Review: Mary Walsh’s Dancing With Rage (Mirvish)

Mary Walsh's Dancing With Rage

Off Mirvish closes its season with Dancing With Rage, at Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre

Marg Delahunty finds out she’s going blind and embarks on a quest to find the love child she gave up for adoption in 1967.  She wants to see her baby’s face. And that’s what Mary Walsh’s solo show Dancing With Rage is about. It opened tonight at the Panasonic Theatre, the third and final show in the inaugural season of Off Mirvish productions.

Even if you don’t know Codco or 22 Minutes you probably know Walsh’s character Marg Delahunty as the ‘reporter’ who approached Mayor Rob Ford who was so scared that he called 911. Even Mr Ford now knows who Marg Delahunty is.

The story of her quest weaves through the 90 minute show and is peopled with other Walsh characters; Miss Eulalie, Connie Bloor, Dakey Dunn, Marg Warrior Princess and The Little Girl Who Grew Up Next Door to Her Family are all part of the story. That’s a lot of costume changes and most of them happen on stage.  When the story involves others they appear on a large video screen, a terrific device.

The show covers pretty much everything, life, death, love, aging, feminism, anger, a search for happiness, alcoholism and politics and is screamingly funny, irreverent and poignant at the same.  It’s the kind of show where you can’t help laughing at something that you feel a bit guilty about finding funny. I loved it.

It’s the little things that define creativity and Ms. Walsh’s use of hockey tape proves that she’s definitely a creative guru.

After the show Ms. Walsh was presented with ACTRA’s Woman of the Year Award. It seemed a bit ironic after her rant about International Women’s Day but was certainly well-deserved.

Details:

Dancing With Rage is playing at the Panasonic Theatre (651 Yonge Street) until March 24th, 2013
– Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2 pm, Wed March 13th at 2 pm – no evening performance that day
– Ticket prices range from $25.00 to $79.00. Subject to availability there are $20.00 rush seats available at the box office on the day of the performance
– Tickets are available at the box office and online

Photo of Mary Walsh