The winter that would never end is finally (hopefully) over! So why not put a little spring in your step with a little Cheap Theatre? This week, we’re focusing on a series of shows being put on by The Playwright Project. Each year, the Project chooses a playwright, and brings his or her works to different neighbourhoods in Toronto. This year, they’re taking over the Danforth with the plays of British playwright Caryl Churchill, whose work has been described as “subversive, controversial, and constantly pushing the limits of dramatic writing”. For as little as $10 a pop, you can’t go wrong with The Playwright Project.
Here is what’s going on in Toronto theatre this week. There are several great shows to catch for the week of April 21st, 2014. ** 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.
Three of history’s most notorious names in propaganda gather in Dinner with Goebbels at Toronto’s Red Sandcastle Theatre
Going into act2studio WORKS‘ production of Dinner With Goebbels I can’t deny I was nervous. Watching a play about Karl Rove, Joseph Goebbels and Edward Bernays having dinner together is a challenging and intriguing idea, but also one that requires some very careful navigation on behalf of the playwright to make sure it doesn’t dissolve into an uncomfortable caricature.
The good news is that for the most part the script is well written and fascinating, giving an hour long lesson on the art of propaganda and three of its most infamous practitioners that, on its own, shows that playwright Mark Leith knows his subject matter.
Celebrating innovative works from emerging local companies, The Theatre Centre in Toronto presents this triple bill
The Toronto theatre scene is amazingly robust and diverse. From minimalist slice-of-life pieces to over-the-top theatrical spectacles, our city plays host to a dazzling array of productions hailing from every slice of the population.
The result is a collection of three eclectic shows, presented in succession that explore a wide gamut of thought-provoking subject matter – making for a truly memorable night of top-class theatre.
Beatrice & Virgil tells an allegorical tale about the Holocaust premiering at Toronto’s Factory Theatre
Yann Martel, the beloved Canadian author of Life of Pi, had a hard time writing his third book, Beatrice & Virgil. At least, if the story is as autobiographical as it appears — it follows an author struggling to complete a new novel after the global success of his bestselling animal allegory … sound familiar? — then we can believe it was a difficult journey.
And no wonder: Beatrice & Virgil is an allegorical story about the Holocaust, once again involving animals. There are easier subjects, and safer ways to treat them. Theodor Adorno warned that writing poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric, and here we have a monkey and a donkey talking about genocide. It’s risky.
