OTL Blog

If you thought that the City of Montreal postponing the vote on its controversial anti-mask bylaw would silence the amendment’s opponents, you’d only have to look to the streets Monday night to know how wrong you were. Protesters clad in masks met at Berri Square and after a speech took to the streets, literally. This […]

Now that the plan to re-enact the Plains of Abraham colonial war has been canned, a debate is brewing about what should replace the event that was designed to mark the 250 year anniversary. While the National Battlefield Commission is blaming “separatist threats of violence” for the cancellation, it is becoming increasingly clear that there was very little appetite in […]

As plans were underway late Friday afternoon for a last-ditch theatrical protest to stop the City of Montreal’s proposed anti-mask law from passing, word broke that the city was backpedaling on the proposed legislation and would not be voting on it at tonight’s council meeting as planned. While this news sounded at first like a […]

Tony Nardi is not someone who likes to keep silent.  He’s also someone who likes to keep the discussion going and continues to incorporate new voices into the dialogue he started and performs as Two Letters…and counting.  Tonight, Sunday and Tuesday, he’ll be reading his letters live again at UQAM and filming what happens. In […]

With the proposed reenactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham now cancelled (more will follow in a few days), phase 2 of the protest against the City of Montreal’s proposed anti-mask law still being planned (a petition will be online very soon and the theatrical jam happens this coming Monday) and the controversy […]

In Armenia a very old rite called “The Red Apple” marks the woman’s loss of virginity following the night of her wedding. It can be argued that this symbolizes much more than simply a “loss of virginity”, indeed, the symbolism of the celebration is very violent. Armenians celebrate weddings by chanting and dancing outside and […]

We’ve been talking quite a bit about the controversy surrounding the proposed re-enactment of the battle of the Plains of Abraham in this space, but since our last post on the subject a couple of days ago, others have been speaking about it as well. From federal Heritage Minister Josee Verner’s profound disgust at people […]

A battle is heating up in Quebec City regarding the Plains of Abraham, but it isn’t exactly the sort of fight that the National Battlefields Commission was hoping for. As reported earlier 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the infamous Plains of Abraham battle at Quebec City that signified the defeat of “New France” to British imperialists, and […]

Since we reported on reaction to arts funding in the Harper government’s most recent budget last week, a new controversy has sparked up.  It’s not over lack of funding for a particular area of the arts, but rather due to $25 million being spent on the Canada Prize for the Arts. The problem?  After canceling […]

In an attempt to save the final remaining uncommodified public spaces in New York City from corporations, theatre activist Bill Talen, aka Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping, is running for mayor. “This may be a canvass upon which to dramatize the kinds of things we’ve talked to you about today,” Talen said […]