Canadian-themed Beaver has potential it “didn’t quite live up to”

I had high hopes for The Storefront Theatre’s production of Beaver, a coming-of-age story set in small-town Northern Ontario. Unfortunately, I thought this play was extremely uneven.

Beaver had great sound design that skillfully evoked a Canadian winter, but I thought many of the characters lacked depth, and I was perplexed by some of the playwright’s structural choices. At the end of the play’s two-hours-plus runtime, I felt more disappointed than anything.

Continue reading Review: Beaver (The Storefront Theatre) →

Chasse-Galerie is a jolly, swear-laden light-in-the-dark, on stage in Toronto

The world can sometimes feel like a dark and unforgiving place and—particularly after the events this week—it may feel like we’ve made a deal with the Devil. Chasse-Galerie, a Kabìn and Storefront Theatre co-production, now playing at Soulpepper’s Young Centre, is a bright antidote to dark times. It’s theatre that feels like a party, and it’s one hell of a ride. Continue reading Review: Chasse-Galerie (Kabin/Storefront/Soulpepper) →

An honest dramedy about black lives and gentrification on stage at the Passe Muraille in Toronto

Playing at the Theatre Passe Muraille until November 20 is Secrets of a Black Boy, an honest yet endearing, funny look at the lives of young black men living in Regent Park while facing gentrification. This collection of stories explores topics from police brutality and racism, to sexuality and domestic violence, and arrives on the heels of the shocking US presidential election — which drives home the relevance that these stories have in the here and now.

Continue reading Review: Secrets of a Black Boy (PLAYING with CRAYONS/Theatre Passe Muraille) →

Constellations brings quantum physics, and hints at a multiverse, on stage at Toronto’s Bluma Appel Theatre

Playwright Nick Payne provides a glimpse into quantum possibilities in Constellations, which opened Thursday at the Bluma Appel Theatre. At the end of the play my friend Elaine said “I wish that had lasted longer, it just zipped past.”

Not really something you’d expect to hear about a play that includes string theory and quantum physics. It wasn’t that she felt it was too short or unfinished; she liked it so much that she didn’t want it to end. Continue reading Review: Constellations (Canadian Stage and Centaur Theatre) →

Ahuri Theatre brings open, funny honesty to Toronto stages with This Is The Point

Going into The Theatre Centre last night to see This is The Point, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I wasn’t expecting to be (figuratively) knocked out.  I was tired, and cranky, and just hoping the show would be good.

This is The Point by Ahuri Theatre is an emotional, honest, and exceptionally funny show about four people whose lives have been shaped and influenced by Cerebral Palsy — both directly and via close proximity. Shows like this are precisely why I am such a vocal Theatre Centre fangirl.

Continue reading Review: This Is The Point (Ahuri Theatre) →