Birth of Frankenstein leaves the stage behind and invites the audience to play in a Toronto church parlour
As soon as I heard that Litmus Theatre was staging their production of Birth of Frankenstein in a 19th century church I knew that I had to see it. Matchbox Macbeth, which they performed in a garage in 2011, was wonderful. Litmus is an inventive, imaginative theatre company and I expected that Birth of Frankenstein would be special.
It was. From the minute that I walked through the doors into the church it felt like an adventure.
Bob Kills Theatre’s Savage in Limbo is a heartbreaking story set in a Cheers-esque bar playing at Toronto’s The Downstage
The opening night of Savage in Limbo at The Downstage began without announcement. The audience was still tittering with quiet conversation when a head slowly rose from behind the stage bar. The bartender (Murk) stared straight ahead with wild eyes. I was right in his line of vision and began to wonder if I was lost in a very twisted episode of Cheers.
And in a way, Savage in Limbo is an odd version of the beloved bar-based sitcom. All the patrons know or know of each other. They confess personal stories and exchange banter. There is even the constant presence of laughter, without the painful requirement of a laugh-track. Even the tagline is reminiscent of a joke: “A virgin, a failed nun and an over-ripe Italian walk into a bar…”.
Heidi Mole’s The Brady Project is a hilarious comparison between her life and the beloved TV series, playing at Toronto’s Flying Beaver Pubaret
I’m not exactly sure what to call The Brady Project – it’s part Power Point presentation, part Trampoline Hall lecture and all fun.
Heidi Mole steps on the tiny stage at the Flying Beaver Pubaret dressed in a green cardigan and high, thick-collared button-up shirt, choices totally characteristic of the Brady Bunch‘s era.
Mirvish presents the hilarious improvisational adult puppet show Puppet Up! Uncensored at Toronto’s Panasonic Theatre
I have a fascination with puppets, and I think it’s pretty safe to say that fascination started with Jim Henson’s work. Although, I don’t think I could narrow down whether it was from Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock or The Muppet Show. When I heard Mirvish was presenting a show created by Brian Henson (Jim Henson’s son) and Patrick Bristow called Puppet Up! Uncensored, I was pretty excited.
I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, I freakin’ loved it. My face actually hurt at the end from laughing and grinning so much.
Harsh Yukon winters clash with the lives of three young people in Canadian Stage’s Yukonstyle playing at Toronto’s Berkeley Street Theatre
Yukonstyle is the second play by emerging Quebec playwright Sarah Berthiaume to be produced at Canadian Stage this season. It’s a show that seeks to override our impulse to define what being “Canadian” means, through the lens of three young people surviving as best they can through an unforgiving Yukon winter.
