Bonds Beyond explores a dystopian future where life exists after death

It has often been said that we don’t appreciate something – or someone – until it’s gone. Bonds Beyond, the new work by Glass Reflections Theatre Collective, explores a dystopian future where life exists after death by uploading your consciousness to the Cloud.

Bonds Beyond – on stage at Toronto’s Array Space – is a thought-provoking piece from playwright Colleen Osborn that examines themes of love, loss, and mortality as they relate to the way in which technological advancements are undoubtedly changing the socio-economic balance between rich and poor.
Continue reading Review: Bonds Beyond (Glass Reflections Theatre Collective) →

Eldritch Theatre’s charming puppetry delves into darkness for Toronto audiences

Over the past few months I’ve been on a horror binge, and I’ve often found myself thinking that it’s a shame we don’t see the genre in the theatre very often. So you can imagine how excited I was to have the opportunity to review The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy, being put on by Eldritch Theatre at the Red Sandcastle Theatre.

I don’t usually get my hopes up for shows I’m reviewing, and I was nervous going into The Harrowing, thinking that maybe I’d jinxed it. But I am so pleased to say that this production was every bit as fun as I hoped it would be.

Continue reading Review: The Harrowing of Brimstone McReedy (Eldritch Theatre) →

Shakespeare classic gets a Diwali-themed makeover in Piya Behrupiya, on stage in Toronto

I arrived at the Yonge Centre for the Performing Arts to see The Company Theatre’s production of Piya Behrupiya (Twelfth Night) on a dark, cold, and gloomy evening. But once I was inside, I was surrounded by colour, warmth, and joy.

Piya Behrupiya is being co-produced by Why Not Theatre and Soulpepper in celebration of Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, and it certainly brightened my day.  Continue reading Review: Piya Behrupiya (Twelfth Night) (The Company Theatre) →

The Circle brings teenage archetypes and a suburban garage to Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre

I was excited for The Circle, currently on stage at the Tarragon Extraspace, as I thought it was going to be a modern Breakfast Club experience. While the two stories share a couple of characters and themes, The Circle is a darker look into modern teenage life with the characters’ need for home, acceptance, and familial belonging at the forefront.

The Circle brings together teenage archetypes Amanda the genius (Vivien Endicott-Douglas), Ily the drug dealer (Jakob Ehman), Mutt/Tyler the mess (Brian Solomon), Kit the runaway (Nikki Duval), Will the kid with ADHD (Daniel Ellis), and Daniel the son of a priest (Jake Vanderham) for a garage party that isn’t supposed to be a “party”. Continue reading Review: The Circle (Tarragon Theatre) →

Mothers and daughters are paired on the Toronto stage for a unique not-quite-theatre experience

To be fair, Like Mother, Like Daughter (playing at 918 Bathurst) is very difficult to review. It’s not really a piece of theatre so much as it is a production or a spectacle or possibly an encounter group, in which mother/daughter pairs answer questions as honestly as they can while sitting at a table surrounded by an audience.

It is, however, very interesting to watch and to think about.

Continue reading Review: Like Mother, Like Daughter (Why Not Theatre/Complicite UK/Koffler Centre of the Arts) →