Major flooding has left Toronto’s Storefront Theatre in shambles, please donate and help if you can

Mooney on Theatre received with tremendous sorrow the news that one of our favourite venues–the Storefront Theatre–has been flooded. The auditorium itself has survived, but due to a popped water main, their offices, technical storage, computer equipment and everything else is now under 7 feet of water, mud and silt.

The Storefront (and its resident company, Red One) has consistently been one of the most outstanding institutions in the Toronto theatre scene: every show (13 a year–which is an incredible number, even before factoring in festivals, one-nighters, etc.) which passes through their doors seems to be a success, and the venue itself is a particular gift to our community.

If you can spare a few dollars, a fund has been established in support of rebuilding. But even if you can’t, we urge you–once it re-opens–to discover the Storefront, to enjoy its peculiar and unique delights, and to join us in cheering its return.

Below the jump, the press release concerning this situation.

Continue reading The Flooding of the Shrew →

Mrs. Warren’s Profession, about a mother’s work in prostitution, is playing at Toronto’s Sterling Studio Theatre

Mrs. Warren’s Profession is George Bernard Shaw’s examination of sex, money and morality. Kitty Warren’s occupation is, as the familiar parlance goes, the “oldest profession”. The timing of Sterling Studio Theatre’s production could not have been better; it comes on the heels of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Canada’s anti-prostitution laws.

Just to clarify: prostitution itself has never been illegal here in Canada, just the activities that surround it—brothels, public solicitation and making a living at it. These are now legal, opening up the possibility of safer working conditions (although new legislation is still pending). And, while attitudes towards the industry have shifted in a positive direction, the stigma remains. Mrs. Warren’s plight is still resonant. Continue reading Review: Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Sterling Studio Theatre) →