30 p.m.
Writer/ director Ronald Weihs has assembled an acting powerhouse for this 60-minute drama. Dora Award-winner Learie McNicolls is Langston Hughes, renowned poet of the Harlem Renaissance, and Howard Jerome is Joe McCarthy, a U.S. Senator known for his pursuit of anyone affiliated with Communism in the 1950s. The play is based on actual transcripts of Hughes’ testimony before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations in March 1953. But this isn’t a courtroom drama and there’s no thundering climax. Instead, the play features McCarthy asking Hughes questions about his poetry. Seated, Hughes answers but then rises to narrate a poem. A skilled dancer, McNicolls artfully adds to his delivery of these poems, which punctuate issues such as workers’ rights, racism, inequality and religion. Weihs also tackles more philosophical topics such as whether a writer’s views be separated from his work. Read more…
Artword closed Dec 12-Jan 26, back Jan 27, 2017
December 5th, 2016
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Artword Artbar is taking a break.
Last day of programming in 2016 is Sunday December 11, for our final matinee of our hit play Scroogissimo.
First day of programming in 2017 is Friday January 27, for a big fundraiser for the Andre Bisson Band who take off on a tour to Memphis. Showtime is 8 pm.
Calendar: What’s On at Artword
Find Us in downtown Hamilton
Artword Artbar, 15 Colbourne St, off James St North, one block south of Barton. Click to enlarge.
ArtwordBlog
- Playing Real Good for Free January 26, 2019 Ron
- RSC: Kathryn Hunter’s Timon of Athens January 9, 2019 Ron
- RSC: Tartuffe in Birmingham January 8, 2019 Ron
- Richard II at the Almeida: the real Beale January 5, 2019 Ron
- Tate Modern Photo-ops August 19, 2018 Ron
- Gallery 46: Photos of homeless in 1970s London August 12, 2018 Ron
- National Theatre: Consent August 10, 2018 Ron
Best 35 Jazz Venues in Canada
Wed May 17, 2017. We just received notification of this honour! Artword Artbar selected as one of the 35 best jazz venues in Canada.