Toronto’s Soulpepper presents the avant-garde theatre piece Cage as part of its new Solo Series
Every time I go to an art gallery, there’s always the weird room. You know the one I’m talking about: the dark room with black and white projections, noise music or static playing over the speakers. It’s the room that you walk into and think “what the hell is this?” but you feign interest if you’re on a date.
Cage is being put on by Soulpepper at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts until March 25th. To me, it was a lot like the weird room at the art gallery, only instead of leaving after a few minutes, I watched it for an hour. I’m glad I did though; because regardless of my personal preferences going into it, I concede that this is a challenging piece that delicately toes the line between theatre and performance art. Continue reading Review: Cage (Soulpepper)→
Live theatre shows in Toronto with ticket prices of $25 or less, playing the week of March 21st, 2017. Perfect for the budget-conscious theatre-goer. This week’s selections delve into history AND current issues. Check them out below the cut.
Shows That Caught Our Eye in Toronto the Week of March 20th, 2017
There is such a wide selection of amazing new and running shows to choose from this week! To help you in your decision-making is our publisher Megan, highlighting her most anticipated shows in red text. Check them out below the cut:
Rob Kempson’s new play explores human relationships on Toronto stages
Trigonometry, a new play by Rob Kempson, takes to the stage at Factory Studio Theatre with an intriguing drama about relationships and power. Set in a high school and lightly associated with the mathematics from which the play takes its name, this was a well-acted and largely enjoyable exploration of human relationships.
I enjoyed revisiting the familiar domain of high school, centered in a visually interesting set filled with mathematical symbols and equations. The play benefitted from exploring the power difference between student Jackson (Daniel Ellis) and teachers Susan (Alison Deon) and Gabriella (Rose Napoli), though I wish the power dynamic had been pushed even further.
Necessary Angel explores theatre through tableaus at the Artscape Sandbox in Toronto
A City, based on playwright Greg MacArthur’s experiences in Montreal with a group of young theatre artists, bills itself as a version of a “tableau vivant” (a silent arrangement of human beings that forms a still picture). If you’re worried that means a lot of dead air on stage, don’t be; the emphasis in Necessary Angel’s production at Artscape Sandbox is definitely on the “vivant,” with near-constant motion and intimate connection with the audience in 65 quick minutes.
It’s fitting that the so-called tableaux are in motion, because the show revolves around liminal states, those moments in between when you can feel an ending coming (a life, an era, a friendship), but the realization hasn’t quite arrived. It’s a comment on our desire but ultimate inability to freeze time.
Toronto’s Soulpepper presents the avant-garde theatre piece Cage as part of its new Solo Series
Rob Kempson’s new play explores human relationships on Toronto stages
Necessary Angel explores theatre through tableaus at the Artscape Sandbox in Toronto