Disco Pigs explores an intense and inseparable relationship at Oz Studios in Toronto
Disco Pigs is a movie and play written by Enda Walsh about a boy and a girl born within one second of one another. They develop an uncanny relationship, become inseparable and are the proverbial two sides of the same coin. It’s a fascinating, intense production on stage at Oz Studios in Toronto.
Disco Pigs is set in contemporary Ireland, so don’t expect Irish clichés like leprechauns and shillelaghs. Instead, expect fantastic acting from Claire Burns and Bryan Demore. The language they use is a bit different than the typical Torontonian, but it is inviting, almost intoxicating. It’s almost like a cross between Roddy Doyle type dialogue and A Clockwork Orange.
Three actors explore gay identity in The Gay Heritage Project playing at Toronto’s Buddies in Bad Times Theatre
Three young gay performance artists take an in depth look at what it means to be gay and the legacy left behind from the trail blazers of queer culture in The Gay Heritage Project. In a 90-minute production of skits filled with a respectful combination of comedy and thoughtfulness, Damien Atkins, Paul Dunn and Andrew Kushnir explore gay heritage and if the idea of a heritage for the gay community actually exists.
Arriving at Buddies in Bad Times with my friend Momo and his partner Jamie, we took our seats in front of a stark stage, with a raised backdrop used for projections. The sides were lined with chairs — more than necessary for the three performers. When I considered how minimal the stage was, I realized that these actors would rely solely on themselves with the help of sound and projection to carry the length of the show without intermission.
The underdog, the misfit, the outcast, the odd one out, the reject — call them what you will, this week’s selection of cheap seat theatre is all about those odds and ends of society. The ones that don’t quite fit in. Whether they’re the ones you want to cheer for in the end, or they’re hated by the masses so much that you can’t wait to see them get their dues, you owe it to yourself to take some time out this week and sit in for some great theatre where the unsung and the left behind take center stage.
Here is what’s going on in Toronto theatre this week. There are several great shows to catch for the week of November 25th, 2013. ** Shows marked with the double asterisks and in red are the ones that make Wayne, our Managing Editor, wish he could exist in multiple parallel universes so he could check them all out.
A complex story of parenting, mental illness and policing play out in The Valley at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre
There’s a painful moment in Tarragon Theatre‘s The Valley when time stops. “I don’t know how to feel better,” says one of the characters.
I won’t tell you which one (I’m not even sure I remember). The play features a cop, a teenager and two mothers.
It’s about the hot button issues we hear about in the media all the time – mental illness, parenting, policing. There’s a complex overlap between those of us hurting and those aiming to serve and protect (whether at home or on the streets). Pain is real to all of us. Continue reading Review: The Valley (Tarragon Theatre)→
