Aftermath, now on stage in Toronto, is intense and challengingIn 1999, feminist activist and writer Andrea Dworkin was drugged and raped in Paris. Aftermath, adapted for the stage by Adam Thorburn from from an unpublished work of Dworkin’s, produced by Waterworks Company and playing at the Aki Studio, is her story in her own words.
This is not an easy production to watch, and it’s even harder to forget.
Blind Date is sweet and engaging, on stage in TorontoIn Blind Date, currently onstage at Buddies In Bad Times, a clown selects a member of the audience to play the role of their blind date. This is the queer version of the original concept by Rebecca Northan. On opening night the clown in question was Mimi (Julie Orton), who invited another woman to join her onstage; on some nights it will be Mathieu (David Benjamin Tomlinson) who is expected to choose a man. This is a binary conception of gender and sexual orientation, but the site does say they are open to trans and genderqueer dates, and there has been talk of a nonbinary clown in future productions. Regardless of the complexities of identity, the show is extremely fun, and surprisingly touching.
Adelheid’s what it’s like is an “extremely ambitious” immersive experience, on stage now in TorontoAdelheid‘s what it’s like – on stage now at The Theatre Centre – is one of those shows that leaves me both exhilarated and totally bewildered as to what to say about it. As is typical of The Theatre Centre, calling it a performance feels stingy.
what it’s like was an engaging, immersive experience. It aims to bring us, the audience, into a shared space, to both witness and challenge our notions of comfort, agency, responsibility, complicity, and brotherhood. I’m not sure that’s what happened, but I am sure it was a pretty incredible night.
Continue reading what it’s like (adelheid / The Theatre Centre)
Salt tackles mental illness with complexity and nuance, on stage in TorontoSalt is a beautiful and harrowing portrayal of mental illness and abuse by Toronto-based playwright Erin Vandenberg. It’s being put on in the Alumnae Theatre by the Lark & Whimsy Theatre Collective. I had no idea what to expect going into this new two-hour drama, but was and still am completely taken by it.
Tideline is a poetic, demanding play, beautifully performed at the Hart House Theatre at the University of Toronto. What seems like a simple family drama — a story in which a young man’s distant father suddenly passes and the son finds out family secrets — quickly turns into a hard-to-watch journey that takes us to a post-war desolate landscape. Written by Lebanon-born Wajdi Mouawad, translated by Shelley Tepperman and directed by Ken Gass, Tideline explores the impact of the atrocities of war on youth. Continue reading Review: Tideline (Canadian Rep Theatre and ENSEMBLE)