Breathing Corpses, on stage at Toronto’s Coal Mine Theatre, lacks coherence
I expected to love Coal Mine Theatre’s new production, Breathing Corpses. The production company came highly recommended. Unfortunately, although the cast was talented, the play was plagued by uneven pacing and a sense of disconnect from reality. This play tried so hard to be clever that it forgot to stay coherent, and many characters made decisions and expressed emotions that did not feel real or grounded in any way.
As its title suggests, Breathing Corpses is a drama built around death. The characters are clustered into three groups whose stories never intersect onstage. I respect playwright Laura Wade’s decision to let the audience do the work of figuring out the relationship between the groups of characters. However, because the scenes were never synthesized onstage, this play felt to me like it lacked cohesion.
Mortar and Pestle’s King Lear stays on script, but could be gutsier
Where, exactly, does a tragedy start? Is it the moment a story is conceived? Or is it the moments when everything can be easily undone by simple communication?
Unconventional family tale graces Toronto stages… along with Elvis references
Joan MacLeod’s Toronto, Mississippi, presented by Panfish Productions at The Box Theatre, is a show about an unconventional family that revolves around Jhana (Kayla Whelan), an 18-year-old woman whose developmental delay has stuck her in the uneasy space between independent adult desire and a dependent perpetual childhood. It’s a complex and intriguing show that—like its lead character—is both lovable and frustrating, and could use a little more experience.
This week’s budget-friendly picks include two plays by William Shakespeare, a free Opera, a dystopian future tale, and a mother-daughter themed show performed by non-actors. Check out the listings below the cut.
Dido and Aeneas wows Toronto stage vocally, but leaves a bit to be desired story-wise
I was somewhat surprised by Opera Atelier’s decision to mount Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas as their fall 2016 production. From start to finish, this opera is about an hour long, and most opera goers are looking for more than an hour worth of bang for their buck.
Opera Atelier mounts historically informed productions of opera from the 17th and 18th centuries. Their productions are always exceptionally well-researched, and Dido and Aeneas was the very first opera the company ever mounted, in 1985. Artistic Director Marshall Pynkoski and Choreographer Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg took advantage of their extensive knowledge of this work to craft a full evening’s entertainment. Continue reading Review: Dido and Aeneas (Opera Atelier)→
Mortar and Pestle’s King Lear stays on script, but could be gutsier
