In On It is “powerful” experimental theatre, now playing on the Toronto stage

When I saw the first Toronto production of Daniel MacIvor’s In On It in 2002, it blew my high-school-aged mind. It was a piece of meta-theatre about the messiness of endings, living with disappointment, and how our expectations of life and of theatre share some uncanny similarities: we’re hoping things will satisfyingly come full circle, that they’ll work out, that we’ll leave on something pithy or fun or daring. In theatre, we can engineer an ending; in life, it rarely works out so well.

Nearly fifteen years later, I was eager to see emerGENce Theatre’s fresh production of the show at Theatre Passe Muraille. Some things about it have aged better than others, but with age comes wisdom, experience and melancholy. In On It has all of these things, and it’s a show you want to get in on. Continue reading Review: In On It (emerGENce Theatre) →

“Magnificent” Wagnerian opera returns to the Toronto stage

Canadian Opera Company’s current production of Götterdämmerung, the final installment of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle, is a remount of their 2006 production. When I saw it 10 years ago, the modern reimagining of this epic legend, in which suited captains of industry stand in for Norse gods and demigods, did not grab me. I am not sure if it’s me or the times that have changed, but I was absolutely entranced by the current production. Continue reading Review: Götterdämmerung (Canadian Opera Company) →

A “mix of chaos and stillness”, John hits Toronto’s Berkeley Street Theatre

The buzz in the audience as I waited for The Company Theatre’s production of John to begin at the Berkeley Street Theatre was, “Did you know it’s over three hours?” and “Did you see how long it is?” Indeed, John is a long play. But don’t let yourself get hung up on the length.  It’s worth the time. Continue reading Review: John (The Company Theatre) →