Uncategorized
Baby on board
By Megan Mooney
So, I’m no longer pregnant. I am now a mum. It’s bloody cool.
It does mean that I’m still a bit slower than usual in the posting realm. I have a review that will be going up shortly, it’s for the East Side Players production of David Auburn’s Proof.
Here’s the really short version… I really liked it. There was some great chemistry between the leads, and the directing was nice and tight (and impressive for a director’s debut piece). Also, it’s a script that I’ve never encountered before, but really enjoyed. All in all, a very enjoyable evening out.
I’m doing the quickie version here just in case someone wants to make their way to a matinee on Sunday. Otherwise you can wait for my longer, and hopefully more enlightening version that I will get up as soon as possible.
By the way, the picture has nothing to do with Proof, it’s me and my partner and our wee one that my sister-in-law, Trina Koster, took of us in our exhausted stupor…
I haven't forgotten you, I promise…
By Megan Mooney
Clearly I have been woefully neglecting Mooney on Theatre of late.
Unfortunately, I can’t say that is likely to change.
I am basically going to be giving birth any day now, and have not been able to go to a show in quite some time, and quite frankly, can’t imagine that having a newborn is going to allow much time for such things either.
However, I do have my trusty band of writers who are going to start going to shows again, so there will in fact be content again. Rejoice!
And, on that note, if you know of someone who would like to write about theatre, send them my way. I’m interviewing new writers. Best bet is to send me an email at megan@mooneyontheatre.com. I will outline the details of what I expect, and I’ll ask for a writing sample, but they can wait until they figure out if they’d actually enjoy working with me before they figure out what writing to send.
So, hopefully in a couple months I’ll be able to see a few shows and get back into the theatre scene, but in the meantime I hope my writers will keep you entertained and informed.
And back to CanStage…
By Megan Mooney
As you may remember, there was some blog back-and-forthing about CanStage a while ago.
Well, looks like Richard Ouzounian is adding his voice to the chorus.
Ouzounian seems to think we’re not talking about it, which may be true in a bigger context, but it has been talked about, maybe he just means it’s not being talked about by the right people? In the article he says:
Yet what really makes this behemoth the elephant in the room is that everybody knows it’s there, taking up space and money, but no one wants to discuss its failure to live up to Toronto’s expectations.
For the history, and some of the recent discussion, in case you missed it the first time around:
J. Kelly asks the questions here first in August, then continues in this series of posts.
Then I wrote about it here.
Anyone else have any discussions they’d like to tell me about so I can add them to the pile?
Molière – Tarragon Theatre
By Dana Lacey
By Dana Lacey
If you want to fully enjoy Tarragon Theatre‘s production of Molière, be sure to bone up on Paris’ theatrical history first. I thought that a quick stroll through Molière’s Wikipedia page would be enough research to prepare me for a play about his life. I’ve even seen and reviewed and enjoyed Tartuffe, his most famous play.
Someone to Watch Over Me – review published on blogTO
By Megan Mooney
I have posted a review of Someone to Watch Over Me at blogTO. Head on over and take a gander.
A quick snippet:
Mark, it would seem, hates this kind of play. There is no plot to speak of, and you know it’s not going to end well, and, perhaps, not end at all. He said that it felt like he was sitting through yet another retelling of Waiting for Godot. If he’s going to watch a play about the human soul then he’d like to see it tell him something new, and he didn’t feel like this one did.
Here’s the thing, he’s right on all those points, but they don’t bother me at all. I’m just fine with those things if the production is good, and the introspective exploration is done in an interesting way. I don’t have a need for it to be new information.
I was just fine watching the characters banter, fight and play back and forth while chained to the wall. The set didn’t change through out the piece, and there were limited movement opportunities for the actors, given the (admittedly long) chains attaching them to the walls of their cell. This really is a play about the script. So I can completely understand not particularly enjoying the production if the script was the type of thing you weren’t enamoured with.
It’s only on for a couple more days, if you have time I recommend checking it out (but Mark does not. *grin*)
Reviewers and critics as practitioners…
By Megan Mooney
By Megan Mooney
J Kelly Nestruck has a piece up today about the question ”Should theatre critics moonlight in the theatre?”
It’s a curious question. I actually never really thought about it. I know that I recuse myself from reviewing a show if a friend is involved in it. I guess I kind of just assume that people govern themselves with these kind of things. But it’s a good question.
Nicholas Campell
By Megan Mooney
By Megan Mooney
So, Nicholas Campbell is someone I see on a regular basis, we live in the same neighbourhood. I’ve never spoken to the man. Not for any specific reason, I just never really had occasion to. But the write-up in today’s Globe and Mail intrigues me.
The first thing I learned is that I really do not follow nearly enough gossip as I should in order to be properly effective in this business. I had no idea that he was "the bad boy of Canadian drama"
Bashir Lazhar at Tarragon
By Alex Rayment
by Alex Rayment
Raoul Bhaneja as Bashir Lazhar
So I got to say – I love one man shows. It’s so blatantly obvious that this individual is going to talk to themselves for a hour and a half that there is no pretense otherwise which allows the audience to accept it quickly, move on and get wrapped up in the character. Bashir Lazhar by Tarragon Theatre is definately that kind of one man show.
After the first two minutes I had stopped caring about the props and lights and sound booth behind me and was completely involved in this tragic character in front of me. The half awkward, half pathetic, fully eager Mr. Lazhar (played by Raoul Bhaneja) has a strange way of making you respect him and feel sorry for him all in the same breath. He reminded me of Ol’ Gil Gunderson as an immigrant substitute teacher.
Teaser – Raisin in the Sun – Soulpepper
By Megan Mooney
Okay, so, apparently I have entered some rift in space and time and have lost a couple days. So, this review is overdue, and, not yet done. But I don’t want you to miss out, because Soulpepper’s Raisin in the Sun is a great show. Leading to the quick teaser:
One way to see theatre for free in Toronto…
By Megan Mooney
So, you may have noticed that whenever I write a review of a show there are two opinions, mine and that of another random person. The idea is to try and provide more than one perspective on the show.
Here’s the thing…