All posts by Isabella O'Brien

At the End of the Day (Brenda Kamino and Bustle & Beast Theatre) 2021 Fringe Festival

Historical photo of Hina Yoshida and child, inspiration for At the End of the Day.

At the End of the Day is an affecting telling of one Japanese Canadian woman’s lifelong experiences of relocation. Co-produced by Brenda Kamino and Bustle & Beast Theatre, this show is based on the story of Kamino’s maternal grandmother Hina Yoshida. Hina was born in Hiroshima, Japan in 1898 and died a century later in Beamsville, Ontario. Her story is one of movement, survival and ultimately, resilience.

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As You Lay Sleeping (Diapause Collective) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review

Photo of Amelia Izmanki in As You Lay Sleeping

As You Lay Sleeping is a mesmerizing original musical about a woman unravelling the pain of a broken relationship and finding her way through to the other side. Playing as part of Fringe Primetime at the 2021 Digital Toronto Fringe Festival, this is a live feature-length digital experience that includes a pre-recorded middle act. Produced by Diapause Collective, this show is spellbinding and affecting, and a reminder of the magic of even partially live theatre.

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In Transit (Von Hunt Productions) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review

Picture of Sydney Keir, Sebastian Hirtenstein and Alayna Kellettin in In Transit

In Transit is a lyrical and affecting contemporary dance performance playing as part of the 2021 Digital Toronto Fringe Festival. Produced by Von Hunt Productions, a dance performance company created by choreographer Alayna Kellett, In Transit uses movement and a vivid soundscape to explore the transitional spaces we occupy in the aftermath of trauma. Continue reading In Transit (Von Hunt Productions) 2021 Toronto Fringe Review

Review: Lady Sunrise (Factory Theatre)

Picture of Zoé Doyle, Rosie Simon, Ma-Anne Dionisio, Louisa Zhu, Belinda Corpuz and Lindsay Wu in Lady Sunrise

Beautiful and tragic modern adaptation covers an abundance but stays focused and cohesive

Marjorie Chan’s Lady Sunrise, playing at Factory Theatre, is a phenomenal deep dive into the lives of six Asian women set in the early 2000s in Vancouver and Richmond, British Columbia. It follows their personal heartbreaks and professional pains and explores the struggles of trying to survive within the confines of a suffocating culture.

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Review: This World Made Itself & Infinitely Yours (Progress Festival / Broadleaf Theatre)

Picture of Miwa Matreyek in This World Made Itself & Infinitely Yours
This World Made Itself & Infinitely Yours is playing as part of Progress Festival, co-presented by SummerWorks Performance Festival and The Theatre Centre.

This is a double bill, with This World Made Itself (2013) performed first, followed by Infinitely Yours (2020), with no intermission.

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