Author Archive
Mary’s Wedding (Brantbury Fair) 2011 Fringe Review
By Mira Saraf
Mary’s Wedding is more somber and an actual narrative than most of the other Fringe shows I’ve seen this year. Presented by Brantbury Fair, the World War I love story of Mary and Charlie was in equal parts charming, moving, and sad.
It is the night before Mary’s wedding and the entire sequence is a dream. It’s not just any dream, it’s a recurring dream that Mary has had since losing the love of her life to the Great War.
Memories and fantasy blend together, as Mary’s subconscious combines the actual experiences they shared with secondhand accounts of letters he wrote her. Some experiences in her dream are completely made up. Peter, for his part, sees Mary everywhere and in everything he sees and does.
She Said What Happened (She Said What) 2011 Fringe Review
By Mira Saraf
She Said What Happened is the perfect pick me up for a bad day. In fact now that I think about it, I can’t say enough about how much I loved this show. You walk into a theatre with a large stage with three clothes racks on stage. The racks feature a variety of colourful outfits and props.
The girls make an entrance amidst flashing lights, and some impressive dance moves, followed by an introduction that had the audience in stitches by the time they were through. Featuring dancing, a crazy assortment of costumes, and three extremely talented women, She Said What Happened is akin to watching an episode of Saturday Night Live.
The Society of Skeptics (Smash Co Production) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
By Mira Saraf
To be completely honest, when I walked through the doors at the Factory Theatre Mainspace, I wasn’t sure whether The Society of Skeptics, was a narrative or some sort of demonstration.
Show descriptions warned of audience participation and the description mentioned something about a reward to anyone who could demonstrate a supernatural claim. Was the audience supposed to bring claims of supernatural activity? Or was it a show about an organization called the Society of Skeptics?
Mullet’s Make-A-Play (Jean-Paul Mullét) 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
By Mira Saraf
So you don’t really say no to the opportunity to watch a zombie clown show. Nonetheless, as I had long associated clowns with the likes of Stephen King monsters, and zombies with tasteless 80’s B-Horror, I was still unsure of what to expect when I arrived at the show.
Mullet, the star of Mullet’s Make-A-Play, performed at Theatre Passe Muraille, was (quite fortunately) unlike either extreme.
Clad in somber coloured clown attire, with a shock of surprisingly grey hair, some sort of green substance climbing down his white painted face, and a black nose (that fell off at one point during the show), Mullet clearly isn’t your typical clown.
ELLAmentary: 2011 Toronto Fringe Review
By Mira Saraf
Although ELLAmentary is not drastically different from other awkward puberty coming of age stories, I found it funny, sweet and among the more lovably quirky tales.
Written and performed by Christine Aziz, this one-woman show is performed at the Annex Theatre, by a highly energetic, oddly mature “Ella Salmon” (nicknamed “Salmon-Ella” and other bacterial forms by meaner kids at school).
Review: Lawyer Show 2011: As You Like It (Nightwood Theatre)
By Mira Saraf
When one first hears the idea of a group of lawyers playing Shakespeare, “fun” and “lighthearted” are not necessarily the images that jump to mind first. However, Nightwood Theatre’s annual Lawyer Show: As You Like It is a pleasant surprise.
Review: …la ronde…(Red Light District)
By Mira Saraf
By Mira Saraf
I must admit when I first found out that Red Light District‘s …la ronde… was playing at Wicked Club, I was apprehensive about going. I’ve never been to a hedonist club before, and the entertainment they offer isn’t quite my thing. I wasn’t sure what to expect.
Review: Forests (Tarragon Theatre)
By Mira Saraf
By Mira Saraf
The feeling I had walking out of Tarragon Theatre’s Forests, was akin to that immense feeling of pleasure you have in putting down a good mystery novel or watching an intense thriller.
I arrived there armed only with the knowledge that the play had something to do with a petulant sixteen year-old child who needs to discover the secret behind her mother’s strange illness. My show partner, Barry, knew even less.
Review: Divisadero (Necessary Angel)
By Mira Saraf
By Mira Saraf
Although I cursed volunteering to trek all the way over to Theatre Passe Muraille on night where I’d have to rely on the Queen Streetcar to avoid the icy wind from numbing my flesh, it was worth it to see Ondaatje’s Divisadero transformed for stage.
As a writer that had not only read Divisadero, but reviewed actor/alt country singer Justin Rutledge’s new album inspired by the book (featuring a song co-written by Ondaatje), I have to admit I was curious as to how they were going to transform the story to stage.
Seriously! Dramatically Improvised Stories – A New Direction for Toronto Improv
By Mira Saraf
By Mira Saraf
In my brain, improv, has always been linked to humour. The things I would expect would include, for instance, if, in Planes, Trains & Automobiles, instead of selling shower curtain rings, John Candy was, for instance, a condom salesman, or if Dr. Who journeyed to a planet full of fraggle rocks, These scenarios are all gold mines for hilarity and jokes, and it never occurred to me that it could exist otherwise. Read the rest of this entry »