Jan. 5, 2004. 01:00 AM

London, New York stages love our talent

Lincoln Center stages King Lear

RICHARD OUZOUNIAN

Toronto theatergoers traveling abroad in the next little while are likely to see some familiar faces.

There's always a fair bit of Canadian talent represented on the stages of New York and London, but over the next few months, the figures are more than usually impressive.

London's West End opens its arms to welcome a pair of Toronto productions on two successive nights this month.

First up, on Jan. 20, the Barbican Centre will host the CanStage production of The Overcoat for a limited run of five performances as part of its 2004 BITE (Barbican International Theatre Events) series.

The winning combination of Gogol's original story and Shostakovich's music was brought to full theatrical life by the dream team of director Morris Panych and designer Ken MacDonald.

It has previously enjoyed two successful engagements in Toronto, most recently last April as part of World Stage, when I referred to it in my review as "part dance, part theatre, all brilliant."

It was also turned into a Gemini Award-winning television program for CBC.

CanStage intends to use the Barbican run as the jumping-off point for an extended European tour, if the British press response is sufficiently enthusiastic.

Another CanStage regular, Ronnie Burkett, will be bringing his latest show, Provenance, to the Barbican in April, after it concludes its Toronto run, which opens on Jan. 15.

The night after The Overcoat unbuttons itself, Canadian theatre fans will get a chance to Breath(e), as the unique performance piece by designer Steve Lucas begins the first of 10 shows at the Institute of Contemporary Art as part of the London International Mime Festival.

Lucas's piece, which consists of 30 minutes of ever-changing lighting patterns set to the rhythm of human breathing, was first seen in Toronto in a workshop production in 2000 and later revamped for a series of public presentations in 2002.

At that point, I praised the lighting, but wondered if it was enough for a whole work, saying "despite a high level of craft, you feel that you have just witnessed a piece of performance art from which the performance was missing."

It will be interesting to see how the London critics respond.

And at the Almeida Theatre, in March, Canadian Marla Rubin is producing the English-language stage premiere of Festen, based on the famed Danish Dogme film and play of the same title.

It runs from March 18 through April 24.

Down in New York, the major Canadian event gearing up is the remounting of the Stratford Festival's acclaimed 2002 production of King Lear starring Christopher Plummer (I referred to it as "a Lear of sinew and substance") at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' prestigious Vivian Beaumont Theatre.

Ever since The New York Times praised Plummer's Stratford Lear, a transfer to Manhattan was inevitable, but it took time to arrange it properly and several theatres and producers vied for the honour until Stratford and Plummer settled on the Lincoln Center.

Many of the original leading Canadian performers - including James Blendick, Barry MacGregor, Domini Blythe, Lucy Peacock and Benedict Campbell - will be recreating their roles under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Miller, who was in charge of the Stratford production.

Brent Carver, Geraint Wyn Davies and Claire Jullien will be joining the cast, making it quite a stellar undertaking. Previews begin on Feb. 11, the official opening night is March 4 and the limited engagement will close on April 18.

Off-Broadway, playwright Oren Safdie has been enjoying success with his acerbic satire Private Jokes, Public Places. Safdie's script deals with the world of architecture - something he can be expected to understand well since not only did he study the subject himself, but he's the son of famed architect, Moshe Safdie.

The New York Times hailed Safdie's script as "a bright comedy ... which generated uproarious audience approval." The cast includes Safdie's wife, M.J. Kang, also known to Toronto audiences as a playwright as well as an actress for works like Dreams Of Blonde and Blue.

The show is being performed, appropriately enough, at the Theatre at the Centre For Architecture with performances, for now, running until Jan. 18.

And, as usual, there are plenty of talented young Canadians singing and dancing their hearts out in an assortment of Broadway musicals.

Nicolas Dromard, a member of the original Toronto cast of Mamma Mia!, is currently in the cast of The Boy From Oz, alongside superstar Hugh Jackman.

Ericka Yang from Ottawa is one of "those dancing feet" in the long-running revival of 42nd Street.

Timothy J. Alex, best remembered for his work up here in Crazy For You, is currently helping to provide comedy in the new musical, Never Gonna Dance.

Torontonians Tamara Bernier and Keisha T. Fraser are still bopping to the ABBA beat in Mamma Mia!.

Cary Shields, who made his stage debut in the Toronto production of Rent, is currently part of the crazy world of Boy George's musical, Taboo.

Vance Avery, who made his mark here in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, ended a five-year stint yesterday when the hit revival of Cabaret at Studio 54 finally closed.

And Craig Ramsay, another veteran of the Toronto Mamma Mia! cast was recently seen in the new Sondheim musical Bounce, and is currently in rehearsals for the revival of Fiddler On The Roof, scheduled to open on Feb. 28.

So next time you find yourself in a foreign theatre and you're feeling a bit homesick, study the program closely. You'll probably find a fellow Canadian somewhere in the cast.

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