Korean cultural dance blend with drums and martial arts for a unique performance at Toronto Centre for the Arts
2013 was designated the Year of Korea in Canada and what better way to cap off the year than with a performance of Korean cultural dance both classical and modern? A performance that also incorporates elements of martial arts, swordplay, mask work, strong man stunts and even audience participation. It’s sure to be a unique experience.
On the night of our first major blizzard this winter, my friend Vance and I trekked through near whiteout conditions to The Toronto Centre for the Arts for Korean Dance Studies Society of Canada‘s (KDSSC) with Ryu Art Company’s performance of K-Dance Revolution. Though we both debated the rationality of traveling in the storm, we persevered — our mutual appreciation for cultural studies driving us on for what would hopefully be an eye-opening performance.
Here is what’s going on in Toronto theatre this week. There are several great shows to catch for the week of December 16th, 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.
Catch great improv anytime day or night and watch sleep-deprived improvisors give their all
The Impulse Festival being presented by Soulpepper and National Theatre of the World is not only bringing amazing improvisational acts from around the world to Toronto, and hosting fantastic workshops for beginners and experienced improvisers alike, but it’s also the home of a 55 hour long improvised soap opera being performed for charity, Gilda’s Club of Toronto.
Improvisation is always impressive to watch. People thinking on their feet. Mistakes turned into gifts. The audience helping to drive the action. Never knowing what to expect next. But this takes improv to a whole different place.
Classic English lit styles combine with sublime off-the-cuff improv in a hilarious kick-off to The Impulse Festival
They are the esoteric and the random, the witty and the poignant. Hailing all the way from London, The School of Night is a hilarious comedy troupe that employs various literary styles and devices to entertain all those who would listen to their phantasmagorical tales. And last night, three of its members performed one of the opening shows (of the same name) at the first ever Impulse festival.
This was improv at its finest. Effortlessly combining Chaucerian dialect, iambic pentameter and Shakespearian prose, the three performers commanded the stage and incited a steady flow of laughter from the audience. What’s more, the night was as educational as it was entertaining.
Bundle up for this unique outdoor theatrical experience playing at Toronto’s Evergreen Brick Works
Weather The Weather or How We Make It Home Together’s title pretty aptly encapsulates the experience of the show. This is night-time outdoor theatre, in Canada, in December, and there is plenty of weathering the weather to be had.
Weather The Weather was “inspired by winter, the Canadian Shield and our indomitable compulsion to get home for the holidays”. Two siblings, Daga (Amy Lee) and Diwrnod (Kawa Ada) are trying to find their way home after being displaced by a storm. Diwrnod is captured by Igora (Lisa Karen Cox), a troll who controls the weather. The sister must save the brother… with some help from a magical prince (Courtenay Stevens) and their house gnome (Colin Doyle).
