Tag: Tyranny of Bliss

FADO is proud to present Tyranny of Bliss by Tanya Mars. This major new performance by one of Canada’s most renowned performance artists occupies 14 different sites of continuous activity over 7-hours across the city of Toronto, starting at from Queen’s Park Queen’s Park legislative building, and stretching along University Avenue to Queen Street West.

Inspired by a variety of sources ranging from the 14th Century frescoes of Ambrogio Lorenzetti on the Effects of Good and Bad Government to Fellini’s Satyricon, Tanya Mars constructs a modern day social satire with a cast of 30 performers. Tyranny of Bliss looks at the current human condition from both utopian and dystopian perspectives. The piece offers a richly layered, series of spectacular and incongruous images juxtaposed against the outdoor urban landscape.

Loosely based on the pageant structure of the medieval Miracle/Mystery plays, Tyranny of Bliss is a 7-hour performance that uses limousines in lieu of wagons. Beginning from the Queen’s Park legislature, two limousines – one white and one black – will usher small groups of audience members past 14 “tableaux” locations featuring images based on the 7 heavenly virtues and the 7 deadly sins. The scenes will also be accessible to passersby, allowing audiences to create their own narrative by walking from site to site. At each location a different scene will unfold continuously throughout the day, using the languages of dance, theatre, sculpture, visual art and literature.

Tyranny of Bliss promises a thrilling and provocative meditation on city life, providing a unique experience of Toronto not to be missed.

Performance Locations

GREED, LOVE, WISDOM: Queen’s Park grounds, north of the Legislature

COURAGE: travelling south on University Avenue, from Queen’s Park to Queen Street West

HOPE, SLOTH, ENVY: Queen’s Park Legislative grounds

LUST: University Avenue & Gerrard Street

GLUTTONY: University Avenue & Dundas Street West

TOLERANCE University Avenue & Armoury Street

WRATH: University Avenue & Queen Street West

JUSTICE: travelling north along University Avenue, from Queen Street West to Queen’s Park

TRUTH: City Hall Speaker’s Corner, 100 Queen Street West

PRIDE: Pages Books & Magazines, 256 Queen Street West

Since 2000, FADO has been celebrating Canada’s senior performance artists with this multi-faceted series. Featured artists are asked to create a major new work, which is followed by a (text and video) publication documenting the artist’s history in performance. The series curator and publication editor is Paul Couillard.

Canadian Performance Art Legends has honoured:

Margaret Dragu
Cleaning and Loving It (performance, 2000)
La Dragu: The Living Art of Margaret Dragu (publication, 2002)

Tanya Mars
Tyranny of Bliss (performance, 2004)
From Ironic to Iconic: The Performance Work of Tanya Mars (publication, 2009)

Alain-Martin Richard
The Route to Rosa (performance, 2006)
Alain-Martin Richard: Performances, Manoeuvres and Other Hypotheses for Disappearing (publication, 2014)