Don't you just love that?

You know... when you have certain expectations about something and it turns out to be so much better than you imagined? And that's what I loved about Francis the Holy Jester... the imagination. Mario Pirovano was on stage, alone, for almost two hours. There were no props or costumes. No masks, music or sound effects. Just one man and his talent for storytelling. That was the great thing though - you didn't need any of that. You could see the people and places he was talking about. Mario brought four stories of Francis of Assisi to life with so much energy and passion that we felt a part of the story too.

Our audience, as usual, was made up of primarily students and for the first show of the year, we had an excellent turn out. I admit, I was a little worried that the show might be a bit 'high brow' but everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy Mario's animated performance and I happily confess my error of judgement. There is something quite relaxing and, at the same time, engaging about Mario's wonderful Italian accent and I found myself quite riveted by the stories he told. If only every lesson could be taught this way!

Mario seemed to be on a high after the show and treated us to a book signing. He complimented our students on their ability to respect a totally different kind of performance from what they are used to, so extra kudos to all of you who made it. Let us know what you thought of the show and more importantly, let Mario.