Akram Khan’sDESH is a modern and refreshing personal story told in dance, at Toronto’s Blum Appel Theatre
This rainy Hallowe’en Akram Khan’s newest solo had its North American Premier at Canadian Stage. DESH was a tour de force production created by a stellar team team of artists. Peeling off my wet layers in the lobby I was almost shivering with anticipation.
Here is what’s going on in Toronto theatre this week. There are several great shows to catch for the week of November 4th, 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.
The Nefarious Bed and Breakfast, a comedy about superheroes gone awry, is playing at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille
In its 5th anniversary show, Monkeyman Productions takes over the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace with The Nefarious Bed and Breakfast, a play that hearkens back to the kookier days of superhero comics. Where characters were allowed to be a bit zany and the cells were brightly coloured and lacking the grit and darkly tortured souls of today’s heroic universe.
Dr. Nefarious is a retired super villain, recently married, and about to embark on a new business venture as a small-time hotelier. On the weekend of his bed and breakfast’s grand opening, he and the disembodied voice of his wife, Margot, welcome two couples to stay as the properties’ first guests. One of the couples is actually a pair of retired superheroes, who seem to believe that Dr. Nefarious hasn’t quite given up his evil ways. The second couple -a pair of newlyweds- have their own peculiarities and secrets that are revealed throughout the course of the play. Along with Dr. Nefarious’ trusty demi-primate henchman Half-Ape, the ensemble proceeds to have quite the whirlwind adventure.
360 Screenings takes audiences to the edge of fear with The Exorcist at the Ontario Heritage Centre
It was a dark and rain-filled pre-Halloween evening, the perfect atmosphere to step into the latest event from the 360 Screenings team. Having been building up the hype for the event, and with a top mention in Buzzfeed’s list of hottest Halloween tickets, it’s not surprising that the limited number of screenings should be sold out. I’d been anticipating attending the event since I’d heard about its Amélie screening earlier in the year, and was especially pleased to be waiting outside the Ontario Heritage Centre to experience the latest incarnation of its Halloween edition.
