Toronto’s Storefront Theatre presents a tragic comedic double bill of Swell Broad and The Homemaker
Tonight, the Storefront Theatre presents a double bill: Swell Broad and The Homemaker, two tragi-comic plays which examine relationships with a special focus on the perspectives of unconventional women.
In Swell Broad, something between a budding romance and a business transaction unfolds at a local malt shop. She has expectations; so does he; and as the two begin to collide, all hell breaks loose. This script feels eerily post-millennium for something set in the 30s–and perhaps that’s the point. The 30s, like the 00s and 10s, was an era when the old scripts around adulthood in general and gender in particular suddenly stopped working. Young people–here played by Janelle Hanna and Philip Furgiuele–are left to cobble together whatever they can, and the results aren’t always going to be pretty.
The company for ShakesBeer is three talented, energetic and well-versed Shakespeare aficionados. They’re actually out-of-town ringers, brought down to Toronto via York University.
Chutzpah aplenty, Matt Drappel, Jeff Hanson and Kevin Ritchie rip through all those dry plays we had to memorize in high school. ShakesBeer is hilarious from the moment the cast hits the stage. The performers wear over the top tights, which are pretty shocking at first. However, their comedic and theatrical chops soon take centre stage. It’s a tad like Rocky Horror in that the outfits soon move to the background and the talent comes to the fore.
Toronto’s Unit 102 Theatre’s Reasons to be Pretty‘s social commentary on female beauty falls short of hitting the mark
I was intrigued by this description: “LaBute’s play questions how we value female beauty in modern society.” It’s a hot topic and worthy subject matter. This is not really what Reasons to be Pretty is about though. In fact, having seen The LaBute Cycle’s production at the Unit 102 Theatre, I find the title of this play to be rather misleading.
The core conflict is sparked by a remark about physical attractiveness (and there’s some preaching at the end), but Neil Labute‘s play doesn’t really explore the phenomenon of beauty. The narrative suggests an eternal conflict between the sexes, without much hope for mutual understanding. Continue reading Review: Reasons to be Pretty (The LaBute Cycle)→
This week’s budget-friendly theatre picks celebrate woman empowerment in all its many forms from Girl Power burlesque to thought provoking and eye-opening productions that investigate the various issues that women face. There’s theatre in this list that explore female sexuality, violence against women, misogyny, beauty, and empowerment — plenty of material to for the mind to chew over. This week consider taking an evening or two out to celebrate the feminine with some dynamic and entertaining theatre. You won’t be disappointed.
Great for opera aficionados, the COC’s Hercules is playing at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre
Hercules, by G.F. Handel is a “moment after” style narrative. In the Canadian Opera Company’s modernized production, Hercules has returned home from the completion of his legendary twelve labours which culminated in the sacking of the state Oechalia and the seizing of her beautiful, young princess. While Hercules is celebrated as a hero by all, he is deeply conflicted about his reintegration into society. Continue reading Review: Hercules (Canadian Opera Company)→
