Time to get wild!

This year there will be seven shows (two more than in previous years) including the OFF THE MAIN winner (Centaur’s Best of the Montreal Fringe award) Tobias & Bartholomew’s DIE ROTEN PUNKTE, all the way from Australia.

Unlike the more established, less controversial plays presented at the Centaur, the Wildside Festival allows Montreal's venerable English Grande Dame of Theatre to let down her hair and well… get a little wild.

This year's line up includes <@Ri>The Invisible Life of Joseph Finch<$p>, a bittersweet and poetic remembrance from a holocaust survivor to his long-lost daughter that combines unspeakable memories, scraps of recipes and larger-than-life characters, deemed as "a remarkable accomplishment and a bravura solo performance" by one critic.

The Sputniks delves into the life of Soviet intelligentsia as they escape the Iron Curtain and realize that the rest of the world has a familiar face. CBC Television called it "flawless" and "superb", while Montreal's alternative weekly, The Hour, referred to it as a "thing of true beauty."

The Shape of a Girl is a local Geordie Production with a powerful story to tell about moral dilemmas, loosely based on the tragic beating death of Victoria teenager Reena Virk in 1997. The Calgary Straight called it "an intense little powerhouse of a play that goes straight to the heart and guts."

<@Ri>Sahara Crossing<$p> is a solo play written and performed by Montreal actor and playwright Paul Van Dyck, in which he describes his eventful travels through Morocco, across the Sahara Desert towards the Great Pyramids of Egypt.

Zeppelin Was a Cover Band is halfway between performance and documentary and examines the history of blues and folk music via the work of legendary rock band, Led Zeppelin. The HOUR called it "the Fringiest of Fringe shows."

Finally, The Ballad of the Young Offender, written and performed by Patrick Costello, sets out to write a love letter to rock 'n' roll and what the audience is treated to is an inventive collage of beat poetry, Greek tragedy and early rock 'n' roll mythology. The performance earned Costello a 2008 Mecca award for best actor.

The Wildside Festival runs from January 13-25. You can log on to www.centaurtheatre.com for the complete schedule. A five-show Superpass is $50 regular and $40 for students, under 30, seniors and subscribers. Single show tickets are $12.50 for regular, $10 for students, seniors, under 30 and subscribers.