Pitch Blond is based on the life of Judy Holliday. Holliday made a career out of playing dumb blondes. She won an Oscar and several other prestigious awards doing so. Meanwhile, she possessed an almost super-human intelligence. It was hard not to be reminded of Gracie Allen or even Lucille Ball while enjoying a drink with Judy, or should I say, watching the play.
Post Eden, playing at the Factory as part of the Next Stage Festival, is a multi-media show set on the aptly-named Neighbourly Lane in Richmond Hill, Ontario. This is a real street, and the program claims that while Post Eden is “a work of fiction from the imagination of the playwright” (Jordan Tannahill) it also is “inspired by, and incorporating verbatim excerpts from, interviews with five families” who actually live there.
The story involves a family where the husband (Sean Dixon) and wife (Linnea Swan) have broken up, and the husband moved four doors down so as to still be close to his daughter (Sascha Cole.) This sounds like a plausible scenario to take place in the real suburbs. It also involves a boy who may be a coyote (Kevin Jake Walker) and a dead dog (Lindsey Clark) who is very articulate in English and strongly wants to be buried in a place where her soul can be free. This seems more likely to be the work of imagination. Continue reading 2013 Next Stage Theatre Festival Review: Post Eden (Suburban Beast)→
As soon as I entered Factory Theatre for Sudden Death, I knew I was in for something special. The stage is part hockey arena, part motel room and part strip club. The play is based on the tragic life of hockey enforcer John Kordic. At first sight of the set, we’re transported into Kordic’s world, on his last night on earth. Oh Next Stage Theatre Festival, you never fail to delight and surprise!
Kordic won the Stanley Cup in his first year in the NHL. He played for four teams over his seven year career, including Montreal and Toronto. He was addicted to steroids, alcohol and cocaine. He was also deeply troubled by his relationship with his father. He died at the age of 27, alone, after an altercation with nine police officers.
Seeing Pitch Blond at Factory Theatre’s intimate Antechamber is a lot of fun. It’s a bit like sneaking away from Next Stage Theatre Festival, finding a cozy bar and sharing an intimate drink with a new friend.
As soon as I entered