By Sharon Harris

“I’m going to Pakistan in November to share Q&A with young theatre artists during a festival celebrating Punjabi culture. I arrive on November 17. Look for more posts then.”
—Darren O’Donnell
Thus begins Darren’s account of his time spent presenting his interactive theatre work in rural Pakistan and in Mumbai, India. Video Show for the People of Pakistan and India is a collection of footage from his journey, and will be shown at The Centre for Culture and Leisure No. 1 this evening. Expect “surreal debates between himself and villagers; a dialectical materialist; a soldier or two” and Darren’s “own questions about his presence there and in the scheme of globalization.”
CCL1 is the brainchild of multi-talented artists/writers Brian Joseph Davis and Emily Schultz, who describe The Centre as “a rough hewn project and exhibition space located ten steps south of Queen West” (83 Elm Grove Avenue #102, just west of Dufferin). It is not an artists’ collective or rental gallery, but a place where artists and curators have been invited to take part in an experimental, year-long art romp. The physicality of the “fluid, public space for play” is ephemeral, but we can hope that its pink-camouflage website will be indefinitely maintained.
With assistance from Coach House Books, CCL1 has produced a free chapbook (based on Darren’s travel-blog) to accompany the video project. Check out both video and book tonight (Thursday, March at the show’s 8 o’clock opening; considering the combined talents of the involved artists, an interesting crowd is practically guaranteed. Video Show for the People of Pakistan and India closes March 28.