Review: Inked Heart (FireWorks Festival / Alumnae Theatre Company)

D.J. Sylvis’ Inked Heart is more than skin deep, looking at tattooing, human nature, family on Toronto stages

Are tattoos simply ink embedded in skin, or do they represent something more? Are they art? Symbols of rites of passage? Coping mechanisms that help people celebrate milestones in one’s life or deal with our difficulties?

These are some of questions that playwright D.J. Sylvis addresses with Inked Heart. The play is currently onstage at the Alumnae Theatre Studio in Toronto as part of the FireWorks Festival.
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Review: Naomi’s Road (Tapestry Opera)

Tapestry Opera presents a timely tale of racial internment on stage in Toronto

Tapestry Opera’s production of Naomi’s Road at St. David’s Anglican Church is moving, and eerily timely. The opera is based on a book by Joy Kogawa and tells the story of a family torn apart by the internment of Japanese-Canadians during WWII from the perspective of the family’s youngest member, a little girl named Naomi. Written about ten years ago, the work was developed for children and has toured schools in British Columbia, to great critical acclaim. This is the first time the opera has been performed in Toronto.  Continue reading Review: Naomi’s Road (Tapestry Opera)

Review: ‘Til Death (Do Us Part) (Lauren Griffiths/Filament Incubator)

Lauren Griffiths in Til Death (Do Us Part)‘Til Death (Do Us Part) blends sketch, improv, audience interaction and love on stage at the Monarch in Toronto

Taking over the main floor of Toronto’s Monarch Tavern, ‘Til Death (Do Us Part) is an interesting amalgam of sketch comedy with improv elements. The show introduces audiences to the fictional Canada’s Cupid Corporation, a company seeking to take the unlucky in love and transform them into the ultimate partner.

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Review: Hazel (Port Moresby Productions)

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Hazel, on stage in Toronto, has some sunny spots but could be gustier

Michael Stittle’s Hazel, presented by Port Moresby Productions at the Red Sandcastle Theatre, is set during the 1954 hurricane, the last of its kind to hit and devastate Toronto and southern Ontario. In the midst of heavy rain and wind, two gangsters struggle into a trailer with a bag of stolen cash—and wounds from a car accident—caused when their third attempted a double-cross.

While they figure out what to do with the money, knowing their boss is waiting, other weather wanderers appear, complicating the situation. It’s an intriguing set-up, but unlike great swaths of Ontario countryside after the hurricane, the plot doesn’t entirely hold water.

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Review: Cavalcade (George Brown Theatre)

Jake Runeckles, Lucas Penner and Michael Boyce in CavalcadeGeorge Brown Theatre presents a cast of up and coming talent in Cavalcade playing in Toronto

George Brown Theatre’s production of Noel Coward’s Cavalcade, playing at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, is a big play. It covers the big events in English life from New Year’s Eve 1899 to New Year’s Eve 1929 including the Boer War, the death of Queen Victoria, the sinking of the Titanic, and World War l. This production has a cast of 23. That’s a really nice thing about a School of Performing Arts – you have a big talent pool to draw from and you can produce plays with large casts. Continue reading Review: Cavalcade (George Brown Theatre)