The Apology Project is a nomadic, multimedia installation that evolves and shape-shifts based on performance context and current events. The 2017 Toronto production was mounted by interdisciplinary creative arts company lbs/sq” (pounds per square inch). Continue reading Review: The Apology Project (lbs/sq”)
If you’ve ever wanted to see a puppet show in an actual Toronto garage, you’ll have your chance this week. With so much opening and continuing on stage this week, you may feel a bit overwhelmed. No fear (unless you’re seeing a scary show)! Our publisher Megan is here to choose her most anticipated shows (in red). Check them out below the cut:
Continue reading Playlistings in Toronto for the week of September 25th
Theatre Inamorata‘s Gray, a daring, original play written by Toronto native Kristofer Van Solen, is about the struggle of complacency and failure in this modern age of hustle.
The performance takes place in a secret backspace above a convenience store on College street. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect upon entrance, but to my surprise, I ended up with an expertly crafted production that made for an awesome, thought-provoking night of theatre.
Mirvish presents a stage version of the classic Hitchcock film North by Northwest in TorontoI’m a big fan of Alfred Hitchcock’s repertoire, so I jumped at the chance to see North by Northwest, a stage adaptation of the director’s classic 1959 film, a mistaken identity spy thriller centred on Manhattan advertising executive Roger Thornhill. The film is brought to life on stage using a dazzling array of clever staging and effects. However, mounting a new a production that so closely adheres to the film also shines a spotlight on some of the original’s problems. Continue reading Review: North by Northwest (Mirvish)
When Lela (Jenna Harris), the protagonist of Cordelia Lynn’s searing drama Lela & Co., (currently being presented by Discord and Din Theatre at The Theatre Centre), turned thirteen in her small village, her father ordered “the Messiah of Cakes” for her birthday party. The night before the party, a small strip of pink icing went missing, and Lela has been blamed for it ever since.
The story of the cake is told and retold, ever exaggerated, throughout Lela’s harrowing life of subjugation, as she experiences war, abuse, and forced prostitution. A tiny slice of life, it’s nevertheless a symbol both of what happens to a girl who steps out of line, and how the lies we tell ourselves to survive eventually become the truth. Lela, in direct address to the audience, wants us to know the real truth – and what a fascinating and stark truth it is.
Continue reading Review: Lela & Co. (Discord and Din Theatre)
The Last 5 Years was onstage this past weekend as the debut for new Toronto theatre company, Theatre Here and Now.
With a cast of just two characters, Cathy (Nicole Marie McCafferty) and Jamie (Armand Antony), The Last 5 Years is one of those shows that often appeals to small theatre troupes. In my opinion, it also has a lot going for it as an all-around fantastic musical: brilliant writing, incredible music, and a clever conceit where one character is moving backwards in time and the other forwards. Continue reading Review: The Last 5 Years (Theatre Here and Now)
Toronto’s Unit 102 Actors Company presents Miss, a new play by Michael Ross AlbertOn Saturday I stepped out of my comfort zone and saw Miss, a Unit 102 Actors Company production, at the new Assembly Theatre in Parkdale. Out of my comfort zone because the press release describes the play, by Michael Ross Albert, as an “explosive drama about loss, grief, guilt, and revenge” and I usually avoid anything with that kind of description. I am so glad went.
It was one of those rare evenings of perfect theatre that will stay with me for years. It’s why people make theatre. It’s why I love theatre. Continue reading Review: Miss (Unit 102 Actors Company and The Spadina Avenue Gang)
Title of Deed questions the meaning of home, on stage now in TorontoTo say someone is ‘here’ begs the question: what, precisely, is that place? Nightfall Theatric’s Title and Deed, playing at the Tarragon Theatre Workspace, follows the story of one man trying to dig into the nature of leaving home and arriving in a new place. Unfortunately, this production begs the question a bit too pointedly of its audience, as its answers are often safe and mostly underwhelming.
Continue reading Review: Title and Deed (Nightfall Theatrics)
On Golden Pond is a feel-good story about family, on stage at Scarborough Village TheatrePlaying at the Scarborough Village Theatre, On Golden Pond is a family drama that will make you want to pick up the phone and arrange to see that long-lost dear relative with whom you’ve lost touch. I never saw the 1981 movie, and I was happy to discover this heartfelt story without any expectations. Continue reading Review: On Golden Pond (Scarborough Players)
Extreme sports inspire Cirque du Soleil’s new show VOLTA now playing in Toronto’s Port LandsCirque du Soleil has brought its signature big top back to Toronto. Following hot on the heels of last year’s Mexico-inspired LUZIA, the company is presenting its newest show VOLTA and if you’re wondering whether it’s worth springing for tickets to another Cirque show so soon; VOLTA holds some unexpected surprises. Continue reading Review: VOLTA (Cirque du Soleil)