Yearly Archives: 2016

Review: Norma (Canadian Opera Company)

233 – Dimitry Ivashchenko as Oroveso (centre) and Sondra Radvanovksy as Norma (on platform) in the Canadian Opera Company production of Norma, 2016. Conductor Stephen Lord, director Kevin Newbury, set designer David Korins, costume designer Jessica Jahn, and lighting designer Duane Schuler, photo: Chris Hutcheson

Canadian Opera Company’s Norma burns bright at Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre

For me, a night of opera can fall into three categories: Please Make It Stop; That’s So Interesting; and Transported By Magic. Norma, a co-production of Canadian Opera Company with San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona) is pure Magic.

COC is great at opening the season with something spectacular in both music and visuals, with Norma at the front of this 2016-2017 season being no exception.

Continue reading Review: Norma (Canadian Opera Company) →

Playlistings in Toronto for the week of October 17th

Shows That Caught Our Eye in Toronto the Week of October 17th.

Princess, prayers, politics, and post-prohibition mobster stories are just a few of the themes on Toronto stages this week. Also on offer: Several Indigenous-inspired stories, spooky Halloween-themed events, and a fan’s take on Game Of Thrones. Winter is coming! Our managing editor Wayne is here to choose a few shows that caught his eye in red text. Check them out below the cut:

Continue reading Playlistings in Toronto for the week of October 17th →

Review: The (Post) Mistress (Théâtre Français de Toronto/Pleiades Theatre)

Photo of Patricia Cano and Tomson HighwayThe (Post) Mistress, at the Berkeley Theatre in Toronto, is presented in English, French, and Cree

The (Post) Mistress, currently being co-produced by Théâtre Français de Toronto and Pleiades Theatre at the Berkeley Street Theatre, is a one-woman musical set in a post office. I usually think of the post office as a boring place with long lines. Not where you’d want to spend a lot of time. But this post office, created by First Nations’ playwright Tomson Highway, is different and is filled with laughter, tears, and music. Continue reading Review: The (Post) Mistress (Théâtre Français de Toronto/Pleiades Theatre) →

Review: “Master Harold”…and the Boys (Obsidian Theatre Company)

1 Comment

masterharold_image_web-618x337The latest production by Obsidian Theatre in Toronto fails to impress

Obsidian Theatre is currently producing “Master Harold”…and the Boys by Athol Fugard. “Master Harold” is a white, South African teenager. “The Boys” are two Black South African servants to his household, who have cared for him since birth. Master Harold comes to the café, owned by his family, where “The Boys” now work.

On the surface, the relationship between Master Harold (affectionately called Hally), and Sam and Willie (“The Boys”) is sincere and affectionate. Sam in particular sees himself as Hally’s mentor, a substitute for his drunken, chronically-ill, absentee father. The hatred and contempt that are the inevitable consequence of systemic racial oppression are ultimately exposed. Continue reading Review: “Master Harold”…and the Boys (Obsidian Theatre Company) →

Review: Tire Swing (Filament Incubator/Epigraph Collective)

Nikki Haggart, Patrick Fowler, Jocelyn Adema and Francois Macdonald in Tire Swing.On stage in Toronto’s Kensington Market is a play ripe with creepy small town horror

Having grown up with both Stephen King and David Lynch, I have a deep affinity for horror stories set in small towns where strange things happen. Tire Swing, presented by Filament Incubator (in association with Epigraph Collective), is a poetic and haunting play about growing up with the shifting and unreliable memory of a traumatic event.  Continue reading Review: Tire Swing (Filament Incubator/Epigraph Collective) →