Here is what’s going on in Toronto theatre this week. There are several great shows to catch for the week of January 7th, 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.
Continue reading Eye-Catching Toronto Theatre for the Week of January 7th, 2013
This Is War, playing in the Tarragon Extra Space, is about Canadian forces in Afghanistan and is loosely based on a true incident that involved the Afghan National Forces as well as the Taliban. The show is structured around the media interviewing the soldiers after their return home about the incident, with most of the story told in flashbacks, but the military action itself is secondary to the interpersonal drama between the characters. While the incident is true, this drama is obviously fictional and is and meant to portray the incredibly high stress of life in such conditions, and the incredibly high stakes that decisions made under such stress can have. Continue reading Review: This Is War (Tarragon)
The new year has just begun and the first theatre festival of 2013 is already well underway. The Next Stage Theatre Festival, a twelve-day festival that runs through January 13, is produced by the Toronto Fringe as a showcase for local and national independent theatre artists. Continue reading Review Round-Up: The 2013 Next Stage Theatre Festival
Salt Baby, playing as part of the Next Stage Festival, is a story inspired by playwright Falen Johnson’s own experiences as a young First Nations person who looks white. The main character in the play, given no name other than “Salt Baby” (played by Paula Jean Prudat), has left her home on the Six Nations reservation to live in the city and has started dating a Caucasian man. She feels these things pulling her away from her heritage and desperately wants to stay tied to her ancestry. She is so desperate that she takes advice from quacks, risks alienating her father, and sets her relationship on fire. Continue reading 2013 Next Stage Theatre Festival Review: Salt Baby (Salt Baby Productions)
The Peace Maker, playing as part of the Next Stage Theatre Festival, follows the parallel stories of one woman, Sophie – a Canadian-Jewish musician, and her highly enthused and idealistic desire to forge her own bridge between two warring nations. Using elements of live music, song, and comedy to offset what could be a controversial tale, this is a performance that will get you laughing in your seats while being continuously moved.